Video-message of the Head of the UGCC on the 172nd Week of Full-Scale War, June 1, 2025
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
We continue to count the days and nights, the weeks of this devastating, sacrilegious, and violent war that the Russian aggressor is waging against our peaceful Ukrainian state and our people.
This week will likely go down in history as one marked by lies and deception on the part of the aggressor—despite various international efforts to diplomatically resolve this catastrophe, this war. The enemy is only intensifying its attacks and advances on Ukraine. Our capital, Kyiv, was the epicenter of such assaults this week. For three consecutive nights, the enemy struck our golden-domed capital with multiple waves of attacks. The cities of Sumy, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia also suffered. We constantly remember all these cities in our prayers—just as we do every time we hear reports of people dying, infrastructure being destroyed, and innocent lives being lost.
According to Ukrainian media reports, rivers of blood are being shed daily on the front lines. Each day, more than a thousand Russian soldiers are either killed or suffer what are referred to as irretrievable, irrevocable combat losses. Indeed, rivers of blood, a sea of tears, destruction, fire, and suffering—this is what Ukraine has endured this week.
Once again, I would like to thank Pope Leo XIV for urging an immediate end to the war in Ukraine during his general audience this week.
We once again remind the world: once Russia stops attacking us, the war will end. And once Ukraine stops defending itself, there will be no more Ukraine. In such cruel circumstances, I want the whole world to hear once again: Ukraine is alive. Ukraine stands. Ukraine fights. And Ukraine prays.
Today, on this Sunday, which we dedicate to the memory of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, we especially celebrate a unique spiritual, cultural, and national ecclesial anniversary—the 1700th anniversary of that glorious Council in the city of Nicaea. It is undoubtedly a historic event.
An event that will likely continue to capture the attention of theologians, historians, and scholars of the Greco-Roman Christian era. For in Nicaea, in the year 325, something truly extraordinary took place. It was the first time since the Edict of Milan—when Christianity had become a tolerated religion in the Roman Empire—that, at the emperor’s behest, all the bishops of Christ’s Church were able to convene in such a format for an Ecumenical Council.
This week, we felt in a special way just how vital the universality and catholicity of Christ’s Church truly are. At the Council of Nicaea, bishops who still bore the wounds of persecution under Roman rule were gathered by a Roman emperor who had submitted himself to the glory of Christ the Lord.
It was a great manifestation of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. From this Council, we received the Nicene Creed—a common confession of faith shared not only by Catholics and Orthodox Christians, but also by many other believers who profess the same truths that the Fathers of Nicaea proclaimed. Today, we ask those Holy Fathers—now in the heavenly council—to intercede for the unity of Christ’s Church in our time.
This week, especially in these days between the Ascension and Pentecost, our Church is living a special time we call the Missionary Decade. We are praying especially for those who have not yet encountered Christ, for those who are still seeking God. And we, as Christians, are called to be the mediators of this encounter. We are to bear witness to the Risen Savior, who desires to lead every person to the knowledge of the Truth—for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I encourage all Christians to share their faith, and all the faithful of our Church not to be ashamed to profess it. Let each of us strive to bring at least one person to the Sacrament of Baptism this year. Then we will truly feel ourselves to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church—missionary by nature. As Pope John Paul II said: “A Church that is not missionary is not a Church.” Let us bear witness together to the Gospel of Christ in our time!
Even in wartime, we continue to pray: “Lord, shine Your face upon us! Lord, bless our people, our army, our girls and boys on the front lines—with Your righteous and heavenly peace!”
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, through His grace and love for mankind, always, now and forever, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
