Video Message of the Head of the UGCC on the 199th Week of the Full-Scale War, December 7, 2025
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This Sunday marks the 199th week of the waging war – a full-scale invasion that Russia brought to our peaceful Ukrainian land.
This week, our cities and villages were once again engulfed in flames. Every night, the enemy attacks our peaceful cities and villages with drones and various types of weaponry. Heavy fighting is raging along the entire front line. Once again, we prayed for the Ukrainian cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast, and for Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Our prayers also remain with the Ukrainian city of Kherson, which has been a particular epicenter of Russian attacks this week. On the night of December 3, Russia almost completely destroyed the Kherson thermal power plant, leaving the large city without heat and light.
This week, we heard once again about the efforts of the international community to possibly stop the aggressor diplomatically. But Russia has once again declared that it is ready to wage war against Europe today.
Against the backdrop of peace talks, Russia’s threat of war against Europe looks very distinctive today. Interestingly, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, emphasized that over the past 100 years, Russia has attacked 19 different countries that have never fought against it and did not want to fight.
But this week, we prayed with gratitude for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which celebrated their holiday on December 6, St. Nicholas Day. Today, it is the Armed Forces of Ukraine that are the true peacemakers, stopping the murderous hand of the Russian aggressor, creating a space of peace for the civilian population of Ukraine, and defending Europe from a new global war with their own lives.
Our young men and women, thank you for keeping us alive! Thank you for every peaceful day for our cities and villages that you defend, protecting our skies and stopping the enemy on the front lines. Once again, we want the whole world to hear that Ukraine is wounded yet unconquered. Our Armed Forces, as a national army, are defending Ukrainian land at the cost of their own lives.
We want everyone to hear that Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!
Yesterday, Ukraine and the whole world honored the memory of St. Nicholas, the Wonderworker of Myra, who, especially for our children, is an icon of God’s embodied love. During the war, when the enemy sows malice and hatred, Saint Nicholas brings us kindness, mercy, and true Christian comfort, which we create through service in love.
Today, we are grateful to all who have become the hands of the good Saint Nicholas. We want to thank all the children who were respectful and wrote their letters to Saint Nicholas. We want to thank Saint Nicholas for praying and interceding for our children, who are the most vulnerable part of Ukrainian society during this horrendous war.
On this day of his remembrance, we want to be the hands of God's mercy and love towards the most needy and weak. Serving in love during wartime makes each of us God's hands, through which the Lord God cares for his people.
I greet you from Australia, from the distant yet close city of Melbourne. This week, here in the heart of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy, the first session of the Permanent Synod of Bishops of our Church in history is taking place. Today, here in St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Melbourne, we celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with our Ukrainian community. The Permanent Synod, coming to Australia for the first time, is a witness that the Mother Church in Ukraine cares for her children throughout the world, even in the far-off Australia.
In accordance with our tradition, the Permanent Synod is constantly on the move, visiting our various eparchies and exarchates in different countries and continents. In this way, we build the unity of our global Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Visiting the Ukrainian community was pivotal in order to discover more deeply the internal resources of our people’s resilience, mutual cooperation, support, and assistance to all those in need in Ukraine.
Our visit to Australia by the Permanent Synod has a significant international dimension. We are meeting with representatives of the Australian authorities and advocating on behalf of Ukraine. It is significant that during our Permanent Synod's visit, Australia announced 95 million Australian dollars in aid for Ukraine.
We feel a special solidarity with the Catholic Church in Australia. We met with the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Australia, Archbishop Perth, visited Archbishop Melbourne, and had a deep conversation about the pain and hopes of Ukraine. We received assurances of solidarity and support. We heard repeatedly that every time all Catholics in Australia gather for a common liturgy, a common Eucharist, they pray for Ukraine, support Ukraine, and support the suffering Ukrainian people.
Today we ask: Lord, hear our prayers! Lord, hear the prayers of the entire Catholic Church throughout the world, which begs you for peace in Ukraine! God, bless the Armed Forces of Ukraine, empower them with courage and resilience to be the hands of God’s peace in Ukraine and Europe today!
God, bless the children of Ukraine who are suffering from this war! God, help us find all those whom this war has scattered around the world! Help bring home those who have been scattered, help rebuild everything that has been destroyed!
God, remember all those who are suffering at this moment! We ask for the healing of the wounded and the discovery of those who are missing. We ask for their families and pray for our brothers and sisters in the occupied territories.
We ask: Lord, stop the war and bless our long-suffering Ukraine with Your righteous, 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!
