Video Message of the Head of the UGCC on the 204th Week of the Full-Scale War, January 11, 2026
Christ is born!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This Sunday marks the 204th week of the great war, in which Russia has brought enormous hardship to Ukrainian soil.
Unfortunately, this war continues, and its cruelty is escalating. This week will probably go down in history as another week of tremendous pain and tears in Ukraine. It was a week in which daily temperatures across Ukraine dropped below minus 10 degrees. However, the enemy continues to attack our peaceful cities and villages and to destroy critical infrastructure. Entire regions, such as Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, experienced a total blackout. Entire districts were left without heat and light.
On the night of January 9, the enemy launched a particularly fierce attack on our capital, our capital, Kyiv, using various types of weaponry. Many people were killed and dozens were wounded. Even our Lviv, located near the western borders of our homeland, was attacked with a ballistic missile. Our Kryvyi Rih, our Zaporizhzhia, our Odesa have also been struck by grief.
And today we greet you from Cherkasy. Cherkasy—the heart of Ukraine. Cherkasy is the homeland of our kobzar Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko. Here, in this city, we prayed together for the repose of the souls of our fallen soldiers with a joint prayer. And here with me are the relatives of our fallen soldiers—their wives. Our Church especially surrounds with care, love, and attention those who are mourning and grieving the loss of their loved ones.
In the context of this joint prayer, this shared experience of the pain of war, I would like to express my special gratitude to our rescuers, our medics, our energy workers, who restore power and heat supplies after every massive rocket and drone strike.
Particularly cynical was the killing of one of the medics in Kyiv, when the Russians deliberately struck the same residential area at regular intervals, where our medics had already arrived to save lives. And there, one of them, who was a refugee, an internally displaced person, gave his life at his workplace, saving the lives of others. We thank our people, our professionals, who are fighting for life in Ukraine today, each in their own place.
I am especially grateful today to Pope Leo XIV, who this week, during a Christmas meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, called for an immediate end to the war and armed conflict in Ukraine.
We want the leaders of religious and civil institutions of the international community to hear the voice of Ukraine and the Ukrainian churches, to say a decisive “no” to Russian terrorism and to stop this war.
But as you can see from the faces of these beautiful women, Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!
This Sunday after Epiphany, we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God. We once again draw strength from the Word of God, which speaks to us and brings God’s light from heaven through the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Gospel. Once again, we listen to the words of the Apostle Paul, who said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Today, the power of the Word becomes a force that gives Ukraine stability.
During my visit to Cherkasy, I had the opportunity to meet with the rector, teachers, and students of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy. I visited the local authorities, and everywhere I went, I asked, “How can we serve you?” I heard one remarkable answer that touched me deeply.
We know that Cherkasy and the Cherkasy region are the cultural heart of Ukraine. We had a meeting with representatives of the Cherkasy library chain. We heard that public libraries are working in Cherkasy and that people are reading. People want books, Ukrainian-language books.
And then we learned that in the context of decommunization, when the library collection got rid of ideological, communist, and Russian-language literature, there was a shortage of books for the people. And today, from here, from our parish, I want to announce a campaign called “Cherkasy needs Ukrainian books. Donate a Ukrainian book to Cherkasy.”
I am calling on our libraries in various cities across Ukraine, our public reading rooms of the Ukrainian diaspora abroad, and private collectors: donate your books to Cherkasy. Because today, this book can become a source of resilience for our people, where they can gain new ideas, meanings, and insights into our national Ukrainian culture, into our immortal word, whose bearer was our great Taras, who rests here nearby in Kaniv.
But here, in our parish, this Sunday we opened and consecrated a parish space called “Under the Protection of Love.” Our church is being built here, but it is not yet complete. However, we have constructed the basement of this church as a bomb shelter and, subsequently, a space for social service. And this Sunday, we solemnly consecrated it.
We pray here today: God, bless Ukraine, bless its people, bless those women, men, and children who today pray for peace for our long-suffering homeland! Bless our homeland with the power of Your Word, Lord, and grant it Your righteous, lasting 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.
Christ is born!
