Video Message of the Head of the UGCC on the 211th Week of the Full-Scale War, March 1, 2026
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This Sunday marks the 211th week of the full-scale war launched by Russia against Ukraine four years ago.
This week was dedicated to commemorating February 24, 2022 — a tragic date for our nation. Across Europe and around the world, capitals held powerful and meaningful events in support of Ukraine, expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people, victims of this unjust aggression. There were no voices raised in defense of the aggressor. People of different ages, social backgrounds, and political convictions — including opinion leaders and public officials from many countries — showed their solidarity with us by standing alongside us and sharing in our pain.
Today we wish to express our gratitude to the entire international community, which today, in one way or another, condemns the aggressor and stands in solidarity with Ukraine. We are grateful to all those who, remembering the tragic events of four years ago, truly believe that concrete steps must be taken today to stop the war in Ukraine.
We thank all those who, marking this mournful anniversary, are planning and organizing various humanitarian actions to help Ukraine, raising funds and resources, and considering personal involvement in order to save lives on our long-suffering Ukrainian land. Therefore, to all of them, to all people of good will, to known and unknown friends of Ukraine, we express our sincere gratitude today.
The memory of how this tragedy began compels us to take clear and concrete action to bring this sacrilegious war to an end as soon as possible.
But these days, we also remembered the Heroes of Ukraine—our soldiers, young women and men who gave their lives for their homeland. They have become a symbol of resilience and courage that speaks not only to Ukrainians but to the whole world. We prayed for their eternal rest, but we also prayed and sought the best way to support our living heroes today, who defend Ukraine—our cities and villages—every day and every night.
We prayed for our volunteers, for all those who today, in visible and invisible ways, defend the dignity and independence of their homeland. Once again, we were able to say to the whole world: Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!
Several significant and symbolic events took place this week in the Vatican and in Rome, the Eternal City.
On February 24, we gathered in prayer for Ukraine at the Ukrainian Cathedral of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Rome together with our Ukrainian community in Italy, representatives of the diplomatic corps to the Holy See, and many other friends.
In addition, several symbolic events occurred. The Vatican Postal and Philatelic Service issued a special stamp and commemorative envelope honoring key anniversaries in the life of our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — recalling both its martyrdom and its growth. This stamp, which we solemnly unveiled and marked with a special cancellation in the Vatican Museums, depicts our Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv at the moment of one of the blackouts, when the Patriarchal Cathedral is illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. But like the Cathedral of the Resurrection, it carries within itself the light of the ever-shining sun, which is our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, present even in the midst of material darkness, among his people in Kyiv.
This gave us another opportunity to speak to the whole world about the history of the Kyiv Metropolia, because this stamp commemorated the 30th anniversary of the restoration of the Kyiv Metropolia, which we celebrated last year. This is a metropolia that was born in the baptismal waters of Volodymyr’s baptism in 988, from which seven other metropolias later developed, three of which are in Ukraine and four are abroad – in Poland, Canada, the USA, and Brazil. We recalled the sad anniversary of the liquidation of our Metropolia of Kyiv in Tsarist Russia in 1839, and the rebirth of the independent Ukrainian state.
We also remembered the 20th anniversary of the return of the seat of the Head of the Church to Kyiv so that our Church could once again shine throughout Ukraine and the whole world.
Through this gesture, Pope Leo, and then the Holy See, wanted to embrace our martyred Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. A wide variety of people took part in this event at the Vatican Museums: representatives of the Roman Curia, journalists, diplomats, bishops, priests, monks, and nuns. Thus, everyone once again manifested their solidarity and support for our martyred Church, which today unites Ukrainians around the world, both in their native lands and in different corners of the globe.
We are once again embarking on the journey of Great Lent. We are beginning the second week of this Lenten journey in Ukraine.
I would like to remind everyone that during this Lenten season, we are all called to accomplish three spiritual practices, three forms of ascetic effort. These types of feats are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. At this time, I urge all of you to spend more time in prayer, that is, in conversation with God. St. John Chrysostom says that prayer is, in fact, the pursuit of God. It is not just our words, gestures, or even individual moments of the day.
Let us renew our desire for God—to be with Him, to seek Him above all else in our lives. Then other forms of our communication with Him in prayer will be genuine, fruitful, authentic, and useful for each of us.
Fasting is, indeed, a purification of our senses. When we give up our usual, even useful, activities, pleasures, or delights, we become more responsive to the invisible spiritual world. Therefore, I encourage all of you to work on yourselves during fasting as well.
Another very important element is almsgiving. None of us is so poor that we cannot give alms and show mercy to others. Let us give what we have, who we are, to our neighbors and those in need, especially in times of war. We see that almsgiving saves lives.
I wish you all a fruitful, blessed, holy time of repentance, conversion to God, confession, and deep spiritual life this week.
May the Lord God bless us all and grant our long-suffering Ukraine His 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!
