“Your Church will always be with you everywhere,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav to Ukrainians in Sweden
On October 12, during his first pastoral visit to Sweden, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC, visited the Ukrainian community in Stockholm. Bishop Bohdan Dzyurakh, Apostolic Exarch in Germany and Scandinavia, also participated in the meeting with the faithful.
After the communal prayer at St. John’s Church, the Primate addressed the parishioners, assuring them of the Church’s unwavering support and spiritual guidance.
“Let me be a bridge today between Ukraine—your family and friends back home—and you here in our community in Sweden,” the Head of the UGCC said to the audience.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that this was the first-ever pastoral visit by the Head of the UGCC to Sweden, and outlined its objectives.
The primary goal of the visit, he explained, was to support Ukrainians in Sweden and to assess the community’s needs to ensure proper pastoral care.
“You know how easy it is to feel lost in a vast foreign world,” the Primate said. “We cannot afford to lose the immense wealth you brought with you—our faith in God.”
“Your Church will stand with you, ensuring that you lose nothing along the way, but only gain,” he reassured the congregation.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also acknowledged the shortage of priests in Sweden and highlighted the Church’s desire to provide spiritual care for Ukrainians across the country.
He expressed gratitude to the community in Sweden for their prayers, donations, and volunteer efforts supporting Ukraine’s victory in the ongoing war.
“I thank you for fighting for Ukraine, even in the places where the Lord has called you,” he said. “Fulfill your duty to your people and your homeland to the utmost while you are here. Every time you speak the truth about Ukraine, you are soldiers on the information front.”
He urged the community to be the brightest representatives of the Ukrainian people in Sweden: “Ukrainian means the finest, and this is the checkpoint you have to secure here.”
In outlining the purpose of the pastoral visit, the Patriarch mentioned one of his goals was to explore how the Church could serve as a diplomatic agent: “The Mother Church of the Ukrainian people has always defended her people, and has always been the voice of our people, advocating for their rights and needs before international institutions.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Father and Head of the UGCC bestowed a bishop’s blessing on each member of the Ukrainian community in Sweden, describing it as “the breath of the Resurrected Christ upon His Church.”
On October 13, 2024, at 2:00 PM, His Beatitude Sviatoslav will preside over a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at St. John’s Church in Stockholm, where the faithful of the UGCC gather.
The UGCC Department for Information
