“Your Pain is the Pain of the Entire Body of Christ’s Church”: Head of the UGCC with Catholic Bishops of Ukraine at the Site of the Tragedy in Ternopil
On November 26, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, together with the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, and bishops of the Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches, held a memorial service for the victims of the Russian shelling of Ternopil, which took place on the night of November 19.
“We are here, at this scene of tragedy, to embrace our wounded Ternopil,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav addressed those present after the prayer, “to embrace all of you, dear relatives and loved ones of those whom the deadly hand has claimed from us: more than three dozen dead, including six children, and nearly a hundred seriously wounded. We want to be with you today so that you know that your Church loves you, that your pain is the pain of the whole body of Christ’s Church, both in Ukraine and in the world. May this shared pain ease your suffering, even if only a little. May the Lord God, through His love, allow us to rebuild and restore everything, and may He, as a loving God and Father, welcome those who are no longer with us into His eternal embrace, and grant eternal memory to all those who have perished.”
After the prayer, His Beatitude Sviatoslav and the Apostolic Nuncio spoke with the residents of the building on 15 Kvitnya Street, offering them support and condolences from the entire Church.
“The whole world must see what happened here,” emphasized the Head of the UGCC. “Because this is no longer a war. This is deliberate mass murder of civilians: children, women, and the elderly. This is a crime against humanity. And we know that retribution for it is inevitable.”
Apostolic Nuncio Visvaldas Kulbokas reminded everyone that the Church is not only a community of the living. “The prayers of those who have died and your prayers before the Lord God are the pleas of the poor who have nothing left: neither family nor home. And today, together with you, we ask the Lord to protect us, deliver us from the enemy, and bring us into the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Search and rescue operations in Ternopil lasted four days. As a result of the Russian attack, 33 people were killed, including six children. Ninety-four people were injured, including 18 children. Forty-six people were rescued, including seven children. Six people, including one child, are still missing.
The UGCC Department for InformationPhotos and videos provided by the Ternopil-Zboriv Archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
