Message of His Beatitude Sviatoslav. March 15, 2022. 20th day of the war

But Ukraine stands. Ukraine conquers. Ukraine fights. Ukraine believes. She believes in God, believes in His truth. She believes in the fact that God is with us. God is on the side of those who are victims of unjust aggression. We believe that the Lord Himself suffers in the body of our people. We believe that He, as the Head of His Body, of His Church, bears the wounds of Ukraine today upon Himself.

Once more this night our cities burned. Once more our city of Kyiv was wounded. People died. Russian bombs once more fell during the night on the heads of peaceful inhabitants who were trying to rest in peace.

We see in these days how the Church serves her people. The Church is with her people. Our priests on the occupied territories, in besieged cities, together with our people, are experiencing their pain, their difficulties, their suffering, they shed tears together with them, and with them they pray.

Our parishes have been transformed into centres of social service where in fact many people are able to obtain shelter as well as the means for existence.

How bitter it is for me to see older people coming to our parishes for a piece of bread. Grandfathers and grandmothers who find it difficult to walk. I think to myself about how many of them have been abandoned, left on their own, lonely in cold apartments, the most affected by Russian bombs.

Folk wisdom tells us, “A person who grows old is renewed in spirit.” How important it is today to look at the tears of the elderly. At those who today are perhaps the most affected among us. Particularly today I would like to encourage all of you to think about, to serve, and to pray for those abandoned elderly of Ukraine. For whoever knows how to honour old age is able to be wise. Whoever knows how to honour the elderly will have the strength to survive in this war for the truth.

We pray today for all those who are trying to help Ukraine, for those who are in solidarity with us, who feel our pain as if it were theirs, their own. We pray today for the search for a solution to this war. We are searching for opportunities not only to defend ourselves militarily, but also to do everything possible so that this war might end more quickly.

Today once more I would like to address the mighty of this world: Do not be outside observers of the pain and sorrow of Ukraine! Don’t just watch on television how they are killing us! Do something! Let us do everything to stop this war which is today a wound for all of humanity.

Today we fast and pray.

First of all we pray for our Ukrainian army. I encourage each one of you to pray over the course of the day at least one “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” for our soldiers, the girls and boys who are dying for Ukraine today, shedding their blood. Let us pray for the victims of war. But most importantly, let us pray together for peace, peace in Ukraine, so that the sky over Ukraine might no longer be a sky filled with bombs, but rather filled with God’s peace and blessing.

O great and only God, preserve for us Ukraine!

May the blessing of the Lord be upon you through His grace and love for humankind, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!