Video-message of His Beatitude Sviatoslav. July 6. 133 th day of the war

Today is already Wednesday, July 6, 2022, and the Ukrainian people have been holding back for 133 days a full-scale Russian invasion, which is sweeping our land and bringing with it devastation, death and bloodshed.

We thank the Lord God and the Ukrainian Armed Forces for having survived until this morning, for still being able to see the light of day today and to pray for Ukraine, for our people before the face of God.

The last 24 hours have again been very difficult for Ukraine. Many people have died, the enemy is relentlessly attacking our Motherland, especially in the east and south. The fiercest battles are fought around the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, on the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Yesterday we were simply appalled by the tragedy in the city of Slovyansk, when in broad daylight a rocket attack was launched on the market, where many people had come to buy food. There are many killed and injured. In the same way, missile strikes are carried out methodically on our Kharkiv. Every night, Kharkiv trembles under rocket attacks from the territory of the Russian Federation. Our Mykolaiv in the south is once again becoming the epicenter of powerful Russian bombardments. Last night an air alert was sounded all over Ukraine and the enemy launched a missile attack on our Khmelnytsky region (350km southwest of Kyiv).

But Ukraine holds firm. Ukraine is fighting. Ukraine is fighting for its freedom.

But what is freedom? In fact, what is the meaning of our fight? We think of this question from the point of view of the invisible battle, this spiritual struggle that every Christian wages against evil, against the devil, the enemy of the human race. And we know that when we talk about freedom, we are talking about man's ability to do good. It is not the ability to choose between good and evil, but the ability to multiply the good that the Lord God places in the hands of man. And this is the essence, the content of the Christian ascetic life, it is the struggle against bad thoughts, against passions, it is this work on oneself in order to acquire virtues, certain capacities, those of a person to skillfully do good.

The action of the passions is so destructive that they are often compared to a devastating disease. Saint John of Damascus says: “When someone is motivated by sin and led by evil, he becomes like a city without defensive walls. in the same way, when you become complacent and do not watch over yourself, you allow evil spirits to enter, they overthrow you, steal your mind, hold your thoughts captive and direct them to this world” ( according to the Book of Proverbs, 25,28)

Therefore, the Christian ascetic struggle is a struggle for freedom, for freedom for good, for freedom as an opportunity to be free from evil. We heard yesterday that a person's passion arises as a result of the destructive action of the devil, the action of his evil thoughts inside the human person. And we have said that this destructive action is manifested in the fact that our mind darkens, no longer spontaneously feels the truth and our will is inclined to evil. And in such a state, a person can no longer free himself from passion, and he needs help, needs salvation. And that is why all of us must not lose heart, not give up, because sin, passion can be overcome and you can be free, you can be a free and worthy person, free from sin.

For this we need three things taught to us by the fathers and teachers of the Church: it is to be aware of one's sinful state, to oppose this state, to disagree with it, and therefore to not use one’s bad inclinations, one’s faults. It would seem that so often today we might consider that true freedom is inherent to our passions and lusts. And the worst thing you can say to a person who has fallen into the bondage of sin is, "Well, that's the way you are, the way you were born..."

Today, some say that there seems to be a certain right to be a sinner, to do evil, a right to live according to one's wishes. We see how this type of artificial rights, this type of indulgence in sinful desires, leads to death. Because they tolerate the killer so he can kill more and say that's a policy of understanding of those who have that kind of ambition or need.

It is a policy of connivance with an invader who talks about his geopolitical interests in this or that country of the world, and some naively think that when this invader gets what he wants, then his passion will subside. No, on the contrary, it will grow! Today we see how the Russian aggressor ruthlessly sells Ukraine, and even sells Ukrainian grain on international markets.

Today we call on the whole world to stand guard for true freedom. To stand in defense of true freedom, which is modern man's ability to do good. We must resist any indulgence in human greed, whether it be the greed of a single individual or the sinful greed of entire empires, nations, or politicians.

O God, You are the God of freedom. Bless us all, deliver us from the hands of evil. Give us the strength of Your grace, to realize our state of sin, to resist it, to never agree with it. Be our liberating God. You once freed Your people from Egyptian slavery, today You freed the Ukrainian people from the last slavery that a new aggressor wants to impose on them. O God, You are the source of true freedom, bless all people around the world who have this innate desire to be worthy and set Your children free.

O God, bless Ukraine.

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

+ Sviatoslav