Video-message of His Beatitude Sviatoslav. June 7. 104 th day of the war

Today Ukraine is Tuesday, June 7, 2022. And Ukraine is already living the 104th day of this horrific war that russia is waging against the Ukrainian people.

We thank the Lord and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for being able to see the morning light, to see this bright, sunny Kyiv morning.

The war continues… Heavy fighting is taking place along the entire front line from North to South Ukraine. And today, we especially direct our prayers to the long-suffering Ukrainian Luhansk region, where heavy fighting is taking place. Due to the growing confrontation and russian military aggression, the evacuation of the local population was almost stopped. It isn't easy to supply food, medicine, and everything necessary for the survival of people in this area.

I call on the whole world to pray for the Ukrainian Luhansk region. Violent shelling, particularly yesterday, was inflicted on the border villages of the town of our Sumy region. Again, Kharkiv was shelled. Heavy fighting is being fought in Mykolayiv and Kherson regions.

But Ukraine stands. Ukraine is fighting. Ukraine is praying.

Moreover, Ukraine is working. A sowing campaign has taken place. And our Ukrainians are doing everything to feed Ukrainian bread to the sons and daughters of Ukraine and all those in need around the world. However, we already see that due to the russian blockade of Ukrainian ports and the current impossibility of exporting Ukrainian grain, a global food crisis is approaching. It is already beginning to bother different leaders of different states.

We thank His Holiness Pope Francis for such a touching call not to use food grains as a weapon because the most vulnerable people are suffering from it today, not only in Ukraine but all over the world.

Today we are going through the 5th day of the decade of missionary work. Ukraine awaits the coming of the Holy Spirit, and we pray for the fruitfulness of our church. Because we, as a church community, could give birth to new Christians of the third millennium in the Faith. And just today, today's Divine Gospel reveals to us another sign, another kind of the Holy Spirit.

Today we hear that the Holy Spirit is not only the Comforter but the Spirit of Truth, the Teacher Spirit. Christ says that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will unmask much in this world. Expose in particular three such activities of human life: sin, justice, and judgment.

Sin, Christ explains, is not just about a private act. It is about unbelief. He says that "the Holy Spirit will expose sin because they do not believe in me." And he will give us the gift of Faith to overcome the separation of man from God, which entails sin.

Justice, says Christ, "because I go to the Father." It is not just about some human justice, which speaks about giving everyone what belongs to him. It is about the holiness of God. Christ returns to the Father, to his eternal glory. This same justice, holiness by the all-sanctifying life-giving Holy Spirit, will be given to everyone who believes.

And judgment is the coverage of the true meaning of human actions. Every person who commits sin is already condemned by the very fact of committing evil. Sin, justice, and judgment are the three important ones that the Holy Spirit must unmask in the world and, on the other hand, teach us to live, remind us of all truth, teach us to live in faith, live in God's holiness, and witness our faith and our holiness by our works, by evidence of our lives.

Especially today, we want to pray for the Ukrainian government and all those in the world whom the people and society have entrusted to exercise state power. We see that the worst sin of the government is war. When a government starts and provokes wars, it shows its greatest disbelief in God. He opposes the very plan of God for man; that plan is always peace. Any government that does not care about the justice of life between people, between its citizens, and between its people makes human life impossible. And every government that sins commit crimes, even when those crimes are not seen at first, they are an internal corruption they bring to their state. We are talking about the sin of "corruption" that erodes from within any institutions, even international ones.

Today we ask: "Holy Spirit, come, cure sin, open the way to justice, teach us to be just in what we do. Give us fair trials, both in our nations and the whole world community. "

God bless Ukraine. God bless the Ukrainian army. God, protect us, Your children, from this sinful, unjust, and judgmental enemy, whose actions are worthy of Your condemnation. Soul of Truth, teach us all to live in Your Truth, in God's Truth.

The blessing of the Lord be upon you, with His grace and love of man, always, now, and forever and ever. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

 + Sviatoslav