His Beatitude Sviatoslav at the funeral of his mother Vira: I want my pain to turn into the preaching of the Christian faith in the risen Christ

Such words were said by Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Sviatoslav at the funeral of his mother Vira on April 13, 2021 in Stryi.

"It is so difficult for us," said His Beatitude Sviatoslav, "to let go of our mother from our human embraces!... But the only consolation today is that we pass her into the arms of God Himself, who can embrace her better than we humans here on earth…"

And it is this belief in the Resurrection, he said, that distinguishes the sorrow and pain of Christians from the sorrow of those who do not have the gift of faith in God. Because they mourn like those who have no hope. And we grieve, weep and even die in the hope of the Resurrection, in the hope that death has already been defeated: Christ overcame death by His death. And we are just parting in the hope of a new meeting.

“May our sorrow today be transformed by the life-giving Spirit of God into a celebration of life. Today we pray that our Heavenly Father will accept our dearest mother into His arms and settle her where there is no pain, nor any sorrow, nor any sighing, but life everlasting,” said the son of his mother with hope.

He said that their family received a lot of letters, messages, condolences from government agencies, politicians, public activists, and simply good people from around the world.

"Today I cannot list everyone by name, but to all of you who came today to these sad funeral events and are now praying with us through our ‘Zhyve Television,’ let me say words of our sincere gratitude," added His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

We remind you that yesterday Mrs. Vira Shevchuk, who passed away on April 12, 2021 at the age of 74 after a serious illness, was buried  in Stryi.

The UGCC Department for Information