"Lent – is the time of recovery and healing of the believer, and through him - the whole society" - the Head of the UGCC

Thursday, 26 February 2015, 16:40

This year the preparation for the Lent is marked with the disasters of war and economic hardship. However, fasting – it is a time of rebirth, renewal and healing of the believer, and through him – the whole society – with the power and action of the Holy Spirit.

See also:

Appeal of His Beatitude Sviatoslav to the Sons and Daughters of the Ukrainian People in Ukraine and Abroad, and to all People of Good Will
His Beatitude Sviatoslav congratulated Sisters of the Incarnate Word Order with on holding Cathedral Chapter
A patriarchate for the UGCC is not only a title. Above all, it’s a way of existing, — His Beatitude Sviatoslav

So, let our endurance in the struggle for freedom and a better future of our people update through voluntary self-denial for renewal of private and public life, personal sacrifice for the victory of love over hatred.

It was written in a Pastoral letter on Lent by the Father and the Head of the UGCC His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

He also notes that Lent – is a spiritual awakening and purification. According to Him, the Lord Himself during this period leads us to attention and reflection on the personal life, our relationship to God and our near. He invites us to check how well we experience the historical circumstances in which we have to pass this year path of Lent.

"There is no true fasting without prayer and alms, as you can not love God without noticing the pain of your near. To repentance is calling us our conscience - the voice of God in our soul... Right experienced time of the Lent reinforces this voice, allows us to better hear it, not to muffle it..."- He explained.

In his view, the state must also pass an examination of social conscience, especially in the judiciary, "Evidence of the moral health of the state is a fair court of justice, which has in its basis a life-giving law of God. This Court is a meeting point between God's truth and personal and social life of the citizen. It ceases to be just if it is not looking for the truth, and the judge - when acting against God's truth and His law". The Head of the Church said that unfair trial can be an instrument of violence and reprisals against human, means of repression and neglect the indignity of the whole nation.

"Let the renewed strength of the Christian faith, hope and love give us certainty in the inevitability of the victory of God's justice over injustice - the victory over every enemy, internal and external, that rebels against God and the dignity of man, created in His image and likeness", - says His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

UGCC Department of Information