“The Patriarchal Cathedral is a visible sign of an invisible reality that we will leave for our descendents as an affirmation of our faith in God” – UGCC Head

As part of the celebration of the Year of Faith and on the occasion of the 1025^th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, a series of important actions were ratified. The main one is the All-Church Pilgrimage to the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv and its blessing, to take place on 17-18 August.

In describing the course of the Pilgrimage, UGCC Head, His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) in an interview with the Greek-Catholic newspaper Nash Sobor [Our Church] voiced an expectation that this Pilgrimage will be one of the significant elements of building the Cathedral.

“This will be an All-Church Pilgrimage and we expect thousands of our faithful from around the world to attend,” stated UGCC Head.  “We want to gather together in our still unfinished Patriarchal Cathedral on the Dnipro River banks in order to celebrate our faith -- the one that we received through Volodymyr’s Baptism.”

According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Baptism of Rus-Ukraine was a moment of renewal for Ukrainian people, an inner spiritual revolution, which then generated into a flowering of society, scholarship and culture.  “The life of Rus-Ukraine then changed for the better in all aspects of existence of a people.  Therefore, I expect that a spiritual revolution and a spiritual rebirth are also possible today.  This depends on each one of us,” he added.

Also the Church Primate believes that the Patriarchal Cathedral is a symbol of the unity of the Church, not only in Ukraine but also in the world; therefore its construction requires not only bricks and cement, but also, above all, a spiritual reality.  “The symbolism and the inner configuration of the building of the Cathedral dictate a moral imperative of certain principles that guide our acceptance of donations that constitute a religious act of a concrete person,” explained UGCC Primate.  According to him, a donation is an act which a person does towards his Creator, therefore it is important to safeguard its pureness.

“In building the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, we create a certain symbol that, as often emphasized by His Beatitude Lubomyr (Husar), is the symbol of the unity of our people.  The walls and the cupola of the Cathedral only form a visible sign of the invisible reality, which today’s generation will leave for its descendents as its affirmation of their faith in God,” noted the Head of the Church.

We note that the decision to bless the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv on the occasion of the 1025^th anniversary of the Baptism of         Rus-Ukraine was made during the meeting of the UGCC Permanent Synod of Bishops, held on February 13-17 in Kniazhych near Kyiv.

UGCC Department of Information