“Ukraine made its choice in favor of the European family back in the times of St. Prince Volodymyr,” the Head of the UGCC

His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Head of the UGCC, said about this in his interview for the American edition “Ukrainian People”, answering the question whether the eurointegration must become the main and unchanging foreign-policy priority of Ukraine.

The Head of the UGCC noted that de facto the events at the Maidan, the Revolution of Dignity, became a clear testimony of the European values. “Today it very often appears that Europe has forgotten its roots. It is difficult to imagine that any European citizen would be able to give away his life for the ‘European values,’ and Ukraine is sacrificing its best sons and daughters every day,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

He recalled that Ukraine made its choice in favor of the European family of nations back in the times of St. Prince Volodymyr when it adopted Christianity. “I would not contrast those two realities: establishing our independence and hence, say, our civilizing movement into the European family of nations. For these are two stages of the same process. We can remain a free independent country and resist the threat of assimilation from the East only when we are a full member of the family of European nations,” emphasized His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

He gave the following example: “The leaders of the Russian state deny existence of the Ukrainian people as such, its culture, uniqueness and hence they deny its right to living in a separate state. If Ukraine and we as a nation are swallowed by this community, this Eurasian space, we risk disappearing as a separate people, a nation, and as a culture.” In his interview His Beatitude Sviatoslav also said that even before the Revolution of Dignity the representatives of all the Churches and religious organizations of Ukraine, including the Moscow patriarchate, signed the letter of exhortation on eurointegrational ambitions of the Ukrainian people.

The UGCC Department of Information