His Beatitude Sviatoslav, like Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky 25 years ago, renewed the consecration of the Church and the people to the Protection of the Theotokos in Zarvanytsia

Monday, 20 July 2020, 16:57

Today, July 19, 2020, during the All-Ukrainian online pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia, His Beatitude Sviatoslav renewed the act of consecration of the Ukrainian people under the protection of the Most Holy Mother of God.

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On this occasion, the Head of the Church recalled that the first who gave the Ukrainian people under the protection of the Theotokos was Yaroslav the Wise. "It was when he opened before the eyes of the Kyiv community an indestructible wall - Oranta, who stands with outstretched arms in prayer before the face of God. Interestingly, the inscription on it says that ‘God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved.’ This is exactly the faith we hear about in today's Gospel,” assured the Head of the UGCC.

"Twenty-five years ago," His Beatitude Sviatoslav recalled, "our predecessor Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky renewed the act of consecration of Ukraine and the Church under the protection of the Mother of God here, in the retreat center in Zarvanytsia. At that time, more than a million pilgrims came here," he said.

According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, from the perspective of time we understand that freedom and independence are God’s gift for us. They are God's response to our parents' faith. "We also renewed a similar act of consecration on the eve of the Feast of the Theotokos in 2014. As you remember, Ukraine then lay defenseless and weakened in the face of the aggressor who was shedding blood in the Donbas and Crimea," added the spiritual leader of the Ukrainians.

“We see that the Blessed Virgin has covered us with a veil. God appeared to us and gave us strength. We remained united as the Church and the country.”

The Head of the Church emphasized that now, hearing that the world is kneeling before the disease, we are kneeling before the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Virgin Mary. Such an act, in his opinion, will testify to our faith that God is ready to work a miracle here for us - those who believe.

“Our faith is manifested in the fact that God is among us. He is with us, and we will not be shaken, we will not kneel before anyone or anything," His Beatitude Sviatoslav said.

“Today, like friends of the relaxed, we bring in prayer all those who have asked us for it, all those who are fighting with the disease, especially our doctors who are ‘at the forefront.’ We bring all those who pray to God for joy, peace, justice, goodness, and health for their loved ones. Today we pray for peace, because we do not forget that Ukraine is still at war. May the Lord God, who is our peace, as the Apostle Paul says, listen to our prayers through the faith of His mother. And may He tell us today: rise, pick up your bed and go home,” the Head of the Church added at the end.

The UGCC Department for Information