Newly ordained Bishop Stepan Sus: In my prayers, I will always remember the heroes who start their day on prostheses

Bishop Stepan told the story how he learned that he had been elected bishop: “Two days before I was informed about this, I had participated in a marathon in Washington. It was the 44th Marines Marathon. There were ten servicemen from Ukraine who were running on prostheses. I was running with them. Running alongside Major Yuriy Kozlovsky, who was running on a prosthesis for ten kilometers, I thought how much effort we make in life to overcome challenges. How often it is not easy for our soldiers, who get out of bed in the morning, to put on a prosthetic leg and go to wash, for example...”

"Two days after the marathon," said the bishop, "as we rejoiced with our warriors, they informed me that I had a new marathon in the life of the Church. I understand I will have to leave the community of the Garrison Church, the military chaplains, many people I know in Lviv. On the other hand, I am aware that this is the calling to which the Lord Himself invites me… ”

"Yuriy Kozlovsky said that he prays every day when he puts a prosthesis on his feet. I will also pray, remembering all those heroes who start every morning on prostheses and are happy, thank God for having a life,” said Bishop Stepan.

He also recalled the Church's martyrs, who became priests and bishops when there were no solemn liturgies, when in their faces, in the concentration camps, God met even those who tortured them. "Let them pray that my service be worthy of the bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church," asked the new bishop.

Bishop Stepan expressed his gratitude to all those present: “On this day, I thank God, the Church, Pope Francis, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the consecrators, all the bishops of the Synod of the UGCC, the representatives of Roman-Catholic and Orthodox Churches of Ukraine, to priests, monks, and nuns."

The bishop also thanked all the soldiers, relatives, and friends: “I thank my mother, who never let me out of the house without the blessing with holy water, and my dad, who is always quietly nearby. I thank my dear grandmother Antonina, who is 94, and she is with us today. I thank all the soldiers and friends, parishioners, and residents of Lviv, Chyshky, Vynnyky, Buchach. Thank you all!"

Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, referring to the new bishop, remarked, “The bishop is a very great gift to the Church, because he is the successor of the apostles, a guarantee of the identity of our faith. I extend my best congratulations from the whole Ecumenical Church to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for this display of grace. Blessed Bishop, the gift you have received is so great that all life is not enough to realize it,” said the Apostolic Nuncio.

Also welcoming were the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, in particular: Bishop Vitaliy Skomarovsky, Secretary of the Roman Catholic Conference of Bishops of Ukraine, Bishop Olexander (Drabynko), Metropolitan Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, and Bishop Mytrophan of Kharkiv and Bogodukhiv from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The UGCC Department for Information