“Christian Ukraine may become challenge for secularized Europe,” Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk says
Ukrainians tend to occupy a prominent place in Europe as a Christian nation and the Christian Ukraine “may become a challenge for the awakening of secularized Europe.”
This opinion was expressed by Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav in an interview with Polish newspaper The Network.
“When we talk about European awareness of Ukraine, we mean primarily certain internal processes in our country,” said the patriarch. “After all, the spark that caused the Revolution of Dignity was the decision of President Yanukovych not to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union.”
Today, according to the UGCC head, many foreigners,who are visiting Ukraine, note that our people are willing to give their lives for those true European values for which Europeans do not want to defend today and have even forgotten.
“We believe, states Patriarch Sviatoslav, that the Christian Ukraine ‘may be a challenge to awaken secularized Europe.”
“Ukraine rejects false values such as gender ideology, though it could be an obstacle to joining the European Union. But the EU is not Europe yet. The EU can exist without Ukraine, but Europe cannot exist without Ukraine, as it will be incomplete,” said the patriarch.
Patriarch Sviatoslav stressed that the UGCC has always been the church its people and the UGCC has always been with her people.
“At the time when our Homeland experiences aggression from theneighboring state’s military forces,” he said, “when the war is wagedand Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are killed every day, of course, we stand beside our people. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has always been the teacher, the guardian, the guide and the voice of truthfor our people. So when we sufferunfair aggression, we must frankly, sincerely and loudly state it, appealing in particular to the international public opinion.”
