Christians of different denominations assemble to pray for unity in UGCC church in Kyiv
On January 20, 2019, within the framework of the Week of Prayers for the Unity of Christians, an inter-faith prayer service was held at the Church of St. Basil the Great of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The prayer service was jointly conducted by the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, bishops and priests of the Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Armenian and other Churches, who, together with Christians throughout the world, make a common cause in their desire for the unity of Christians.
On January 20, 2019, within the framework of the Week of Prayers for the Unity of Christians, an inter-faith prayer service was held at the Church of St. Basil the Great of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The prayer service was jointly conducted by the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, bishops and priests of the Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Armenian and other Churches, who, together with Christians throughout the world, make a common cause in their desire for the unity of Christians.
The main theme of reflection and the slogan of this Ecumenical Week became the words from the Old Testament, Deuteronomy: “Follow justice and justice alone” (16, 18-20).
The joint prayer was organized by the UGCC Commission on promoting Christian unity.
The preacher was Bishop Ihor Isichenko, Archbishop of the Kharkiv-Poltava Diocese of the UAOC. In the sermon, he reflected on the words: “Follow justice and justice alone.” According to him, the Ukrainian people are in a prolonged pilgrimage to the promised land.
“Justice and righteousness is what His people should bring to the promised land. This is given to us in the Church of Christ and this is what we can bring to our country,” Bishop Ihor Isichenko said. And then he added: “Doing justice is the calling of the Church.”
In his view, sometimes in society there is temptation instead of the truth to use its simulacrum (from the Latin simulacrum - likeness, copy). However, it is in the Gospel that we find the truth that is unchangeable. And there is no better evidence of the Church than the relationships inside this Church.
In his speech to the audience, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Primate of the UGCC, expressed his gratitude for participating in this event, which united Christians of Ukraine and offers a gift of “sincere staying in a common prayer.”
According to him, the unity between Christians is God's work, and the Holy Spirit is the symbol of unity. “Ukraine needs unity among Christians because our inner spiritual power depends on how united we are,” said the spiritual leader of the Greek Catholics. In his opinion, Ukrainians should pay attention to what unites us. This is reported by the Department of Information of the UGCC.
