His Beatitude Sviatoslav solemnly proclaimed the Year of Patriarch Lubomyr Husar in the UGCC
His Beatitude Sviatoslav stressed the importance of not just honoring his memory, but listening to his word and wisdom. Because, according to him, His Beatitude Lubomyr, as the newest Ukrainian Kobzar, sang a whole epic of peace and love to Ukrainians, because he saw the strength and future of Ukraine.
The Head of the UGCC noted that this day is a good opportunity to find the treasure that the Church and the Ukrainian people have, which reveals our true nature and fills our hearts with peace and love.
"Today, we thank the Lord for giving our Church and our people a great Ukrainian, a great father and teacher of our Church, His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar. Today we celebrate the 90th anniversary of his birth," the head of the UGCC said.
Therefore, he solemnly declared 2023 the year of Patriarch Lubomyr Husar for the restoration, restoration and victory of Ukraine.
"I thought to myself: did His Beatitude Lubomyr ever take offense at someone? At those who criticized him, who may not have fully appreciated and understood, he always poured out the fullness of his respect and love. We can say that he, like that blind Kobzar, was endowed by God with the gift of insight, the gift of seeing the heart of Ukraine and his velvety baritone was able to play on the strings of the heart of each of us," the Primate shared his memories.
"He believed in Ukraine's victory over any aggressive neighbors. He believed and so taught us that destruction, hatred, and death never have the last word. He taught us to rebuild and build tirelessly. He was able to rebuild the souls of his spiritual children. I thank God that even as a young seminarian, I could have made him my spiritual father. He left us a strategy for restoring Ukraine as a free and independent European state. I think it is no coincidence that the Lord God gives us his 90th anniversary this year, which for us should be the year of Ukraine's victory in an unfair war, the year of state restoration," His Beatitude Sviatoslav stressed.
The head of the UGCC noted that today the Crypt of the cathedral, where the Tomb of His Beatitude Lubomyr is located, is, for many young people, a place of strength that gives hope.
"Therefore, today, we will draw this strength. Listening to his words about what it means to be a real person, a free person, listening to his dream of a free, united and independent Ukraine, we will gain the strength to win, to build even when someone destroys, because today he tells us: "the one who brings life, not death, he wins." The winner is the one who knows how to survive even when others want to take away our right to life," the Patriarch said.
"Today we ask: His Beatitude Lubomyr, sing us a song of peace and love! Help us find the life-giving source of divine power that the Lord God has placed in the heart of Ukraine. May your word, God's word of peace and love, be the treasure of our hearts. This year, as the newest Moses of our people, lead us to the victory of peace over war, and love over hate," His Beatitude Sviatoslav addressed his great predecessor in words of prayer.
After the liturgy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in concelebration with the bishops and priests and in the presence of young people and the faithful, held a memorial service for His Beatitude Lubomyr in the crypt of the cathedral. Then the memorial evening, which was held by the Lubomir generation community, began.
During the academy, the years of Patriarch Lubomyr's life were recalled, his voice and wisdom were heard, and seminarians of the Kyiv Three Saints Theological Seminary sang his favorite song, "Father, My White Swan."
