“I dream of returning to Donetsk” - UGCC bishop

This was reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.

“This is not a farewell,” said Bishop Stepan, “I will try to stay here in the East because I have fallen in love with it.”

The bishop admitted that over the years of his ministry, he has grown very fond of Ukrainians in the East: “They are reliable people. I was convinced of this when they perceived the Word of God like children and perceived it very deeply.”

The bishop expressed special words of gratitude to the priests of the Donetsk Exarchate. Bishop Stepan emphasized that before the full-scale war, there were 72 parishes of the UGCC in the exarchate. “We hope that the merciful God will liberate these territories. They are waiting for us,” he said.

“We pray for our return to Donetsk,” the bishop said. ”When this happens, I will definitely return to Donetsk.”

As the Information Department of the UGCC previously reported, on November 21, 2024, the enthronement of the new ruling bishop of the Donetsk Exarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Bishop Maksym Ryabukha, took place in the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Zaporizhzhia. The solemn service on the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was led by the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in concelebration with the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, Bishop Stepan Menko, Bishop Maksym Ryabukha and many bishops and priests.