The program of the first day of the Summit of the Alliance of Christian Professionals, held in Kyiv on April 20-21, was rich in speeches delivered by well-known public figures. His Beatitude Lubomyr (Husar), Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (2001-2011), was among them.
According to the press service of the Alliance, the First Hierarch focused on issues of European identity and individual choice.
“I don’t like the fact that the mass media often write Europe “and” Ukraine,” he began. We were Europe from the very beginning, as evidenced by history. For example, Prince Yaroslav the Wise was called the “Father-in-Law of Europe.” Having (if I am not mistaken) twelve children, he married them to the sons and daughters of kings and princes of the entire European continent. Yaroslav’s children still felt at home because they were Europeans. This historical fact has a deep meaning for us. Yet, do we have that European spirit nowadays? It would be disingenuous of me to say “yes”. However, it is not our fault. Ukrainians were forcibly separated from Europe. In the same way, there were attempts at separating them from God by force. It happened almost in parallel. It had been happening all but simultaneously. Therefore, experiencing certain difficulties today, we must fight for the aforementioned European values to become a part of our daily life.”
Next, His Beatitude Lubomyr spoke about practical steps towards changing the situation in Ukraine. He began by mentioning the virtues of faith, hope and love, adding courage to this list:
“In our circumstances, people are convinced (and not without reason) that officials earn more than they are due. In other words, officials take bribes and accept gifts. Let us imagine that some of them suddenly refuse to do this. Who would protest the most? The rest of the officials, those who demand gifts. Thus, it takes courage to start with oneself to change society. In general, for our society to begin to change, we need an army of true Christians rather than changing the existing legislative framework. And for us Christians to be brave, we need to read the Bible, which grants us God’s power rather than knowledge.”
After his speech, the ex-head of the UGCC answered the questions. In our opinion, the most interesting of them was consonant with the theme of the Summit and related to the practical service of Christians to Ukrainian society through professions. His Beatitude also spoke about the issue of Christians and politics, as the latter is considered a rather dirty business in Ukraine.
“When I lived in Lviv,” His Beatitude Lubomyr reminisced, “I used an old car, and it had to be repaired often. I remember that someone recommended a certain mechanic to me. When talking about him, they said: “And he is a Christian, too.” He repaired my car really well, and when I thanked him, he replied: “I do everything as if I were serving the Lord.” This is Christianity put into practice. As for politics... Politics is not a dirty business. Politics is one of the best ways to serve one’s neighbor. It is irresponsible and selfish people that make it dirty. Therefore, we should not distance ourselves from politics, but behave like Christians.”