In his address on the 21st anniversary of the independence of Ukraine, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) calls on the faithful to assume responsibility for the gift of independence of the Ukrainian nation, to work diligently and pray zealously for Ukraine.
“We must now adopt the high ideals of state-creation which drove the heroes of the struggle for state independence and freedom of the church and people. As we celebrate that day, let us feel that the Lord, our Creator and Liberator, is with us,” reads the address of the head of UGCC published by the Information Department of the UGCC.
The Primate stressed that the church always was with its people: “She was its mother and teacher, adviser and protector. Often, only the voice of her hierarchs, Metropolitan Andrey, Patriarch Josyf was raised to defend hundreds of thousands of people who were killed, deported, imprisoned and tortured.”
“The church taught to love Ukraine truly in the vortex of hatred and to avoid any evil. The church remains with its people today,” noted the patriarch.
He called on all the faithful of the church and all people of good will to love their Motherland and develop the Ukrainian world both in their own state and outside it.
“We build our national and cultural space when we counteract any attempts of assimilation, when we help our fellow-countrymen in any need, when we foster our national consciousness, culture and language, when we respect our cultural and religious traditions,” reads the address of Patriarch Sviatoslav.