We do not just believe but feel the power of your prayer, which stops the war and is the source of our optimism, and hope that together we will defeat evil and peace will bless our homeland! The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, said this in his daily address on the 203rd day of the war, thanking the Catholics of Europe for praying for Ukraine on September 14.
According to the UGCC Information Department, His Beatitude Sviatoslav drew attention to a special prayer initiative of the bishops of Europe, held on September 14 in different parts of the continent:
"Today, the faithful of Europe kneel before the Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Our Savior and pray for Ukraine. Today is the day of vigil and prayer before the Holy Sacraments for peace in Ukraine. Christians living according to the Gregorian calendar today celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross. It's in the Crucified Savior that Europe and the believing world see today crucified Ukraine. His Holiness Father Francis, whom we accompany to Kazakhstan in prayer, invites Christian believers on this day to see the wounds of the Crucified Savior in the wounds of Ukraine."
The primate invited all the sons and daughters of the UGCC in Ukraine and settlements, especially in Europe, to join this prayer initiative and thanked the hierarchs of Europe for organizing it.
Patriarch Svyatoslav noted that the enemy is persistently destroying the critical infrastructure of our cities, trying to destroy the heating, electricity and water supply systems. This means that before the cold season, Russians try to ensure that Ukrainians suffer as much as possible.
On the Day of God the Creator, His Beatitude Sviatoslav said: "We are often asked: do you have any hope out there in Ukraine? And we say that we have hope, for it is given to us by God, not man. We are a believing people, and in our faith, we receive hope. Therefore, we can move on courageously and patiently endure our difficulties. And this hope moves us to victory over the Russian aggressor, to victory not only in the war but also over the war, to victory, the crown of which will be peace in our homeland.