The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has submitted a list of modern confessors of the faith from Ukraine to the Commission of New Martyrs and Witnesses of the Faith, established by Pope Francis on the occasion of the 2025 Jubilee, including the faithful of the UGCC, Orthodox and Protestants.
The Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, said this in the program "Open Church" on Zhyve TV, the Information Department of the UGCC reports.
"We tried to look more broadly at our contemporaries, to go beyond the confessional frameworks, to testify to the world that Ukraine has heroes of the Christian faith of today," His Beatitude emphasized.
According to the head of the UGCC, Pope Francis had a very profound idea when he established the Commission to search for the heroes of the faith of the third millennium. We often talk about the witnesses of the faith of the past and do not notice them among our contemporaries. Pope Francis wanted us to pay attention to them.
According to the Head of the UGCC, the Vatican Commission for New Martyrs, established in July 2023, asked each local Church to collect information about the heroes of our time, regardless of denomination.
"We submitted to the Apostolic Capital a list of our contemporaries who gave a heroic testimony of the Christian faith in the third millennium. However, these are not limited to Catholics alone. We have submitted the names of both Orthodox and Protestants, those who, regardless of their denomination, adhered to their religious beliefs in accordance with the basic principles of Christianity," said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
According to him, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church also submitted to the Apostolic See the names of those who fell victim to Russian aggression.
"We have submitted the names of the heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, as well as those of the priests of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine who died at the hands of the Russian occupiers," added the Head of the UGCC.
Next, in accordance with its competence, the Vatican Commission is to select modern confessors of the faith among the candidates from around the world to honor them during the Jubilee Year.
"We hope," said the head of the UGCC, "that in the context of the Jubilee Year, a day will be designated to tell the whole world about the examples of Christian heroism of the confessors of faith."
The Head of the UGCC called on all Ukrainian believers, regardless of denomination, to follow the events of the Jubilee Year.
"We hope that such cooperation between our Church and the commission established by the Pope will produce positive results for Ukrainian society," His Beatitude Sviatoslav concluded.
In July 2023, Pope Francis established the Commission of New Martyrs and Witnesses to the Faith at the Vatican's Dicastery for the Recognition of Saints, which, in view of the 2025 anniversary, which will be held under the slogan "Pilgrims of Hope," is called upon to develop a catalog of "all those who shed blood for their faith in Christ and the witness of His Gospel." His Beatitude Sviatoslav named Fr. Taras Bublyk as a delegate from the UGCC to cooperate with this Vatican commission.