UGCC to join the authorities and Orthodox believers in celebration of the 1,030th anniversary of Baptism of Rus-Ukraine

“Although the ancient tradition instructs us to celebrate the Baptism of Rus-Ukraine on August 14, we will join on July 28th the Ukrainian State -- as it is a state holiday -- as well as our Orthodox brothers to celebrate this anniversary,” Primate of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Patriarch Svyatoslav expressed his position in an interview on the occasion of the 1,030th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus-Ukraine.

Patriarch Sviatoslav noted that during the period of these state celebrations the UGCC never organized its actions in Kyiv in order not to be an “antithesis” to the Orthodox brethren. “We have always tried to emphasize that the celebration does not separate us, but unites us. And it is exactly this baptism that we actually celebrate that unites us,” said the Head of the UGCC.

The Primate congratulated all Christians of Ukraine on the occasion of the 1,030th anniversary of the Baptism. “I wish all of us to be guided by our faith in God, when we make important decisions in life so that under any circumstances we always remain Christians, and also preserve this gift, which our people have passed from generation to generation to their descendants (as the greatest national treasure).”

“I wish that our Christianity is not nominal or formal when we celebrate something, and that we remain Christians in our daily lives and be guided by our faith in God when making the relevant State-level or personal decisions,” the Head of the UGCC added. This was reported by the Department of Information of the UGCC.