The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has a special mission before Christians of Ukraine – to demonstrate that unity with a successor of Peter the apostle is not just a political or diplomatic manoeuvre of its appropriateness, but a part of the faith of the Church. The Father and Head of the UGCC His Beatitude Sviatoslav said in his homily at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.
The Head of the UGCC paid attention to special and vitally important question which God addresses to Peter, hence to every person: “Who do people say the Son of Man is”, Math 16, 13. Similarly today Christ asks the same question: “What would you say, who am I to you?” “How important it is for us today to stay firm in Peter’s strong belief to build up our own belief, understanding what God means to us. As answering the question Christ asks Peter, depends all our life on. Who we are as Christians and what mission God delegates us to, - depends on this answer.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav pointed out that today we are sending up our prayers to Holy See, as sermons delivered by Sts. Peter and Paul had a universal impact.
“Both apostles died in Rome. Thus today’s feast is special for the Roman Church, as well as for universal Christianity. The fact that we are commemorating them today proves that despite being different, with different experience got from their Teacher, they were proclaiming the same Gospel of Christ”, said the Father and Head of the UGCC.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church being a successor of Kyiv’s Christianity bears in its memory impartial Christianity and a millennium while Kyiv was staying in a complete unity with Constantinople and Rome. Thus, today the UGCC has to show that a unity with a successor of Peter is not just a political or diplomatic manoeuvre of its appropriateness, but a part of the faith of the Church of I millennium.
The Major Archbishop mentioned that we are living among people who have not encountered God yet, and we ought to feel this duty to share our faith with them and bring at least one of them to the Church, and help at least one who is standing next to us get baptized.