From the Head of the UGCC on the 109th day of the war: The fire that rested on the apostles today calls us to overcome evil by power of the Holy Spirit

His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the UGCC said this in his daily address to the Ukrainian people.

“Today we thank God and the Armed Forces of Ukraine again,” he added, “for being able to see this morning and rejoice in this day.”

Every day is a great effort and victory of Ukrainian defenders and the Ukrainian people, an effort for freedom, future and the right to be yourself on your land. Hot spots today are Luhansk and Kherson regions. We offer our prayers to the Holy Spirit for those who are there now – the soldiers and civilians who could not be evacuated.

“The most intense battles,” said the Head of the UGCC, “continue in the Luhansk region. Ukrainian Severodonetsk has been heroically defending itself for days. The enemy is relentlessly attacking those parts of Luhansk region that are being defended by the Ukrainian army today, yet there is nothing he can do with large forces. This beast breaks its teeth onto the Ukrainian courage, bravery of the sons and daughters of Ukraine who defend the Motherland… In the south of our Motherland, in the Kherson region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are liberating the occupied towns and villages, moving forward in order to free our brothers and sisters from the Russian yoke. Our people meet their liberators with tears in their eyes”.

“Especially painful for us today is to see what the local population in Severodonetsk is going through. To move forward, the Russians are destroying entire streets. Neighboring towns are horrified to see these atrocities, and many people decide to leave their homes at the last minute. This evacuation is essential and necessary for the rescue of the local population, but at the same time it is extremely difficult in these circumstances,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav stressed.

Today in Ukraine there are no completely safe territories, since missile attacks reach even relatively remote cities in western Ukraine: “The so-called missile terrorism continues. Yesterday a rocket strike was fired on the west of Ukraine, the city of Chortkiv, which is the seat of the bishop of our Buchach Eparchy. Therefore, on this day we bring our prayers for Bishop Dmytro Hryhorak and the community of the Buchach Eparchy.”

On the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Church prays for His presence among us, for strengthening in faith and courage of every Ukrainian man and woman, for His power that will help us all to overcome evil.

“Today Ukraine is celebrating the Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. This is a celebration of the presence among us of the Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. Today we end the Missionary Decade, these ten days of listening to the Word of God, praying for the spread of the Kingdom of God on earth… On this feast day, when we listen to God’s Word about the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, Christ Himself says that to be a Christian means to be a bearer of the Holy Spirit. We pray that on this day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit will renew us by the grace of the Holy Spirit. For today we who have been baptized and anointed, feel the renewal of that gift of baptism within us, which, according to John the Baptist, is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. The fire that rested on the apostles today burns in our hearts and calls us to overcome evil by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

The UGCC Department for Information