From the Head of the UGCC on the 97th day of the war: Russia is using scorched earth tactics in war, but we have hope

Wednesday, 01 June 2022, 12:00

As Christians, we hope only in God, who is already present in us, but has not yet fully revealed Himself. Through faith we allow God to live in us, but we hope for the moment when we will live in God. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said in his daily address on the 97th day of Russia's war against Ukraine.

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The Primate noted that the whole east of Ukraine is burning again ... The enemy uses all kinds of weapons.

“Luhansk region is literally on fire, also due to large-scale fires caused by the occupiers. 17,000 hectares of forest have already been destroyed. This fire clearly shows us that this war is a war of scorched earth, which is being waged by the occupier against Ukraine. The occupier exports grain en masse, plunders the cities and villages of Ukraine in various ways,” the spiritual leader says.

On this day, the Head of the Church reflected on the first fruit of the Christian faith, a virtue called hope.

In such dramatic time, when it seems that the whole world in which we have lived so far and which we known is falling apart, that there is nothing certain, we ask the question: what can we rely on? What can we hope for?

“Christian hope becomes a source of salvation for a man in the stormy sea of earthly life. Hope as a virtue must be distinguished from a mere sense of hope. We sometimes say, “I hope all goes well”, although we do not know, we are sure if it will be the case”, His Beatitude Sviatoslav assumes.

The virtue of Christian hope, the spiritual leader instructs, as a gift of God and a fruit of faith is certain. The virtue of hope is born when we already possess what we hope for. This virtue can be explained by the following example. When we immerse a vessel in water and take it out, we see this vessel filled. The same happens to us, when we immerse ourselves in God's life through faith in the Sacrament of Baptism, then God fills us. And this is the presence of God in the inner space of a man, and the presence, the fullness of which we still expect is the content of Christian hope.

“I am often asked if we in Ukraine have any hope during the war. I answer confidently: “Yes, because we are Christians”. We already feel present in us and among us the God in Whom we put our trust”, said the Head of the Church.

The UGCC Department for Information