Head of the UGCC: The Eucharist gives us the life force that we need, to be victorious over death.

  The hierarch noted that for Christians, Sunday is a day centred on the Holy Eucharist – the Communion of the Body and Blood of our Savior.

In war conditions, the Archbishop stated, Sunday is lived in a particular way.  “In the midst of war, in the middle of this sea of death, the Eucharist is something extremely important for us Christians.  Today we tell ourselves and the world:  without the Communion of the Body and Blood of our Savior, we cannot live, we cannot survive in these war conditions.  It is precisely the Sacrament of the Eucharist that gives us this life force to conquer death.  The Eucharist is the antidote to death,” he said.

The Head of the Church noted that again today, in many cities and villages of Ukraine, Russian rockets and bombs are falling from the sky onto the heads of peaceful inhabitants, Christian believers who long for God. 

We sadly confirm that this criminal war is destroying the spiritual places of worship of Ukraine.  In the last 25 days, close to 44 churches and other religious buildings have been destroyed.  It is strange that these churches for the most part, belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate,” noted the spiritual leader.

He stated that regardless of the complex conditions, our military chaplains are celebrating the Divine Liturgy for our armed forces today; they are nourishing them with the Body and Blood of Our Savior, and His victory for those, who are defending Ukraine’s victory.  Our priests are carrying the Body and Blood of Our Savior to those places, where the cries and groans of the wounded are heard in our military infirmaries and hospitals; they descend into bomb shelters and underground dugouts to distribute the Holy Eucharist. 

The Head of the Church expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father, who personally visited Ukrainian children who had arrived for treatment at the “Bambino Jesu” Hospital in the Apostolic Capital of Rome.  He also thanked all the European bishops who are welcoming our refugees and who speak out the truth about Russia’s war against Ukraine.   

The UGCC Department of Information