His Beatitude Sviatoslav to the youth: I sincerely wish each of you today to deeply experience the “Wind of Hope" Festival

"Today we have a unique opportunity to see each other, hear each other and be together within the global single youth space of our Church," the Father and Head of the UGCC emphasized.

According to him, the extraordinary circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic, in which the whole world lives today, open up extraordinary opportunities in the Church in an interesting way.

"We didn't realise," he says, "that we know how to get together. So many times we wanted to expand the scope of communication with young people outside one country. As a Church, we wanted to attract the attention and communication of our youth in different parts of the world. In part, we are starting to succeed today."

The Head of the Church thanked the young people for gathering in their parishes. "Thank you very much for coming together today to communicate in God's name, to share your thoughts, your doubts, but above all your joy and faith," he said.

According to him, the latest disease isolates people and creates distance. However, in his opinion, the Christian faith teaches us to look positively at our neighbor. "It teaches us to see our neighbor as the bearer of God's image, as the way in which the Lord God Himself wants to visit me," the bishop added.

“Every day, as we begin a new day, we rediscover the time and space in which we must find the Lord God present among us. It is as if we must learn to be the Church in a new way. We must learn anew how to celebrate the presence of the living and risen Christ, how to testify to the world our faith in the One who gathers us in His name today,” said the Primate of the UGCC.

 “In Scripture, the wind symbolizes a force that brings change. Sometimes the same word can mean the Spirit who renews the face of the earth, who opens new powers and gives new opportunities. Christians can create a community because they are inspired and united by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. Without such a wind, without such a Spirit, there is no hope. Today we really lack this hope,” believes the Primate of the UGCC.

"Let a ray of hope shine on each and every one of you today," the spiritual leader wished in conclusion.

The UGCC Department for Information