His Beautitude Lubomyr: “Have the politicians, who commemorated this date, become better Christians?”

“I did not participate in the celebration on the state level.  But I do pose the question:  have the politicians and citizens who celebrated this date, become better Christians after that?  Is there less corruption?  If yes, then we honorably commemorated this event.  If no, then it was a big show without content,” believes the spiritual leader of Ukrainians. His Beatitude Lubomyr believes that the sense of such a celebration lies in “a renewal of Christianity” because this is a celebration “not of an event but of the state of the soul.”

“On a state level the commemoration is necessary inasmuch as the state is Christian. Because what happened then?  Kyivan Rus was a big state.  It did not need to become one; it only needed to be baptized.  The same is true today.  The commemoration has no sense if it does not have a religious content.  To what degree are we today, after more than a thousand years, real Christians?  In the churches the Baptismal Vows were renewed.  I think that this is very important. Sooner or later we have to contemplate what happened. Through the lips of our godparents we renounced sin.  To what degree does our life today reflect this? This is important, and the parade – it’s just external,” emphasizes the Archbishop-Emeritus in the DTinterview.

His Beatitude Lubomyr also argues that if Ukrainians want to build a Church and a truly independent Ukraine, they have to nurture in themselves values since we have had so much evil, especially in the past.

“For example, that which was forced on our people during the seventy years of a Communist regime. There were also good things.  But, overall, what happened?  We fear one another, we do not trust one another, we are primarily concerned with our own comfort and do not think about how to act honestly. However, if we work on ourselves, strive to receive good thoughts and habits, then we will have a great future. And every coming Day of Independence will be more and more beautiful – because  in front of us there will be the justified hope that we will live in an honest, authentic, sincere society.  Why could the 1025^th celebrations have been very useful?  Because they could have reminded people what it means to live in a Christian manner,” believes His Beatitude Lubomyr.

UGCC Department of Information