“In the world there are attempts being made to raze the value of the family and to distort the truth about it…” UGCC Head

“Remembering that there is no Christian life, there is no strong Christian family without prayers, I call upon the whole Church to unite in a sincere prayer to the Almighty for God’s blessings and care for Ukrainian families and relatives.  Therefore I urge the pastors that on Sunday, 19 or 26 May, to read my appeal and follow the Divine Liturgy with a reading together with the faithful the prayer of Metropolitan Andrey, as well as jointly praying Our Father and Holy Mary, for the intention of Ukrainian families,” emphasized His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), UGCC Head, in his Appeal to Greek-Catholic Clergy to Pray for Ukrainian Families.”

Given that this is already the third year that UGCC on the initiative of the Commission on Matters of the Family is joining to carry out in Ukraine a Marriage Week – an international effort which is directed at spreading family values in society -- the Church Primate is encouraging clergy, pro-family organizations, and families to continue exerting all efforts towards the support of family values, based on God’s pronouncements and the teachings of Christ’s Church. UGCC Primate is convinced that today, concern about Christian families and the preservation of family values, are especially important. There are attempts in the world geared at razing family values and at distorting its truth. “Certain groups attempt through the use of various technologies to convince society to accept or, at least, to close one’s eyes to the danger which homosexual ties bring by imitating and parodying ‘sacred marriage ties’ that in reality are a direct negation of God’s idea of a family,” he noted. As the Church Head writes in his Appeal, a sin can be neither tolerated nor propagated through the means of various ‘parades’ or the spread of amorality in the media or the introduction of false theories in the educational-upbringing process. Therefore, all responsible for the future of our country, and especially, the future of our children, must remember our serious responsibility regarding this before God and country. “May through the prayers of the Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph – the guardian of the Holy Family, and all the saints of our country, the All-Merciful Almighty send his heavenly blessings on our families and relatives,” concluded His Beatitude Sviatoslav. UGCC Department of Information