Our Church will always serve the people who are suffering, Head of the UGCC

Friday, 10 April 2020, 22:49

Thank you for letting your Mother Church be with you. You prayed with us remotely through the livestreaming, but Mother Church has been close to you where you are now: in your homes in different corners of the globe. This was stated today by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC, at the conclusion of the Great Lent Online Retreat at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.

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The Head of the UGCC expressed his gratitude to all who united in common prayer and listened to the Word of God. In particular, he thanked the preachers: Fr. Roman Ostrovsky, Deacon Daniel Galadza, Fr. Andriy Nahirnyak and Fr. Vitaliy Khrabatyn.

The Head of the Church emphasized that prayer, fasting, and alms have always been the answer of the believer to needs, difficulties, and problems. "Thank you that we were able to pray, fast and do good works of charity together in those difficult days," he said.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav reminded everyone of the example of the heroic testimony of the pastors of the UGCC, who were always with their people not only in times of joy, but also in times of trouble, sickness, and sorrow.

“We recall how, in 1941, a typhoid epidemic erupted in Lviv at the Citadel. At that time, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, protecting the married clergy, appealed to the monks to serve the sick. Two monks from the Congregation of the Redemptorists responded: Fr. Ivan Nahirny and Fr. Bohdan Repetylo. Along with the patients, they too became ill, contracted typhoid fever and one of them died. Father Ivan was 27 years old at the time, and Fr. Bohdan recovered. Let them be a testimony to us today of how our Church has served, serves and will serve its people, who are powerless, suffering, sick, and even dying,” stressed the Head of the UGCC.

We know that medical chaplains are isolating themselves with observational patients in different countries around the world today, to be with them in the most difficult time and to offer them spiritual service.

May the Lord God hear our prayers. May at all moments of our lives our Church be able to reveal His presence among us,” wished the spiritual leader of the Ukrainians.

In conclusion, His Beatitude Sviatoslav bestowed on all his blessing.

We would like to recall that for four weeks in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, the priests prayed daily for the sick, for medical professionals, for all of humanity. After the prayer, spiritual retreats took place.

The UGCC Department for Information