Pope Francis assigned a delegate to participate in the celebration of the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Ukraine-Rus

On Saturday, June 15, 2013, Radio Vatican announced that Pope Frances named  Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis, Archbishop of Vilnius, as his special emissary to the celebration of the 1025^th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus-Ukraine, planned for August 17-18, 2013 in Kyiv.

We remind that these are the official days during which the celebrations are being organized by the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.   Several events will take place in Kyiv on this occasion: a meeting of the Synod of Bishops; an All-Church Pilgrimage with participants from Ukraine and diaspora, as well as the blessing of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.

As we mentioned, UGCC will celebrate the anniversary of the Baptism in August and not in July.  UGCC Head, His Beatitude Sviatoslav described this during a press-conference in Kyiv.  According to him, there was a tradition to celebrate two events together:  the memory of Equal to the Apostles Prince Volodymyr and the  following anniversary of the  Baptism of Ukraine-Rus  is a tradition of  the Russian Church.

“The unification of these two events had as its goal the underlining of the national character of the national religion of the Moscow Orthodoxy. We are the inheritors of Volodymyr’s Baptism and the Kyiv Church.  And in our Church we have preserved the ancient Kyiv tradition in which the Baptism of Ukraine-Rus is year by year celebrated on August 14 -- day of the Makaveysky  Martyrs, day the Assumption Fast begins and the day of the so-called Augustinian water blessing.  We respect the Moscow Church tradition but in our Church we preserve the tradition of the Kyiv Church and that is why our celebrations are tied to this date,” noted His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

UGCC Department of Information