When the foundations of life are being destroyed during war, God is a pillar of support for a person, -- His Beatitude Sviatoslav during the Moleben prayer service

Friday, 18 March 2022, 09:45

Just imagine a war refugee’s world come crashing down, -- she or he has to leave everything, their whole life story to this point, take their child by the hand and go into the unknown. But God’s Word says that there is something which no one can destroy. There is something which remains permanent and unshakeable, even when the basic foundations of human life are being destroyed. That unshakeable stronghold is the throne of God and the Lord Himself on that throne. He can give us everything that a person needs to rely on.

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On Wednesday, March 16, the Head of the UGCC led the wartime Moleben, a communal daily prayer for the Ukrainian army, which is broadcast at 12:00 noon from different parts of Ukraine by "Zhyve.TV". In his homily the Primate was reflecting on how we are to pray during war, and where people can find a reliable footing when the world as they knew it, is being destroyed.

“Every day since this terrible war began in Ukraine, which many already call a full-out war, a war to destroy the Ukrainian people, everyone has been praying. But what does it mean to pray during war, especially when we are praying for the victory of Ukraine over its enemy? We probably need to look for the answer to this question every day, and we won’t fully understand the meaning of this prayer until we celebrate Ukraine’s victory. But it is important to at least start out on this path of awareness and understanding of this prayer,” the hierarch explained.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav stressed that today many people feel that the world in which they used to live has collapsed, but there is a foundation that no one can destroy. And this foundation is the Lord. It is He who gives a person support and protection in such difficult times. According to the Head of the UGCC, when a person prays in difficult circumstances, he or she enables God to be present: “When a person prays during war, God is present in the place and in the prayer of that person. The God who looks at the heart of man, the God who is the ultimate judge of the living and the dead, the God who grants victory, is present.”

The Primate noted that a person can only begin a war, but the Lord, the God of peace, is the One who always puts an end to it. Thus, we pray for peace, "since we know that deliverance, as a gift of life, will come from God alone. It is this peace that will always be victorious over war. War never lasts forever, like a storm at sea. And that peace, of which the Lord is the source, is stronger than war.”

His Beatitude Sviatoslav called on all Ukrainians today to be warriors of peace wherever they are, and stressed that those who defend their own are spiritually stronger than the invader. “The Lord, who is the God of peace, will strengthen Ukraine’s victory, because we know that victory does not come from man, nor do weapons decide everything, but God's power.”

The UGCC Department of Information