From the Head of the UGCC on Day 96: Because the Ukrainian people believe in God, we are strong and invincible

“Ukraine is on fire. Heavy fighting is taking place along the entire front line. Heavy fighting continues around Severodonetsk, which is an important administrative and industrial center of the Luhansk region. Our military are bravely defending their land, but the Russians are using aircraft, artillery and every type of deadly weapon ever invented. The situation is critical in other areas of the front, in the Donetsk region, yet we are simply astounded by the courage and resilience of our Ukrainian army. The Russians are bombing other regions of Ukraine, including Mykolayiv and Odesa. The territory in the north of the country, on the border with Russia, is under constant shelling. The enemy is shelling the city of Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, Sumy and Chernihiv regions,” the Primate stated.

“However, day by day, Ukrainians are growing confident that we are defeating our enemy with our resilience. We know that there are different kinds of victories. Endurance and perseverance are also types of victories, particularly in a spiritual struggle,” the Head of the Church pointed out.

On this day, His Beatitude Sviatoslav began a new series of reflections on the virtues, the opposites of human imperfections and sins, which a person must develop to defeat evil. The topic of today's reflection was faith – the main virtue and foundation of Christian life.

“Virtues are traits or qualities of a person, which reflect the image and likeness of God. In fact, virtues make the person a person and a Christian – a real, active, living Christian,” the Head of the UGCC explained.

“What does it mean to believe in God, to be a believer?” the Archbishop asked.  “When we talk about faith as a virtue, it is not about a set of facts or prescribed truths of Christian doctrine. Nor is it a question of belonging to any particular denomination or religious church community. On the contrary, it is about a certain human capacity.”

“Faith,” continued the Primate, “opens our spiritual senses. We begin to live in a new way. As our Saviour says, we start living in the light. We become children of that Light which He is. Christ said of Himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that a person’s faith enables God to act through him or her, to work miracles. Therefore, “faith must be shared,” he said.

The Head of the UGCC observed that in a few days, on the feast of the Ascension, the UGCC will begin the Missionary Decade: “We will reflect on how this gift of faith and eternal life, which we carry through the Sacrament of Baptism, can be passed on to others.”

According to the Primate, the Ukrainian people’s belief in God makes us strong and invincible. Because we are strengthened by God's power, we have the ability to defeat the enemy and stand our ground.

“O God, strengthen our faith! We pray with the words that the apostles once spoke to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. O God, bless your faithful people! O God, bless the children of Ukraine! O God, through faith in You, grant us faith in the capabilities of humankind, which you created in your image and likeness! O God, give us faith in the victory of Ukraine!” pleaded the Ukrainian spiritual leader.   

The UGCC Department of Information