News

23.04.2008, [16:54] // UGCC //RISU.ORG.UA

Kyiv— Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), has asked the state authorities not to “provoke the people” before Easter. So he wrote in address posted on 22 April 2008 by ugcc.org.ua.

Address of the Major Archbishop to the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, all people of good will, and representatives of the state authorities of Ukraine

Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Heb. 13: 17

Dearly Beloved in Christ!

The most holy days of the whole year are approaching: from Holy Thursday to the Sunday of the Resurrection - days in which we experience again the revelation of the final, incomprehensible divine love from this which seems like the greatest failure – the disgraceful death on the cross of the incarnate Son of God – to His stately triumph above all misfortune – His resurrection from the dead. All that we will witness during these four days is so majestic that, overwhelmed to the depth of our nature, we can only contemplate, reflect and consider. It is no wonder that a liturgical song in these days starts with the words: “Let all be quiet …”. Never again during the year do we feel ourselves in the embrace of the Heavenly Father the same as in these days, because all that happens with His only-begotten Son is the irrefutable proof of the divine love for us. Our answer to all that can only be prayer. And we need such prayer, in order not to be lost in the dregs of all that misfortune which surrounds us, in order not to fall into disillusionment.

During the very week which preceded this majestic triumph – the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ – days of unbelievable agitation have come into our life, when various political forces to which the people have delegated the right to lead the country to a better future began such oppositions that their fatal consequences are even impossible to foresee. And everybody does all of this allegedly in the name of the general good. Is it necessary to crucify Ukraine again, in order to save it? Is it not sufficient that this was already done for us, and what did our Savior Jesus Christ teach us? He took on Himself our sins, and taught us to love and respect each other and with common forces together with Him to build a better world.

Dear in Christ, in the coming days we will experience the passion and resurrection of Christ - majestic events of the history of our salvation. This does not only call to mind what took place two thousand years ago. What took place becomes for us in our days and celebration fully present again. Therefore let our prayers, words and affairs be saturated with the awareness of it. Honored bearers of authority, do not provoke the people (see Col. 3: 20-21). Dear faithful in Christ the Lord, brothers and sisters, let us pray mightily to the Lord that His cross and resurrection do not pass us by, but become the foundation of sincere hope for the realization of divine mercy on our people.

May the Lord's blessing be on you!
+ LUBOMYR

Issued on April 22, 2008, the year of Our Lord,
in the city of Kyiv at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ

Source: • http://www.ugcc.org.ua