His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the major archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia, Ukraine and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, celebrated a March 3 Divine Liturgy at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family in Washington, D.C., where he prayed for peace and thanked the people of this country for their assistance to war-ravaged Ukraine.
“We want to share our wounds and suffering with you, and at the same time we want to share our strength with you,” Archbishop Shevchuk said during the liturgy, adding that he is grateful to the people of the United States who are “praying for our nation and her people.”
Several hundred people – many in traditional dress – attended the liturgy that was offered near the second anniversary of renewed fighting that began Feb. 24, 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. That invasion is considered a continuation of a war that began in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and separatists seized the Donbas region in southern Ukraine.
Among those concelebrating the liturgy were Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory; Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop emeritus of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. Also concelebrating were the five bishops in the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church – advisors to the Archbishop Shevchuk – including Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, who serves as metropolitan of Ukrainian Catholics in the United States.
Of the 23 Eastern-rite Churches in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Catholic Church is the largest, with 6 million members worldwide.
Speaking in both Ukrainian and English, Archbishop Shevchuk urged the faithful to remember “the divine and glorious healing of the cross.”
“When faced with despair and fatigue … the Church leads us to the shadow of the cross,” he said, adding that energy and faith are restored “by the water from the side of the crucified Savior whom we worship today.”
He said, “the glorious life-giving cross turns into the true Tree of Life,” and is “the secret of Christian resilience. We, the Permanent Synod of Bishops want to testify here in Washington, this tree of life bears its fruit every day.”
The liturgy was offered on the first day of Archbishop Shevchuk and the bishops of the Permanent Synod’s three-day visit to Washington where they were scheduled to meet with government officials.
The churchmen’s U.S. visit also includes stops in Philadelphia and New York City. In Philadelphia, they will participate in the ordination of auxiliary bishops and lead a prayer service at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception praying for peace in Ukraine. In New York, they will join the Ukrainian community in prayer at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church and will attend a Mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral organized by the Aid to the Church in Need outreach agency.
At Sunday’s Divine Liturgy at the National Shrine of the Holy Family, prayers were offered for “the end of the war in Ukraine and the restoration of a just peace.” Prayers were also offered for soldiers, the wounded, those who are under occupation, military chaplains and “for the courage and wisdom of the leaders and for the conversion of the enemy.”
At the end of the more than two-hour liturgy, Cardinal Gregory assured Archbishop Shevchuk that “the people of this land stand with the people of Ukraine.” He also promised prayers for God “to spare the people of Ukraine and strengthen their faith.”
His Beatitude presented Cardinal Gregory with shrapnel from an intercepted Russian drone that was believed to have the cathedral and archbishop’s residence in Kyiv as its target.
“May these pieces of iron be a remembrance of the same iron that has been extracted from our soldiers and our civilians,” Archbishop Shevchuk said.
Earlier this month, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the past two years. According to the most recent findings by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, about 20,000 civilians have been injured and 11,000 killed since Russia’s invasion.
Archbishop Shevchuk also mentioned how Archbishop Broglio, after his election as president of the USCCB, visited Ukraine. “We want to express our gratitude to the bishops of the United States and convey our deep gratitude to the president of the bishops of the United States,” he said.
His Beatitude also presented Cardinal Gregory and Archbishop Broglio with pysanky –ornately decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs – which he said were “signs of life.”
As Cardinal Gregory did, Archbishop Broglio also assured Archbishop Shevchuk that “we beg (God) for an end to the war in Ukraine.” He told the archbishop that the people of the United States “are appalled by the devastation but heartened by the spirit of the people.”
