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May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Beloved brothers and sisters, Christians and people of good will throughout the world,
For the fifth consecutive year, the Ukrainian nation and the State of Ukraine have continued to resist Russian aggression and invasion. Cities, villages, and critical infrastructure are being destroyed, while the most tragic cost is borne by the lives and future of millions of people.
Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in other countries in order to escape the horrors of war. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of young men and women have dedicated their lives to defending their homeland and their people instead of pursuing their studies, their work, or raising their children. Thousands of children have been forcibly separated from their families and transferred to Russia. Civilians, families, and young children have lost their lives.
The Ukrainian people continue to suffer losses as a result of relentless bombardments and civilian casualties. We did not seek this war. Yet the aggressor invaded our country and our homes without provocation, bringing violence, death, and destruction.
Today, these hostile attacks have taken on a new and deeply troubling dimension: the attempt to destroy the fundamental symbols of our nation. Recently, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra came under Russian bombardment. The heart of the Ukrainian people, the cradle of the Christian faith of Kyivan Rus’, which for nearly a millennium has served as a center of our people’s spiritual life and the resting place of the relics of countless saints, became the target of this hostile attack.
We see that the aggressors, having turned away from God and deprived themselves of His presence in their lives and souls, are not content merely with taking thousands of human lives; they also seek to destroy the symbols of our faith, our hope, our spirituality, and our historical memory. Historic monuments such as the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, by their very existence, remind the aggressors of what they themselves lack. For this reason, efforts are made to destroy the centers of our Orthodox faith in order to weaken the spirit of the Ukrainian people and bring them into subjugation.
Yet these efforts will not succeed. The Ukrainian people have never attacked other nations; rather, they have repeatedly been the victims of hostile invasions. None of these invasions, however, succeeded in subduing them, because they have always drawn strength from prayer and faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has many times been the target of attacks and destruction, yet it has always been restored and renewed, for faith in God does not dwell in stone but in the hearts of people. It is precisely this faith that today unites Ukrainians even more strongly. With God’s help, we shall gather our strength, repair the damage, and rebuild everything—not only the church within the Lavra, but our entire homeland, restoring the peaceful life of our people.
Let us place our trust in God. Let us pray for victory, for an end to the war, and for a just and lasting peace. Let us remain united, beloved brothers and sisters, and let us remember the words of our Savior Christ: “Whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22).
The Holy Mother Church of Constantinople always prays for her children, beholds their sufferings and needs, and makes every possible effort to support them, to help them overcome their difficulties, and to safeguard their lives.
With God’s help, we shall prevail.
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