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February 24, 2023By Gina Christian, OSV News
NEW YORK (OSV News) -- As Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its second year, Ukraine is calling the world to "know your God," said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the U.S.
The archbishop spoke to hundreds gathered at a Feb. 18 ecumenical prayer service for peace hosted by St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan presided at the event, which was sponsored jointly by the Archdiocese of New York, which is part of the Latin Church, and the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Both the Latin and Ukrainian churches belong to the global Catholic Church led by Pope Francis.
A number of Catholic, Orthodox and Christian clergy of various denominations were on hand, as well as clergy of other faiths. Among attending clergy were Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S.; Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations; Metropolitan Antony and Archbishop Daniel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.; Bishop John O. Barres of Rockville Centre, New York; Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, New York; retired Auxiliary Bishop John J. O'Hara and Auxiliary Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, both of New York; and Maronite Bishop Gregory J. Mansour of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn.
Also present were Oleksii Holubov, consul general of Ukraine in New York, and several wounded Ukrainian soldiers receiving medical treatment in the U.S., whom Cardinal Dolan saluted and shook hands with at the start of the service.
The Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York, led by Vasyl Hrechynsky, provided musical accompaniment.
"We pray the suffering of innocents will be justified, ended and transformed to peace and joy," said Archbishop Gudziak, who had returned from his sixth trip to Ukraine 48 hours earlier.
Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022, continues attacks it launched in 2014 with the attempted annexation of Crimea and the backing of separatist factions in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. From 2014 to 2021, some 14,400 Ukrainians were killed and 39,000 injured in Russian attacks, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Since the 2022 invasion, more than 8,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 13,200 injured. Officially, 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers also have been killed, according to Ukraine's government, however the actual numbers are likely much higher.
More than 8 million refugees have been recorded across Europe, with 4.85 million registered for some form of temporary protection, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
While "there are many wars in the world" at present, the battles now raging in Ukraine reveal fundamental truths such as "good and absolute evil are different," said the archbishop, who was accompanied on his recent tour of Ukraine by Bishop Barres and Dominican Sister Donna Markham, Catholic Charities USA president and CEO.
The ferocity of the war "is helping the world to see" the need for both "divine intervention" and "our God-given dignity as sons and daughters of the Almighty," said Archbishop Gudziak.
Prayer is essential, he said, noting Ukrainian soldiers in places such as Bakhmut, site of some of the war's fiercest battles, "are saying, 'Pray for us. We need a miracle, we need God's presence.'"
Bishop Barres reflected that Ukraine's sufferings are closely united with those of Christ.
"Pope Saint John Paul II once said that every Mass is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. That is certainly true in Ukraine," said Bishop Barres. "The sacred liturgies that we celebrated in Ukraine are mysteriously celebrated on the (suffering) altar of Ukraine."
A visibly moved Metropolitan Antony noted the scale of violence in Ukraine seems overwhelming "no matter how much we sympathize or care." Yet by gathering in prayer, he said, "we become powerful before the eyes of God and before the eyes of the world."
Speaking to OSV News after the service, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Mansour said their friendship with Archbishop Gudziak, along with their knowledge of Ukraine's long, painful history of subjugation under Russia, stirred in them what the cardinal called "a particular affection for and closeness to" the Ukrainian people.
Bishop Mansour also said he and Cardinal Dolan "desired to see the beauty of religious freedom" preserved in Ukraine, which is home to a diverse array of faith communities, including Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim.
Such freedoms are worth defending at all costs, said Archbishop Gudziak.
"We are called to live, and if we are called to sacrifice our life, we have God's offer of eternity," he said. "So we pray. … And we pray with great confidence that God's truth will prevail."