A delegation of Ukrainian religious leaders visited the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family
On October 29, 2023, the delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which is currently visiting the USA, visited the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Washington, DC. They participated in the Hierarchical Liturgy led by Metropolitan Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia. Vitaly Kryvytskyi, Bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, concelebrated.
“We are blessed today by the honorable representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations that for over a quarter of a century have united more than 90% of the people of faith in Ukraine and which is effectively and in harmony representing the social, ethical, and moral concerns, standing up for justice, the rule of law, standing up for poor and the oppressed. Standing up and standing with and consolidating Ukrainian society in a time of war,” stated Metropolitan Borys Gudziak.
The Archbishop emphasized that this mission, which represents a real situation in Ukraine and tries to combat the misinformation, needs the prayers of the faithful. “So, I especially ask you to embrace the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations with your prayer today,” he asked those gathered in the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family.
After the service, there was an interreligious prayer. In attendance were Stanislav Nosov, who presently heads the Council, President of the Ukrainian Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Vitaly Kryvytskyi, Bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, Anatoliy Kozachok, Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Church of the Christian Faith of Evangelical Christians, Ahmed Tamim, head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Ukraine, Supreme Mufti of Ukraine and Pastor Anatoly Raychynets, deputy general secretary of the Ukrainian Bible Society. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine was represented by Metropolitan Yevstratiy Zorya, and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church by Fr. Oleksa Petriv. Representatives of different faiths of Ukraine offered prayers for the victory of Ukraine, just peace and punishment of the Russian aggressor, and God's protection for the defenders of Ukraine, doctors, volunteers, and the entire nation.
The delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations consists of representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Evangelical Church, the Union of Jewish Religious Organizations, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Bible Society, as well as the leadership of the Institute for Religious Freedom.
