Ukrainian American Catholic Bishops Call for Prayer and Fasting for Peace in Ukraine – Catholic Philly

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As fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to grow, Ukrainian Catholic bishops in the United States have called for a three-day prayer vigil ‘for peace and the conversion of the hearts of those who preach violence and escalate the war”.

(Related: Ukraine crisis is a threat to Europe and democracy, local leaders say)

The appeal, addressed to the Ukrainian Catholic faithful and “all people of good will,” was published in a February 12 letter signed by Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Philadelphia and Metropolitan of Ukrainian Catholics in United States ; Bishop Paul Chomnycky, Eparchy of Stamford; Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk, Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago; Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo, Bishop of St. Josaphat in Parma, Ohio; and Auxiliary Bishop Andriy Rabiy of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Philadelphia.

(Watch CatholicPhilly.com’s Feb. 9 interview with Archbishop Borys Gudziak speaking directly from Ukraine.)

“We ask every pastor and community, every family and every person, to participate in this vigil in every way possible,” the bishops said. “May our churches be open all day, may church prayer be interchanged with personal contemplation. Lead and participate in services, pray the Jesus Prayer, Marian Rosary, Paraclesis (a prayer service of supplication), sit with the scriptures. Fast to focus on the hope that only God gives.

Russia mustered more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, while launching large-scale joint maneuvers with neighboring Belarus on February 10.

In recent days, a number of countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, have urged their nationals to leave Ukraine.

A massive cybersecurity attack on January 14, seen by many as a prelude to Russian military action, crippled around 70 Ukrainian government websites, with an on-screen message warning users to “be afraid and beware. expect the worst”.

“Over the past few weeks, the world has come to realize that democratic Ukraine and its freedom-loving people are increasingly surrounded by hostile military forces susceptible to invasion,” the Bishops said.

The threat marks what the bishops called an escalation of “the Kremlin’s eight-year war” since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

That same year, Russian-backed separatists proclaimed “people’s republics” in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, collectively known as Donbass. The move came just 23 years after Ukraine gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, of which it was a part.

Since 2014, clashes, shelling and sniper attacks have become commonplace in eastern Ukraine. The United Nations reported nearly 1.5 million registered displaced people in the country in 2021, and at least 3,353 civilian deaths and more than 7,000 civilian injuries between April 2014 and March 2020. In total, between 14,000 and 15 000 are believed to have been killed in the conflict to date.

A full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine “would result in devastating bloodshed and untold human suffering,” leading to “a catastrophe with global repercussions,” the bishops warned.

“The dead could number in the tens of thousands and the refugees in the millions,” they said. “The economic and political shockwaves of social devastation and material destruction in Ukraine will be global.”

Amid the grave situation, the bishops urged the faithful to “pray and be hopeful,” citing biblical passages from 1 Peter and Psalms 20 and 125.

“Ukrainian worshipers of all faiths have witnessed miracles,” they said. “In recent history, we have seen the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the dissolution of the Soviet prison of nations, the liberation of our churches, which took place without war or bloodshed. We place our trust in God and ask for divine intervention. … Know the Lord and God’s love for the world!

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(To donate to victims of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, visit the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia website at https://ukrarcheparchy.us/donate)

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