St. Volodymyr's Parish

Pastoral Letter

of His Beatitude Sviatoslav

on the occasion of the renewal

of the Act of Consecration of Ukraine

to the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God

We have no other help, we have no other hope, but You, O Most Pure Virgin. Aid us, for we hope in You and praise You; May we, Your servants, be not put to shame

(Canon of the Moleben to the Most Holy Mother of God).

Dearly beloved in Christ!

   In these days, when our nation and fatherland is once again experiencing a great ordeal—with the occupation of a part of our land—our hearts are filled with anxiety for the future, uncertainty and fear.

     Amid these present circumstances, the Lord Himself sends us a sign of hope, just as He did to King Ahaz in the ancient days of the Old Testament. Jerusalem was under mortal threat from hostile neighbours and its ruler, King Ahaz, desperately sought support from the world powers of the time. The inspired author conveys eloquently the sentiments of the king and his vassals: “the heart of the king and of the people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind” (Is. 7:2). Lord sent to King Ahaz the prophet Isaiah to reassure him and to call him to fully trust in God. The king, however, continued to doubt and waver. Thus, God placed in the mouth of His prophet these words of promise: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14). This prototype of the protection of the Mother of God became a sign of God’s personal and omnipotent sheltering of His people. At that time, the Most High asked His people and their rulers not to place undue confidence in the powerful ones of world, but rather to surrender themselves into His mighty hands by returning to His law: “In returning and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Is. 30:15).

    During our Great-Fast journey, the Lord God sends us His word, calling us to sincere conversion, to an inner change, and as a guarantee of His blessing, He gives us a sign—the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, our Glorious Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary.

     In all times, God has come to the aid of His people. As a sign of victory and hope is “the virgin” announced by the prophet Isaiah—the Immaculate Virgin Mary. In Sacred Scripture, the Theotokos is present from the first tragic moments of history, when—after the fall—the Creator announces the defeat of the serpent, mankind’s murder, by the woman’s offspring, who shall bruise the serpent’s head (cf. Genesis.3:14-15). And in the last book of Scripture, the Revelation of St. John, the inspired author sees in a prophetic vision a great sign in heaven: “A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev. 12:1). From the mouth of the Red Dragon, who hunted this holy Woman, a deadly stream of water came forth, but he could not overcome Her. Rather, by the power of Archangel Michael, the ancient serpent was cast down to the earth and his power over the human race was destroyed forever (cf. Rev. 12:7-17).

    The Mother of God accompanies humanity not only through the recorded history of Sacred Writ; she dwells with Her children always and everywhere, in all times and in every circumstance. The Most Pure Theotokos has graced many places on earth with her special presence. These unique places have become for many people, and even entire nations, signs of refuge and salvation. Such are the sites in the Holy Land near and dear to heart of every Christian—Nazareth, Bethlehem, Ein Karem, Jerusalem, all of which still attract hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. One should also mention—Lourdes in France, Loretto in Italy, Aparecida in Brazil, Guadalupe in Mexico, Mariazell in Austria, Czestochowa in Poland, Máriapócs in Hungary, Litmanová in Slovakia. How can we also not mention the small Portuguese village of Fatima, where the Immaculate Mother of God, at the beginning of 1917, appeared to three shepherd children, asking us to pray for Russia so as to prevent the spread throughout the world of a menacing and devastating infidelity that would bring so many people immense suffering and pain. How can we also not call to mind Univ and Pochaiv, Zarvanytsya and Hoshiv, all of which are signs of the Most Holy Mother of God’s care for our land during its turbulent history. Finally, let us not forget Hrushiv, and that turning point in the life of our church and country, when exactly a year after the Chornobyl disaster, the Lord gave us a sign from heaven, freeing us from fear and awakening in us a new life in a renewed country. At that time, we did not yet know how our race would end, but we felt a great hope and trust, for She, the Mother of God, was with us and through Her the Lord and Master of heaven and earth was with us.

    The Theotokos is near to us in a special way during the Liturgy. She unites with us in endless praise of the Most High and—at the same time—as a loving Mother, She continually intercedes for us before the Lord. The church expresses its faith in the Most Pure Mother of God’s unceasing and prayerful intercession in the well-known prayer: “The Virgin today stands in the church and together with the choir of the saints she prays for us to God. The angels worship with the hierarchs; the apostles exult with the prophets; for the Theotokos prays for us to the Eternal God.” These words, taken from kontakion of the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God bring us comfort in our affliction, give us strength in our trials and hope in our sufferings, because we know that this “today” does not express some distant and alien past, but rather our present with its own threats and anxieties. In the words of our Patriarch Josyf, She is “the immovable sign of our strength and hope for victory.” This is because “the Most Holy Mother of God—beneath whose honourable and miraculous Protection, we, Her children, flee in times of trouble and distress—is the inviolable shelter, sign and pledge of the unity of our Ukrainian Christian family.”

    Given the new historical circumstances, I wish to turn your spiritual eyes towards the Mother of God and, in response to Her loving and caring presence in our lives, entrust all of you to Her maternal care. During his reign, the pious Prince Yaroslav the Wise consecrated the people of Rus’-Ukraine to the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1995, Myroslav-Ivan Cardinal Lubachivsky, of blessed memory, renewed this consecration in Zarvanytsya.

     Continuing the ministry of my great predecessors on the throne of Kyiv- Halych, I desire — in communion with the whole of our Church, both in Ukraine and abroad—to renew once again this act of consecration of the Ukrainian people to the mighty Protection of Mother of God. By this act, we recognize God’s care for us, we manifest our love for the Most Holy Theotokos and our willingness to fulfil all that is commanded us by her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; and, finally, we manifest our desire to serve God and our nation in accordance with the light of His law. Let make manifest this consecration in our lives in the form of a prayer to the Immaculate Mother of God, either personally or communally, beseeching from our Lord a blessing upon our long-suffering people through Her intercession. This prayer can be a Paraklesis, Moleben, Akafist, Rosary or any other pious practice, which we recite daily in honour of our Heavenly Queen and Intercessor, putting in Her motherly heart all of our hopes and dreams for the renewal and strengthening of our nation in Christ’s truth.

     I instruct the clergy to make this solemn act of consecration of Ukraine to the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God on Sunday, April 6^th, after each Divine Liturgy in all of our churches. The liturgical order for this consecration—and some other practical guidelines — are attached to this letter. I ask that all the faithful properly prepare for this solemn occasion by receiving the sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist, and by doing works of mercy and penance.

     I invite and encourage all the bishops, priests, monks, nuns and the laity of our church to persevere in hope and prayer to the Most Holy Mother of God, so as to always remain beneath Her Protection, and when the spiritual labour of the Great Fast has reached the light of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Resurrection, that we may also be witnesses and partakers in the renewal of our beloved fatherland.

     May the blessing of Almighty God, through the prayers of the Theotokos, descend upon our people — in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

                                   † SVIATOSLAV

Given in Kyiv

at the Patriarchal Sobor of the Resurrection of Christ

20 March 2014.