Citing a Greek Father (St. Gregory of Nazianzen) and a contemporary author (Eric Greitens), the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church delivered an address to the National Defense University of Ukraine entitled “Spiritual Resilience and Christian Perfection: Being a Christian in Time of War.”
In his January 23 address, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk recalled that he once served in the Soviet army as he decried “Soviet-style dehumanization.” He concluded:
I am convinced that you will become leaders of global thought in the modern art of victory, in the art of waging a just war—a war whose purpose is to create space for peace. Wherever the Ukrainian soldier stands, there is space for peace and freedom. I often say that our servicemembers are today the foremost and best peacekeepers.
I am a witness to this, having lived through these difficult weeks, months, and years here in Kyiv together with your faculty and colleagues during the full-scale invasion—from the very beginning, from the siege of Kyiv, to the future victory. May the Lord God help us all.
Glory to Ukraine! Christ is born!