I wish you all good health. It’s a wonderful day – the Day of our Flag. Glory to Ukraine!
Dear attendees, first of all, dear warriors, our guests, our statesmen, our clergy, members of the diplomatic corps, our distinguished and honored guests of Ukraine!
Mr. President of Lithuania, dear Gitanas! Thank you for being with us today.
Mr. Prime Minister of Estonia, dear Kristen! Thank you for being with us.
Dear members of Congress. We’re very happy to see you all.
Our members of Congress and Senators, government officials and parliamentarians. All Ukrainians.
Today is an important day. Today, in one hall, side by side, are different people, people of different faiths, political views, professions, and nationalities. But important events like this underscore that any differences between us do not matter when it comes to what matters most. Truth. Peace. And how prayer, in difficult moments, unites us all. Because in a dugout under guided aerial bomb attacks, or in a hospital corridor waiting for the outcome of a loved one’s surgery, in captivity or in the subway at 3 a.m. during Russian strikes, people speak to God in much the same way, all alike. They all ask for what matters most. “God, protect us. Bring them back. Give us the strength to endure all this. Let us defeat death. Let us live to see the morning.”
This is the common language we do not always speak with one another. But it is the language we know how to use when we speak to heaven, because this is about what matters most.
Today marks the 1,642nd day of the full-scale war. I want us to thank the strong people of Ukraine, our partners, but first and foremost, our warriors. Thank you!
Throughout this time, Russia has pursued several objectives. One of them is to make faith a matter of permission. To have Putin decide who is allowed to gather for prayer and who is not. Which church may exist and which must disappear. Our entire struggle is also about this. About every person’s right to speak to God, to speak to the Almighty in the way they choose and wherever they choose. This, among other things, is also what Ukraine is fighting for.
I would also like to thank our Ukrainian chaplains on this day. Thank you! We want to thank all those who pray for our defenders where the danger is real, where they have the right to carry weapons, but their greatest strength is the word and their readiness to stand beside our warriors – to be there in the most difficult moments of their lives – it’s true, it’s a fact, because that’s how things are now. The moments before going into battle. The moments of exhaustion after a battle. And the hardest moments of all – when they lose their brothers-in-arms. Thank you, our dear chaplains, for your difficult service and for strengthening the spirit of our army. Thank you!
I also want to thank all our clergy who, in times of war, stand side by side with the state. Parishes have become warming centers. Church basements have become shelters. Sunday schools have become classrooms for our Ukrainian children. This is not often mentioned in the news. But this is the strength of faith that helps people, that helps all of us, all Ukrainians.
I thank everyone who helps Ukraine in its fight against the lies Russia sows throughout the entire world. It’s true. They claim that we are not a real state and that Ukrainians never existed.
One of the proofs that this is a lie can be seen today by all the guests at this important Prayer Breakfast. This is the bell of the Church of the Tithes. This is our history, more than a thousand years old.
This bell was found during excavations in Kyiv, in our capital, almost 100 years ago. And now, together with Ukrainian and European historians, museum professionals, and the Royal Foundry of the Netherlands, this bell has been restored, and we can hear what it sounded like before, what it sounded like a thousand years ago. I want to thank everyone who made this possible. Thank you!
Ladies and gentlemen!
Today, here in this hall, there are many people who have lost loved ones. Each of us has our own personal account with Russia and its evil. I ask you, please, for a moment of silence in memory of those who gave their lives for the life of Ukraine, those killed by Russia, those killed by Putin. Let us take this moment. May they rest in eternal light.
Thank you.
Dear friends!
I want to say honestly: it is not easy for Ukrainians today – it is difficult. There is accumulated pain, there is accumulated exhaustion. But at the same time, we preserve the light within us, we preserve our humanity, our mutual support, and such an important foundation of national unity – the ability to forgive one another. Forgiving is not a weakness. It is an important condition, because only an undivided Ukraine will be able to achieve its strong peace. And it is important not to confuse the two. Forgiving one another – yes. Forgiving those who came to kill us – no. The first has nothing to do with the second. Mercy toward our own does not cancel justice for occupiers and war criminals.
Dear guests of Ukraine! Our dear partners, dear friends!
I know: you are all on our side, you are all with us, you all pray for us. And we truly feel it. We truly value it very highly. But allow me to ask one more thing. Please, never look away. The war has been going on for a long time, and the greatest danger now is not fatigue at the front. No. It is the world getting used to it.
Speak more about Ukraine – I very much ask you. Do more for Ukraine. Visit Ukrainians whenever possible. It matters every day, whenever you can. Because today, all of us seek not only peace on our land; we are fighting for the security, we are fighting for survival and for our future, the future of Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world, where not war and fear should prevail, but the best in people: respect, kindness, and every person's right to life.
Please let us pray today for three important things. For those in captivity – that they all may make it through. For those in battle – that they may return. And for peace for Ukraine, that it may come – a just peace, a lasting peace, strong as our people are strong, and just.
Thank you all.
Great and Only God, protect Ukraine for us!
Glory to Ukraine!
