Message of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on the 65th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War

"And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever"
(Isaiah 32, 17).

65 years have passed since our people gained victory in the Great Patriotic War of   1941 - 1945.

The victory is a sacred memory of the great and high price that mankind paid for the peace desired.  

The victory is a great feast after an awful disaster, it is a recollection that disquiets heart with regret, the heart full of sorrow for those who deceased in the war.   

The war brought about deadly harvest - sufferings and death of millions of people, demolition of cities and villages, destruction of records of the world culture and history,   "the devastation and destruction, famine and sword" (see Isaiah 51, 19).

The struggle with fascism has consolidated all the healthy forces of mankind.  Many sacrifices were brought to the altar of victory.  The soldiers of the Soviet Army and the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition, partisans and members of the underground, population of the occupied lands, workers of the labor front and rear land  spared neither their lives nor effort and health  for their purpose - bringing closer "peace and truth"  (Jeremiah  33, 6). In this struggle the best moral qualities of people manifested themselves - self-sacrifice, heroism, courage, and first of all - love of neighbor.   
The feat of the heroes-winners, who defeated fascism, will live on in the ages. The world should forever remember the lessons of the World War II, do its best to prevent sprouting of the weeds of aggressiveness, xenophobia, political extremism and totalitarian rule.

The memory of the bitter lessons of war is also important because the seedlings of faulty ideological trends have not yet been outrooted, and certain kinds of them are distributed all over the world. People still die as a result of terrorist actions.  And today in the relations between countries the standards of international right are often broken and the force is applied.  Still the authoritarian regimes, fostering aggressive intentions, exist. 

In the times of the Great Patriotic War sustained heavy losses, became the stage of fierce battles. The Ukrainian Golgotha proved to be Babyn Yar in Kyiv, where more than 100 thousand people of different nationalities were shot. Similar Golgotha gills then covered with sorrowful wrinkles all the face of our native mother-earth. As the ashes of the burnt French Oradour, Belarus Khatyn and Ukrainian Kortelis knocks in the hearts of the humanity, so we have to remember the everburning ashes of the Ukrainian villages burnt to a crisp.

On that day the Holy Church calls to commemorate the heroes and victims of war. They sincerely fulfilled the commandment of Christ: "Greater love has no one than this that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15, 13). They have selflessly given away their lives for peace and calamity, they have aspersed our land with their blood, thus having shown greatness of courageous counterstand to evil and violence.  Let's raise our prayers for the repose of their souls. May All-merciful Christ give them rest in the abodes of the Heavenly Father. 

On the festive days of the 65^th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War special attention should be paid to the veterans.Their courage, patriotism, military and working achievements should be an example for the present and future generations.  May God grant health and blessed long years of life to the ones who have remained alive on this glorious date.  

We bow low to everyone who takes care of veterans today, who makes their lives brighter and happier.

We celebrate the Victory jubilee on the festive paschal days, as in the distant 1945, and therefore our joy attains great sacred sense. With a heart, full of gratitude for "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (1 Timothy 1, 2), we lift to the Lord our prayer for Ukraine and the whole world that is in need of   "righteousness, faith, love and peace" (2 Timothy 2, 22).