"Catholics in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, are united.""Ukraine suffers and deserves peace," says Pope on Day of PrayerThe text of the Consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is as followsTranslation of the article into English
The Greek Catholic Church counts in Ukraine with about 3,400 parishes, with about 3,000 priests, out of a total of 4,800, and about 1,100 religious men and women (1,300 in total). They constitute 8.8 % of the Ukrainian Catholics, which together with the 0.8 % of the Latins, reach almost 10 % of the Ukrainian population.
The perception of unity in the Ukrainian nation makes enormous sense in a country of numerous religious traditions, a puzzle in which 60 % of its 41 million people are Orthodox; Greek Catholics 8.8 %; Roman Catholics 0.8 %; Protestants 1.5 %; and "just Christians" 8.5 %.
Faced with some figures about the Orthodox community that have been circulated in some media, Ukrainian priest and journalist Jurij Blazejewski FDP, has reminded Omnes that out of the 60 % of Orthodox, they are "faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (that of Metropolitan Epiphanius), 24.1 %; faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (under Patriarch Kirill) , 13.3%; faithful of other Orthodox Churches (e.g., the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Romanian Patriarchate, etc.), 0.6 %; and as Orthodox without associating with a particular institution, 21.9 %".
The data are as of November 2021, and correspond to the report Specifics of religious and Church self-determination of citizens of Ukraine: trends 2000-2021.about Religion and the Church in Ukrainian society in 2000-2001of Razumkov Center. "This is a high-level survey that has been conducted for 21 years".Jurij Blazajewski, a priest for 10 years, who belongs to the Hogar Don Orione Congregation and is currently studying Institutional Communication at the University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
Differences between orthodox
The Father Constantin, Ukrainian Orthodox, has been in Spain for 22 years. "In our country we have three Churches: one Greek Catholic, one Ukrainian Orthodox, and a third Russian Orthodox. I am a Ukrainian of the Patriarchate of Constantinople."he said.
As to whether there is a common position of the Churches in Ukraine in the face of the Russian intervention, he replied:"There are differences, because on Ukrainian territory there is the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is supporting Putin.". In his opinion, "any kind of negotiation is not going to satisfy Russia, because what they want is Ukrainian territory. This is politics. I do not want to intervene in politics. For us, for priests, the main thing is to reach out by prayers to our people, to reassure their hearts and their thoughts. And to pray that this war will end as soon as possible, and there will be as few deaths as possible."he told Omnes.
At the end of the conversation, the new Orthodox Metropolitan Archbishop Bessarion of Spain and Portugal (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) joined the conversation and referred to the words of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The latter quickly called at the beginning of "this unprovoked attack by Russia against Ukraine, an independent and sovereign state in Europe"., "to His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, to express his enormous regret for this flagrant violation of any notion of international law and legality, as well as his support for the Ukrainian people fighting 'for God and for the country' and for the families of the innocent victims.".
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew has also made an appeal for dialogue to the leaders of all States and international organizations, and it should be recalled that he was among the first, together with the episcopates of Italy and Poland, to join the cry for prayer requested by Pope Francis.
Catholics in Ukraine, 2nd and 3rd centuries
Catholics are a minority in Ukraine, although they represent almost 10 % of the population if Greek Catholics and Latinos are added. However, "is the largest Eastern Catholic Church in the world in absolute number of faithful. It is also a truly global Church, with its officially recognized structure of dioceses covering four continents (without Africa), with a rich presence among the numerous Ukrainian diaspora throughout the world, especially in Europe, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina."Jurij Blazajewski adds.
The Greek Catholic Church, of Byzantine rite, is one of the Oriental Churches linked to the Catholic Church and to Rome through the Congregation for Oriental Churches. "Christianity reached present-day Ukrainian territories in the 2nd and 3rd centuries".Blazajewski recalls. "For example, the holy martyr Pope Clement died in the Crimea. There are sources about the ecclesiastical structure and the presence of bishops in the Greek city-colonies of the Crimea and the northern Black Sea coast since the 3rd century. The official baptism of the King (Grand Duke) of Kiev, Volodymyr, together with his people took place in 988, at the hands of missionaries sent from Constantinople.".
"Baptismal font for three nations."
"Since then."he adds, "the Ukrainian Church has always functioned as an autonomous metropolis of Kiev under the Patriarch of Constantinople. However, the presence of Latin missions is also remarkable. An interesting fact is that the Metropolis of Kiev never officially broke communion with Rome by a solemn act or document. Thus, all Ukrainian Orthodox Churches and the Greek Catholic Church recognize each other as Churches 'of the one baptismal source of Kiev', which in itself constitutes a solid platform for ecumenical dialogue."as St. John Paul II emphasized during his apostolic trip to the country in 2001.
Ukraine is not only the cradle of Russian Christianity, it is also the "one baptismal font for three nations: Ukraine, Belarus and Russia."Jurij Blazajewski adds. "However, reasoning in terms of nationality is not compatible with the medieval situation, since in Europe the very term nation in the modern sense used today dates back only to the so-called 'Peoples' Spring' in the 1840s". On national precedence, the priest and journalist provides the following information: "Kiev, capital of Ukraine, founded in the 5th century; Moscow, capital of Russia, founded in 1147 by one of the younger sons of the Grand Duke of Kiev.".
