His Beatitude Onuphry addresses the faithful on fourth anniversary of war

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: UOC

On February 24, 2026, on the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine addressed the clergy and faithful with a pastoral message.

In his address, the Primate noted the continuing suffering of the Ukrainian people, called for intensified prayer for the granting of a just peace, for support of the defenders and all those affected by the war, and for the preservation of unity and hope. We publish the full text of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry’s address.

Dear brothers and sisters!

On this February day, four years have passed since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of our Homeland by Russian troops. All these years, Ukrainian soil has been suffering the horrors of wartime, losing peaceful civilians and self-sacrificing defenders – men and women – every day.

Today, on the National Day of Prayer, with special heartfelt concern we turn to the Lord of Hosts (cf. Ps. 79:5), Who orders our affairs (cf. Is. 26:12), asking that He bless our land with the long-awaited peace – through which, in peace, the fruit of righteousness is sown (cf. Jas. 3:18).

In a single movement of the heart, the Ukrainian people await the restoration of a peaceful and just life, and the return home of our family and loved ones. Today we offer special prayers for servicemen, medics, energy workers, and rescue-service personnel, who bear a great feat of love for their fellow citizens, showing an example of courage and self-sacrifice.

Blessed Augustine says that justice requires us, first of all, to love God, then the Homeland, then our family, and finally all other people. The clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, following these words of the hierarch, stand together with the many-million people of Ukraine both within the Ukrainian state and beyond its borders, preaching love and mutual understanding, carrying out various humanitarian missions, and conducting charitable initiatives aimed at supporting servicemen and Ukrainians. The fullness of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with exceptional reverence, offers prayers to the Heavenly Father, placing in Him sincere hope (cf. Ps. 54:23) and asking for the well-being of every Ukrainian.

Dear brothers and sisters! May our prayers to the Lord today be a testimony of our sincere trust in Him, our love for our compatriots, and for all who labor to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (cf. Eph. 4:3) and to end the terrible bloodshed from which the blessed Ukrainian land now suffers. May hope not abandon us; may despondency not enter our hearts. Let us continue to labor together – let us defend our Homeland, nourish our inner unity – and the Lord will not forsake us.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all (cf. 2 Cor. 13:13).

O Great and Only God, preserve Ukraine for us!

Earlier, the UOJ reported that His Beatitude read the first part of the Great Penitential Canon in the Lavra.

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