Roman Catholics also Celebrate 1020th Anniversary of Baptism of Rus and Hope for Unification of Orthodox Ukrainians

30-07-2008

29.07.2008, [15:16] // Inter-Christian relations // - Kyiv-In St. Oleksandr's Church near St. Volodymyr's Hill, a thanksgiving Divine Service was held along with a renewal of Baptism promises. According to our RISU correspondent, Svitlana Yaroshenko, seven bishops of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) came to the capital for the occasion. The deputy head of the Conference of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine, Bishop Markiian Trofymiak, led the liturgy. RISU's Ukrainian-language web page posted this story on 28 July.

In his address to the faithful, Bishop Markiian said: "Today, we celebrate a thanksgiving Liturgy for the gift of Baptism. The recent TV comments have stressed the importance of St. Volodymyr's Baptism, which introduced us into the European community. But there was also another important aspect of that event: we were introduced to the community of brothers and sisters of Christ."

The faithful also heard a Pastoral address of the RCC episcopate reminding of the historic, spiritual, political, and social significance of the Baptism of 988: "We deeply believe that this year's celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the baptism of Rus will make us more sensitive to this common heritage and will radiate a new light capable of disseminating the darkness of the difficult past," said the address.

During the service, a rite of renewal of Baptism promises was held, where people rejected Satan and renewed their union with the Savior. After the liturgy, the believers led by the hierarchs prayed for their homeland, for the gift of wisdom, patience, and God's love for our nation.

The Ordinary of the Kyiv-Zhytomyr Eparchy shared his impressions, noting: "Our Churches, the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, are sister-Churches with long traditions in Ukraine. Therefore, we are glad that the Orthodox Church also celebrates the 1020th anniversary of Baptism," said Bishop Yan Purvinskyi.

"We are glad that the celebration is attended by two patriarchs, from Moscow and Constantinople. We would also like and hope that the Orthodox Church in Ukraine will become united. There is no good in the division of Churches. We should seek unity commanded by Christ during the last supper, "so that all are one," stressed the ordinary.

He also told the audience that during the thanksgiving liturgy in St. Oleksandr's Church, "they asked for unity and blessing for the Orthodox Church, which is the largest one here in Ukraine, for its physical and spiritual growth, development, and strength."

Bishop Yan came to Ukraine 31 years ago from Latvia. In his commentary for RISU, he noted the great piousness of the Ukrainian nation and expressed hope that the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus and the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch "will first of all urge the people to think about who they are, where their origins and roots are from." The bishop also noted that the wide coverage of this theme by the press will not be fruitless for Ukrainians, for there are many people seeking God, and this may become a sign for them, and the "joint work of all Churches in Ukraine, especially, the unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church will help restore Ukrainian spirituality and the country will follow the way of the civilized European countries." Bishop Yan noted that "Ukrainian culture is also a gift for European countries, as this culture is associated with faith in God."
http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;23785/