'Renewed sense of strength' among Ukrainian community after visit of archbishop to Winnipeg

With a message of strength and unity, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church renewed a sense of hope at a church service in Winnipeg, an uplifting moment for parishioners amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and Friday's heated clash in Washington.

Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the major archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, held an hours-long service at the Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in the city's North End. 

"Ukraine is standing, fighting and praying," Shevchuk said, addressing the crowd in English. "People of Ukraine are tired and wounded but resilient and unbroken."

"I came to you, not to complain but to bring witness to the hope," he said. 

Around 1,200 parishioners filled the temple Sunday morning, bringing attendance numbers that are often only seen during Christmas and Easter, said Eugene Waskiw, a trustee of the church. 

"What the patriarch brought to us today was a sense of the strength of the Ukrainian people throughout the world," he said. 

Shevchuk's visit carried a message of renewed strength, faith and unity in the face of Ukraine's war with Russia, Waskiw said.  

The sermon, a call to stay strong and pray for the future of the country, Waskiw said, hit the right set of notes against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Washington and Kyiv after heated clashes between the leaders of both countries at the Oval Office Friday. 

But it was also an important reminder that Ukraine is not alone. 

"The message from the patriarch helped," Waskiw said. "We will be here. Ukraine is not dead, and it's not dying." 

Auxiliary bishop Andriy Rabiy said Shevchuk's visit, his first to Winnipeg since 2012, was a significant event for the congregation and an opportunity for parishioners to get a word of hope in the midst of a war now dragging into its fourth year. 

"It is a huge uplifting moment for all of us here in Winnipeg," he said. "He had a word for everyone."

Shevchuk offered individual blessings to those inside the temple, a "huge thing," said Rabiy, who thinks many of those who received it will cherish it today for years to come. 

"He is a very recognizable figure in Ukraine, [a] moral authority, [a] religious authority," Rabiy said. 

Shevchuk came to Canada for a synod of bishops in Ontario but decided to make a stop in Winnipeg due to the larger number of Ukrainians living in Manitoba, and to commemorate the 125th birthday of the Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral coming this upcoming spring, Waskiw said. 

The head of the church is also in Winnipeg to visit two sick clericals, one of them who received the sacrament of anointing, Shevchuk told the crowd in English. 

Yaroslava Suchkova, a Ukrainian who has been living in Canada over the last two years, said she goes to church every Sunday and was overcome with emotions after receiving Shevchuk's blessing. 

"I can't say this in words, just my feelings … [it was] very special," Suchkova said. "I wake up and go to bed praying for my family, for Ukraine, for my children." 

After being left in dismay over Friday's clash at the White House, she said Sunday's liturgy brought her back a sense of hope. 

"Without this we can't  win this war," she said. 

Lynn Nykoluk, a parishioner at the church, said Shevchuk drew in a crowd size she hadn't seen before, even during Christmas, and created an opportunity for the Ukrainian community to ground in prayers. 

"It was very moving, and it was nice to see all the support," she said. "It always is important to have a strong community and pray and and just be positive."