OUR HOPE WILL NOT PUT AS TO SHAME

July 15, 2024

The priests hieromonks of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer Fr. Ivan Levytsky and Fr. Bohdan Geleta recently released from russian captivity took part in the All-Ukrainian pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia. On Sunday, July 14, they concelebrated at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, with His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav. This significant event saw the participation of Bishops from the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) from around the world.

His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav, the Head of the UGCC, invited Fr. Ivan Levitskyi and Fr. Bohdan Geleta to give a blessing. He said: "Bless our people so that your testimony, your hope, may become a tangible experience for people, showing that our hope will not put us to shame, and that the resurrected Christ is with us."

The release of Fathers Levitskyi and Geleta on June 28, 2024, marked the 53rd prisoner exchange. This exchange was mediated by the Holy See. The priests endured over a year and a half of captivity, having been arrested in occupied Berdiansk on November 16, 2022. For a long time, there was no information about their whereabouts and their safety. Reports indicate that during their imprisonment, they were subjected to torture by russian forces, targeted both for their Catholic faith and their Ukrainian identity.

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