On Monday, August 24, 2026, the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew greeted the Ukrainian community in its spiritual home in Constantinople, the historic Church of Saint Nicholas, “with paternal love and deep emotion.” As he joined the Ukrainian community in celebrating their independence day, His All-Holiness emphasized that while “such an anniversary naturally invites us to look back,” at the same time, “for us, as Christians, remembrance is never simply a return to the past.”
His All-Holiness explained that this was because our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist had transformed what it means to remember: “At the very heart of the life of the Church, in the Holy Eucharist, we hear the words of our Lord: ‘Do this in remembrance of Me’ (Luke 22:19). In the Eucharist, remembrance is never mere recollection; it is inseparable from thanksgiving, communion, and the living presence of Christ.”
That Eucharistic understanding, the Ecumenical Patriarch explained, suffuses the Church’s remembrance of her people today: “This also shapes the way the Church remembers her children: with love, gratitude, and prayer. To remember, in this Christian sense, is to refuse to forget. It is to carry others in our hearts and to bring them before God in prayer.”
His All-Holiness emphasized that as a result of this profound understanding, “today, we do not simply remember thirty-five years. We remember people. We remember generations of Ukrainians who prayed, worked, raised families, preserved their faith and traditions, and passed them on to their children. We remember those who are no longer with us. We remember those whose homes have been destroyed and those who have had to leave their homeland. We remember the children who have learned too early what fear and separation mean. And, in a very special way today, our heart and our prayer turn to those who are waiting.”
Continuing his theme of sacred remembrance, His All-Holiness also said: “We think of the mothers and fathers, wives and husbands, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters of prisoners of war. We know that among us today there are people who carry this cross every day — the cross of waiting, of uncertainty, of waking each morning with the same prayer in their heart.”
His All-Holiness stated emphatically: “To all of you, we wish to say something very simple: You are not forgotten. And those for whom you wait are not forgotten. The Mother Church of Constantinople remembers them. She brings them before God in prayer. She prays for their protection and for the day when they may once again embrace those who love them.”
In the context of the immense suffering of the Ukrainians, the Ecumenical Patriarch also explained the proper Christian response to evil in the world: “The Apostle Paul tells us: ‘Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ’ (Galatians 6:2). This belongs to the very life of the Church. We cannot always remove the burden from the shoulders of another person. We cannot always answer the difficult question, ‘Why?’ We cannot always take away the pain. But we can refuse to allow another person to carry that pain alone. This is the meaning of Christian love.”
That love, he emphasized, is transformative: “And perhaps this is also one of the deepest meanings of our gathering today. We are not gathered in a parliament or in a place of political power. We are gathered in a church, before God. Here, history becomes prayer. Here, memory becomes love. Here, sorrow is shared. And here, hope is born again.”
In keeping with his profound bond with the Ukrainian people, which was strengthened immensely when he granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on January 5, 2019, His All-Holiness promised to visit Ukraine again as soon as such a visit became possible: “And so, as we mark this year the fulfilment of thirty-five years upon the Ecumenical Throne, alongside Ukraine’s thirty-five years of independence, we wish to renew before you today a heartfelt hope and prayer: that, once the guns fall silent and this war which now afflicts your homeland comes to its end, God may grant us once again to travel to Kyiv, to embrace in person the beloved flock which we carry always in our heart, and together with you to give thanks to the Lord for the peace, the freedom, and the future which He will have granted to Ukraine.”
His All-Holiness emphasized that “throughout these years, Ukraine and its people have occupied a special place in the pastoral concern of the Mother Church of Constantinople and in our prayer. We have shared moments of joy with you. We have also stood beside you in moments of sorrow. And today, once again, We are here. Not simply to speak about you, but to pray with you.”
Continuing his reflections upon the true Christian understanding of remembrance, His All-Holiness stated: “Our Christian faith does not tell us that life will be without suffering. The Cross of our Lord teaches us otherwise. But the Cross is never the final word of the Christian story. The Resurrection is. This is why Christians can hope even when hope seems unreasonable to the world.”
Humbly standing together with His All-Holiness and the long-suffering Ukrainian community, we share that blessed hope.
