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Your Eminences,
Your Grace,
Esteemed Consul General of Ukraine in Istanbul,
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Reverend Fathers,
Beloved spiritual children in the Lord,

It is with paternal love and deep emotion that We are once again among you in this historic Church of Saint Nicholas, which has become the spiritual home of the Ukrainian-speaking community in the Queen of Cities. 

Today, Ukraine marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of its independence. Such an anniversary naturally invites us to look back. But for us, as Christians, remembrance is never simply a return to the past. 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. 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.

And so, 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. 

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. 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.

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. 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.

This year also carries a particular symbolic significance for Us personally. The year 1991, in which Ukraine began this new chapter of its history, was also the year in which, by the grace of God, We were called to the Ecumenical Throne. These are, of course, two very different anniversaries — one national, the other ecclesial — yet after thirty-five years We cannot fail to discern, in this coincidence of dates, a sign of the mysterious ways in which God guides our lives and joins our paths together. Ukraine’s journey as an independent nation and state and Our own ministry as Ecumenical Patriarch have thus unfolded, providentially, across these very same thirty-five years.

We recall with particular gratitude that five years ago, in August 2021, We had the great joy of traveling to Kyiv in person, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of Ukraine’s independence — a visit which providentially coincided, that same year, with the thirtieth anniversary of Our own Patriarchal ministry. Together with His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy, We concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at the historic Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Kyiv, We honored the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine and of the victims of the Holodomor, and We rejoiced together with the Ukrainian people in the milestone they were then celebrating. That pilgrimage remains engraved upon Our heart.

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.

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.

Beloved children in the Lord,

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.

Our hope is not the belief that tomorrow will automatically be easier than today. Christian hope is deeper. It is the trust that even in darkness God has not abandoned us; that love is stronger than hatred; that life is stronger than death; and that suffering will never have the final word. As the Psalmist says: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) We do not know how long the night will last. But we are sure that, by the grace of God, the morning will come.

And therefore, on this thirty-fifth anniversary, We invite all of you to look at the past with gratitude, to carry the present with love, and to look toward the future with faith and hope. Let us teach the younger generations not only the dates of their history, but also the values which give meaning to history. Let them learn to remember. Let them learn to give thanks. Let them learn to care for those who suffer. Let them learn that no human being should ever become invisible to us. And let them learn that faith is not only something we preserve from our ancestors. Faith is something we must live and hand on.

From this Church of Saint Nicholas, We raise our prayer today for the entire Ukrainian people. We pray for the repose of those who have lost their lives. We pray for the wounded and the suffering. We pray for those who are far from their homes. We pray for all prisoners and captives. We pray for the families who wait for them. We especially pray for the abducted children of Ukraine. And we pray for the day when separated families will embrace again, when those who are far away will return home, and when the wounds carried in so many hearts may begin to heal.

May the Lord’s promise, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20), be a source of strength, consolation, and hope for every Ukrainian family. May He strengthen those who are tired. May He comfort those who mourn. May He protect those who are in danger. May He give courage to those who wait. And may He grant peace to Ukraine and to the whole world.

Today we remember the past with gratitude. We carry the present with love. And we entrust the future to God with hope. For to remember is to love. And where there is true love, no person is ever forgotten. May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with the people of Ukraine and with all of you, now and always. Amen.