WASHINGTON – Nearly 100 Ukrainian Americans attended a meet-and-greet on the morning of November 7 with Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill during his visit to Washington for the Holodomor monument unveiling.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who spoke during the meeting, welcomed the patriarch to Washington. Noting the author Timothy Snyder’s work “Bloodlands,” Rep. Kaptur noted its revelations about the history of the Holodomor and Ukraine.
Eugene Czolij, president of the Ukrainian World Congress, recalled the poem “Footprints,” and the parallels between Ukraine’s struggle to be free. The patriarch, Mr. Czolij noted, is the moral authority of Ukraine, just as Brussels has become the political center for the Western world that includes Ukraine. “Now is the time,” Mr. Czolij added, “for it costs very little now [to integrate Ukraine into Europe], rather than later.”
Ambassador Valeriy Chaly greeted Patriarch Filaret, underscoring that the patriarch was doing “God’s work, with wisdom and love, to the people and Ukraine.” Ambassador Chaly urged for continued support of the patriarch’s work for Ukraine, and thanked the patriarch for his continued work and cooperation.
Rostyslav Pavlenko, deputy head of the Presidential Administration in Ukraine, said that Ukraine owes a great debt to the patriarch’s work for Ukraine. Mr. Pavlenko added, “May God bless you with many years.”
Following the singing of “Mnohaya Lita” (Many Years), Patriarch Filaret thanked those gathered for their support and urged them to build more support at the highest levels in Brussels and Washington.
“The conflict in eastern Ukraine is not only Ukraine’s problem, but the world’s problem,” the patriarch stated. Global democracy is the real struggle, the patriarch explained. With all dictators there is no democracy, no freedom. This is why the Euro-Maidan protests happened – it was a vote for Europe, democracy and freedom. Russia has no freedom. Ukraine chose its path toward democracy and freedom, and with this choice protects Europe. Vladimir Putin will not stop at Ukraine, but will increasingly move against Europe, he continued.
The threat of a third world war is based on the protection of choice. There remains no faith for international talks after the security guarantees of the Budapest Memorandum were not upheld – first in Crimea, and then the Donbas, he noted.
Patriarch Filaret urged the West to prevent chaos, which is the Kremlin’s strategy – the fomenting of neither dictatorship, nor democracy in Ukraine. Ukraine needs help to set it on the path for the future. The West is helping, the patriarch added, but Ukraine needs more humanitarian aid. Christians, Jews and Muslims have been promoting an appeal to the U.S.A. for aid to Ukraine. Democracy and liberty, the patriarch added, are undefeatable, and Mr. Putin is beginning to doubt himself. Thus, there is reason to believe that Ukraine can overcome its challenges, for “God is with us. Glory to Ukraine!”