Homily by Bishop Maksym Ryabukha on the first day of the Eparchial pilgrimage in Canberra

Today I am truly comforted and grateful to God and to our Bishop Mykola for the opportunity to be present at this National Jubilee Pilgrimage in Canberra. I have come to you from the farthest reaches of our Ukrainian land—from the Donetsk Exarchate, from the farthest east. I want this visit to be like an embrace of the native mother Ukrainian land for each of you. And in these embraces is also the entire Ukrainian land that you embrace.

Today we are here on this pilgrimage, at this unique event, during which it is important to feel the presence not only of those who are physically present, but of the entire Ukrainian people who are in the settlements throughout Australia. Our prayer is the voice of all God’s people. And this is a great gift and a great responsibility.

When we think about pilgrimage, we realise that it is a special moment that is unlike any other in our lives. From time immemorial, pilgrims have gone on pilgrimage to seek a meeting with God. This expectation of meeting on a long journey put everyone’s life in perspective. The time of the journey is also a time of silence, because when you lack breath, you cannot speak. And then you begin to contemplate the beauty that is around you and ask yourself many questions.

Today, being in our church of St. Volodymyr, my heart is filled with joy because we see the church full of our friends. Many of you have been waiting for these days with great anticipation. To be here is to realise that God needs me and is counting on me. We do not run away from life; we continue to serve God in the places where we live.

And then the question arises: “What does it mean to serve God?” These days we had a special time of spiritual renewal for the priests and deacons of the Melbourne Eparchy, and I told them about our life in the Donetsk Exarchate. I am also comforted by the fact that I have good priests, like our Bishop Mykola. There is one young priest who is a true companion of God’s faith. One day he said to me, “Bishop, this week I want to go along the front line for a few days and visit the military. Do you want to come with me?” I looked at the calendar, and it turned out that those days were free.

The three of us went: this priest, one Basilian sister, and me. Each of our stops had a specific purpose: we arrived, the soldiers confessed, we prayed the Divine Liturgy, ate together for a while, talked, and then moved on. At one of the stops—this is also a fond memory for me—there were many wounded. This young priest agreed that he would confess, and the nun and I would talk to everyone else. There were probably not many people who had practiced their faith before. But despite the different personal life experiences of these soldiers, each of them confessed and received the Holy Communion.

A few months later, this priest invited me to his home for dinner. There I met military medics who had come under direct bombardment three weeks ago, or maybe a little less. One of them had a beam in the basement fall on his head and take off his scalp. Another had large boxes fall on his legs, which are heavy and usually break all bones. Others had various other injuries. That evening they were all present at dinner, and if I didn’t know what they said, I wouldn’t have even thought of it. And I asked them, “Why are you alive and so strong today?” And they all said in one voice a very simple thing: “Every night when our commander goes to bed—and it can be two o’clock in the morning, or five in the morning, or any other time—he prays a prayer from the blue booklet every night.” In fact, this is the Prayer on the Rosary.

How powerful our prayer is. I came to Australia, and I feel like such a beggar here. Today I want to ask you loudly not to get tired of being people of prayer. Sometimes we think that talking to God is very easy. But, in fact, God, as a parent, has certain expectations for each of us. Family life is never a life according to my plans, his plans, her plans, and so on. Family life always requires a common opinion. How can we have this common opinion? By contemplating, listening, and thinking. This means that our spiritual life should never lack these elements.

Sometimes we ask ourselves, “Am I really living spiritually? Or maybe my soul has long since died, and only my body walks on this earth?” This pilgrimage is a direct question to my conscience. When you love someone, even a bad word or a bad thought becomes a burden in your heart. And you don’t find peace until you say to the person against whom you bear the offence, “I’m sorry.” And to be able to say “I’m sorry” always means to grow. In our families, when our children were young and growing up, we often told them, “You are doing wrong. You are wrong. Don’t do that anymore, but do this and this.” And the fact that the children listened to our voice helped them become adults and mature people.

This is the church of St. Volodymyr. This is the great prince of the Ukrainian land. And we know that his life also had many incidents. We must be very honest and realise that he made many mistakes. But there came a time in his life when he too heard the voice of God asking him, “Do you love me?”

What does it mean to love? To seek complete unity. Do you know what makes this unity impossible? The devil. Today I feel the presence of the devil very clearly on the front lines throughout Ukraine. Because in reality, what people do is beyond the reach of the human mind. What does the devil seek most of all? To separate the human soul from the love of God. When does this separation come? When I think, “Everything is fine in my life. I no longer need anyone’s help, anyone’s assistance, or anyone’s advice. I know much better than anyone else how it should be and who should do what.” Because, for example, the Russian people know better how Ukrainians should live. And these devilish thoughts bring only death and despair. What is the alternative? To find courage, to stop and ask with all the humility of our lives, “God, what do you think?”

I will tell you a very honest personal opinion. If during this pilgrimage those who have come here do not come to the Sacrament of Confession and the Holy Eucharist and pray for Ukraine, all this is a great theatre. And all this theatre is becoming the price of my life and the lives of many boys and girls who are defending our land in Ukraine today.

Once upon a time, I was a deacon, and we went to a retreat in preparation for the priestly ordination. We went to a retreat, to a shrine, where many people found their peace of mind. Our preacher said, “Very often, when people go on a pilgrimage, they think that I have to pray for this or that person. But, in fact, each of you is here because God wanted to see and meet you.”

Why am I here today? In fact, this is a big question. Do I want to continue telling God how and what he should do today, or will my heart find peace and tranquilly today after hearing God’s opinion about my life? Sometimes we think that we are very far away from the world, from affairs, and from challenges, but there is one reality that only the Christian heart knows. Today I am here with you in Canberra. And in a week I will be far away from here, and in two weeks I will be on a similar pilgrimage in Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia. And I will still be standing on the solea, and you will be a good 18 or 20 thousand kilometres away, but in reality it will not be like that. Because everyone who comes to God’s church and stands here, in front of the altar, in front of the nodal place where God is, becomes as close to all those who stand at such an altar in all other parts of the world.

What does it mean? Every time you want to say, “I love you,” “I’m thinking about you,” or “I wish you well,” all you have to do is come here, and everyone to whom you say it will hear it. When I think about the heaviest, biggest weapon in Ukraine, it is not bombs. It’s the feeling of loneliness, abandonment, and being useless to anyone. To be here, to be with a clear conscience in the presence of God, means to be with those who are having a hard time today and who do not find a way to move forward.

I thank each and every one of you who has found the strength these days to leave everything behind and embark on a long journey to Canberra. Because each of us is a sign of great hope for our families, for our friends, and for the entire Ukrainian land. I do not know if I will ever come here to Australia again, but I know for sure that when we meet in the sky, I will have many friends whom I met here. Let’s do everything we can to keep the sky within our reach.

Thank you very much. Ukraine loves you, and Ukraine feels loved by you.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

See also

June 18 Bishop Maksym Ryabukha led the parish feast in Perth June 11 Homily by Bishop Maksym Ryabukha on the second day of the Eparchial pilgrimage in Canberra June 10 Eparchial Pilgrimage to Canberra 2025 “Renewal in the Holy Spirit”