From the Sermon of the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, His Beatitude Abp. Sviatoslav Shevchuk, in the Moleben (Prayer Service) in Time of War:
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| [The Oranta of Kyiv - The Indestructible Wall] |
Ukraine's victory is the victory of good over evil, the power of God over the meanness and lust of the invader. The Victory is already beginning, and we can feel it, experience it, even during this prayer.
A special tradition of such prayer is preserved in Kyiv. Apparently, everyone knows the ancient princely belief about the Kyiv Oranta, which is also called the Indestructible Wall. Our Lady Oranta is an ancient mosaic of the 11th century, which depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary in full length with her hands raised in prayer. It is an icon of the prayer of intercession. As long as the Kyiv Oranta stands, as long as the Indestructible Wall is among us, God is amidst his city, as it is written in the apse of St. Sophia Cathedral, as long as the city, the people, and Ukraine stand.
We feel that the Blessed Virgin Mary stands today in prayer over Kyiv and the mountains of Kyiv, and it is in this prayer that we join her. Various events in history have taken place before her eyes, which have been looking at us from eternity. We know that in the destruction of Kyiv during the invasion of Khan Batu, the whole city was destroyed, but the Orans in Hagia Sophia remained as a living unconquered root, the core from which everything was reborn. She saw the invasion of the city of Moscow princes, communist invaders, and many others, but always incessantly raised her hands in prayer over her people.
By joining the Indestructible Wall in this prayer, we prepare for a special event to be held on Friday. According to the petitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which she proclaimed in the early twentieth century in Fatima, Pope Francis together with the bishops of the Catholic Church around the world will consecrate Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Mother of God asked to pray for the conversion of Russia, because otherwise the evil that would come out of it will destroy other countries. Before, it used to said that we should not talk about the Fatima revelation, so as not to offend Russia; but now the Holy Father wanted to pay attention to this request of the Virgin for a Consecration to defeat the evil that comes to our lands and Eurp[pe from that part of the world.
The dedication of Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is something we have known before. Once, Prince Yaroslav the Wise, having built the Cathedral of St. Sophia and created the mosaic of the Indestructible Wall, dedicated his city, his people, and his State to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And when the war in eastern Ukraine began, on April 6, 2014, we restored this dedication of our people and State to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the enemy was stopped by the power of God's truth and His light. We believe that this Consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, carried out in the unity of all bishops of the Universal Church under the leadership of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, will be the highlight of victory over evil, the devil and his servants.
May this evil be defeated in the north, south, west, and east of Ukraine. We know that the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a symbol of Her holy and pure will, which she showed when she said "Fiat" to the Archangel Gabriel. "Let it be unto me according to Thy word " (Luke 1:38). At that moment, the Blessed Virgin Mary destroyed the head of the devil, an apocalyptic beast that is raging again, attacking Ukraine from Russia.
May this Consecration be the moment when the head of this serpent, by the power of prayer of the Mother of God herself, the Indestructible Wall of Kyiv, be raised by Ukraine again! We believe in this and we pray for it. We proclaim: "Holy Mother of God, save us!" Amen.
