Ukrainian Catholic leader calls for prayer, fasting for peace on August 14

August 13, 2025

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, lent his support to an initiative to observe August 14, the day before the Feast of the Assumption, as a day of prayer and fasting for peace.

“I invite all of you—all the faithful of our Church and all people of good will—to live the last day of the Dormition Fast, a day of prayer and fasting for peace, with particular depth and seriousness,” he said at the conclusion of a Divine Liturgy in Kyiv on August 10. “We believe that the Lord will hear those who fast, pray, and work, and will be with us, helping us to survive and victoriously end this unjust war.”

In announcing the initiative, the International Union of Superiors General stated that “in a world torn apart by war and inhumanity—in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo and in so many other countries wounded by both visible and invisible conflicts—we cannot remain silent spectators ... In particular, we propose that 14 August be lived as a day of fasting and prayer, seeking the intercession of the Mother of God, Our Lady of Peace.”

 

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Further information:

• August 14: World Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace — His Beatitude Sviatoslav Urges: “Live It with Particular Depth” (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
• Women religious call for day of prayer, fasting for peace on August 14 (CWN, 8/7/25)