On Tuesday, 24 February, four years have passed since Russia launched its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine.
A bilingual peace prayer service in Ukrainian and Finnish was held at the Uspenski Cathedral (Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God) in Helsinki at noon to mark the anniversary. The service was celebrated by the clergy of the parish together with Archimandrite Lavrenti, a visiting clergyman from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, in the presence of Archbishop Elia of Helsinki and All Finland. The service was also livestreamed on the YouTube channel of the Orthodox Parish of Helsinki. The bells of the cathedral rang at noon for peace.
In his address at the cathedral, Archbishop Elia spoke of the weight of four years of war. “I remember that morning. I remember that my first thought was not a geopolitical analysis but the words of the Psalm: ‘O Lord, how long?’” he said, noting that the question echoes ”in the streets of Kyiv, in the cellars of Kharkiv, in the graves of Mariupol, in the silence of Bucha, on the bridges of Irpin, in the mass graves of Izium, in the smoldering ruins of Bakhmut, in the empty courtyards of Avdiivka, and in the homes of Kherson submerged beneath floodwaters. It echoes in churches whose domes have been shattered and in homes that are now nothing but memories.” Yet, the Archbishop stated, “war has never resolved anything. It is a madness that fattens the merchants of death and leaves behind only orphans, widows, and ruins. With the military expenditure of a single day, one could feed millions. And still, death is chosen.”
“War has never resolved anything. It is a madness that fattens the merchants of death and leaves behind only orphans, widows, and ruins. With the military expenditure of a single day, one could feed millions. And still, death is chosen.”
The Archbishop drew on the Orthodox understanding of the human person as a living icon of God: “Our Church teaches that every human being is a living icon of God – not an image painted on wood or gold, but a likeness of the Creator written in flesh and blood. When a bomb tears apart a human body, it destroys an icon of God. When a child is taken from home, the image of God is driven into exile. When a prisoner of war vanishes into a torture chamber, an icon of God is desecrated.” Linking the war to the history of the Church, he added: “We know from our own history that more than a thousand years ago, the iconoclasts destroyed holy images in Byzantium. But the iconoclasm of our time is far more cruel, for it destroys living images that can never be painted anew.”
The Archbishop was unequivocal about the Church’s responsibility to take a stand: “A church that falls silent in the face of injustice has ceased to be a church.” He continued: “We are not neutral. We stand by those who suffer. We stand by Ukraine.”
Concluding his speech, the Archbishop offered a message of hope: “The seed of peace always bears fruit – sometimes only after generations, long after the sower’s hands have come to rest. But always. This is our hope, and this hope no darkness can extinguish.”
Archbishop Joins Senate Square Event
On the same afternoon a “Light for Ukraine” event was held at Senate Square in Helsinki. This year the event highlighted in particular the Ukrainian children who have been illegally deported by Russia. The event was organized by the Ukrainian Association in Finland, Mothersforpeace Registered Association (ry), and Church in Helsinki, in cooperation with the City of Helsinki, the University of Helsinki, the Government Chancellery, and the Embassy of Ukraine. Archbishop Elia later joined the multilingual ecumenical prayer service held at Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral.
Ukrainian-Language Ministry Receives Reinforcements from Ukraine
The Ukrainian-language ministry of the Orthodox Church of Finland is again receiving support from Ukraine this spring. Archimandrite Lavrenti and Fr Myhailo from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine are coming to support parishes and the Ukrainian community in Finland within the framework of the “Together in One Church” (Yhdessä kirkossa) project coordinated by Filantropia ry.
Archimandrite Lavrenti is visiting Finland from 13 February to 8 March, while Fr Myhailo’s visit is scheduled from mid-March to early April. The visits cover nearly the entire period between Forgiveness Sunday and Pascha, with destinations spanning all dioceses.
The bishops of the Orthodox Church of Finland were among the first to unanimously condemn Russia’s war of aggression in 2022.
Read the speech by Archbishop of Helsinki and All Finland Elia below:
Beloved in Christ – fathers, sisters, and brothers,
Your Excellency Myhailo Vydoinyk, Ambassador of Ukraine in Finland,
Four years ago, the world awoke to a reality it had hoped to have forgotten. War returned to the heart of Europe – not as a distant flash on a television screen, but as living human destinies whose weight grows with every passing day. Four years. Short for history. For everyone searching for a loved one among the ruins – endless.
I remember that morning. I remember that my first thought was not a geopolitical analysis but the words of the Psalm: “O Lord, how long?” (Ps. 13:2). In four years, that question has only grown heavier. It echoes in the streets of Kyiv, in the cellars of Kharkiv, in the graves of Mariupol, in the silence of Bucha, on the bridges of Irpin, in the mass graves of Izium, in the smoldering ruins of Bakhmut, in the empty courtyards of Avdiivka, and in the homes of Kherson submerged beneath floodwaters. It echoes in churches whose domes have been shattered and in homes that are now nothing but memories.
The people of Ukraine are a people who know the depth of suffering. The starvation of the Holodomor, Stalin’s persecutions, centuries of oppression – and now this new Golgotha, where the blood of the innocent cries out to heaven.
Yet war has never resolved anything. It has never given birth to justice. It is a madness that fattens the merchants of death and leaves behind only orphans, widows, and ruins. With the military expenditure of a single day, one could feed millions. And still, death is chosen.
In our Orthodox tradition, we know that Pascha always follows Great Friday, but we also know that no one can bypass the Cross. The cross of the Ukrainian people is heavy, and our task is to bear it together – not to avert our gaze.
Our Church teaches that every human being is a living icon of God – not an image painted on wood or gold, but a likeness of the Creator written in flesh and blood. When a bomb tears apart a human body, it destroys an icon of God. When a child is taken from home, the image of God is driven into exile. When a prisoner of war vanishes into a torture chamber, an icon of God is desecrated.
We know from our own history that more than a thousand years ago, the iconoclasts destroyed holy images in Byzantium. But the iconoclasm of our time is far more cruel, for it destroys living images that can never be painted anew.
Therefore, the Church cannot remain silent. The tradition of the prophets is not diplomatic silence but the speaking of truth before power. The Prophet Isaiah did not ask permission when he proclaimed: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil! Who turn darkness into light and light into darkness” (Isa. 5:20). A church that falls silent in the face of injustice has ceased to be a church.
And if the Church does not fall silent, it must also dare to say at whose side it stands. We are not neutral. We stand by those who suffer. We stand by Ukraine. We stand at the side of those whose loved ones rest in unmarked graves, and at the side of those who still await word of the missing.
This is precisely why we have gathered today. After four years, we light once more a candle in memory of those who are no longer among us, and on behalf of those who still endure. We know that a single flame in a darkened church does not go out but ignites a second and a third, until the darkness recedes. Our calling is to be that flame, which is not extinguished, for we serve a God who measures time differently from us.
Beloved in Christ – sisters and brothers! The seed of peace always bears fruit – sometimes only after generations, long after the sower’s hands have come to rest. But always. This is our hope, and this hope no darkness can extinguish.
God bless much-suffering Ukraine!
PHOTOS: Vlada Wahlsten
