Metropolitan Borys Gudziak in Poltava: Prayer, Honoring Heroes, and a Conversation about Leadership During Wartime

Metropolitan Borys was invited to see the city and speak about the founding and values of the UCU by Kateryna Yamshchykova, the Secretary of the Poltava City Council, and Tetiana Bardina, the Deputy Head of the City Council. They have been fostering cooperation with UCU for many years. Previously, UCU’s Rector Taras Dobko and Vice-Rector Lyubomyr Tarnovskyy had also visited Poltava, according to the Communications Service of the Philadelphia Archeparchy.

During his visit, Metropolitan Borys visited two Ukrainian Greek Catholic parishes in the city—All Saints of the Ukrainian People and Holy Trinity—and met with the clergy.

The program also included a meeting with the teams from the local “Caritas Poltava” centers, a visit to the Memorial to the Defenders of the Poltava Community, and “MistoHub” (“City Hub”)—the city’s first development space that combines a local producers’ shop, a cafe, and an events venue.

Metropolitan Borys also met with Metropolitan Fedir Bubniuk of Poltava and Kremenchuk (OCU). This meeting took place at the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Together with representatives of the City Council and Svitlana Medvedeva, the head of the “Families of Fallen Combatants of Poltava Region” NGO, he visited the honored burial site of Ukraine’s defenders at Zaturyn Cemetery, where a memorial is being arranged. Svitlana Medvedeva shared the story of her fallen son, Artem, and emphasized the importance of this place as a space for shared prayer for the families of the fallen. Metropolitan Borys stressed the significance of preserving memory within communities—where the Heroes lived and where they remain in the hearts of the people.

In turn, Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy, the UGCC Patriarchal Econom, spoke about a recent meeting with representatives of the Pidhorodne community who participated in the “Action in Hope” mini-MBA educational program, organized by the Mudra Sprava Patriarchal Foundation. The Philadelphia Archeparchy’s “Healing of War Wounds” fund provided financial support for this project.

“We had a wonderful opportunity to talk with representatives of the Pidhorodne community. The participants in our programs presented their social enterprises and initiatives aimed at rebuilding the country. We also visited Poltava, where we met with parishioners, local communities, activists, and authorities. This trip brought a lot of inspiration and joy. I am grateful to Metropolitan Borys for this visit. It means a great deal to us, as His Eminence will take this experience he has seen and lived through back to the United States to bear witness to our faith, our resilience, and our steadfastness,” Fr. Lyubomyr wrote on his Facebook page.