- Feb 5, 2002
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(OSV News)– Two disappeared Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests seized by Russian forces from their church in Berdyansk in November 2022 have been released after months of captivity, according to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, who served at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Berdyansk, were among 10 prisoners who have been returned to Ukrainian authorities.
Zelenskyy announced the news in Ukrainian June 28 on his Facebook page.
“We have managed to free 10 more of our people from Russian captivity, despite all the difficulties,” wrote Zelenskyy, who recognized “the Holy See’s efforts to bring these people home.”
Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, speaking from Ukraine, told OSV News, “We still don’t know what kind of condition (they are in) and what kind of trauma they endured.
“We are glad that they’re safe and we hope they can recover from this ordeal,” he said, describing the priests as “confessors of the faith,” an honorific title historically used to describe Christians who have publicly professed Christ amid persecution.
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, who served at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Berdyansk, were among 10 prisoners who have been returned to Ukrainian authorities.
Zelenskyy announced the news in Ukrainian June 28 on his Facebook page.
“We have managed to free 10 more of our people from Russian captivity, despite all the difficulties,” wrote Zelenskyy, who recognized “the Holy See’s efforts to bring these people home.”
Priests freed from captivity
Moments after Zelenskyy’s announcement, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church posted the news on its website, along with images of the two priests taken during their imprisonment by Russia. Both appeared to have lost significant amounts of weight, particularly Father Geleta, and their heads were shaved. The priests gazed directly at the camera, holding up religious medals in their right hands and raising their left thumbs. Father Geleta smiled.Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, speaking from Ukraine, told OSV News, “We still don’t know what kind of condition (they are in) and what kind of trauma they endured.
“We are glad that they’re safe and we hope they can recover from this ordeal,” he said, describing the priests as “confessors of the faith,” an honorific title historically used to describe Christians who have publicly professed Christ amid persecution.
Other released prisoners
Continued below.
Ukrainian Catholic priests have been freed from Russian captivity
Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, who served at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Berdyansk, were among 10 prisoners who have been returned to Ukrainian authorities.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
