According to figures from the Swedish Migration Agency, since Feb. 24, over 33,100 Ukrainian citizens have applied for entrance into the country as refugees.
Stockholm’s Cardinal Anders Arborelius attended the Easter liturgy, and told Melnychuk that he had never seen the cathedral so full.
“I have to admit that there were mixed feelings before and after the Easter liturgy,” Melnychuk said. “During the liturgy, though, all the feelings were put on hold, as we enter an ‘other,’ divine reality, when we pray.”
“On this day we celebrated God’s victory over evil, over death. We trust that we are heirs of God’s victory. We also understand the price of this victory, so celebrating Easter this year, we as always put our trust in God,” the priest said.
“Despite an extremely challenging situation, and difficult times for our country, Ukrainians in Sweden do not feel alone,” Melnychuk said, explaining that they have received a lot of support from the local Catholic Church, Protestant churches, and charitable organizations.
“All these offers to support us during difficult times are very important and appreciated,” he said. “The most needed and most important support for us is prayer. Human possibilities are limited. To get all the answers to the questions of the current time, or to get solutions to all the problems we have now, is impossible with human strength only. That is why prayer together with us and for us is extremely important.”