President’s Easter address

Fellow Ukrainians! I congratulate all Christians of the Eastern Rite on the coming holiday – the Holy Resurrection of Christ! Ukraine, like the whole world, will celebrate Easter at home this year. And since the celebration will be unconventional, the greeting should be a little unusual as well.

First of all, Easter is the victory of life over death. It is a holiday of joy. So let’s find a positive in today’s situation. We return to the traditions of our ancestors who did not have supermarkets or delivery of ready-made baskets via the Internet. This year, every housewife can bake a homemade paskha. The most delicious because it will be done with your own hands. Each man of the house can make meat delicacies. And together with our children, we will all be painting Easter eggs, covering our clothes, our hands, and our faces with paint. This is a kind of nationwide family team building. And I am sure that after it all dishes cooked together will taste 100 times better. Homemade sausage with horseradish, salo, dumplings, rolled cake, and most importantly, we will recall that Ukrainian cuisine is the best in the world.

Yes, we stay home. And after the weekend, after the quarantine, let us be scared by the figures on the bathroom scales, not by the figures on the thermometer.

Easter is a holiday of unity. And today our entire country is united by one and only desire – to go out. I understand what it is, because I am in the office from morning till evening. I will say more: I hope it is not a state secret, but windows cannot even be opened in this office. But now I’m at home, I have a day off. Yes, the President also has a day off. The President is a human, too.

Remember how parents didn’t let us go outside when we were kids? And today is such a situation when we do not let our parents go outside. And this is not a revenge. This is our care. When we all stay home, it is truly a unity. Unity for the sake of doctors, for the sake of our nation’s health, and therefore for its future.

And Easter is also a holiday of sincerity. You know, almost the entire work day of mine consists of meetings, calls, negotiations. You talk so much, and when you come home, there is only one desire to remain silent. Recently, I realized that in fact at such times I am not silent. I talk to God. And here I will not surprise you at all – because we all, though in different words, ask the Almighty for the same thing.

For our parents to live longer, for our children to be happy, for grandchildren not to cough, for our loved ones to always be close, for Ukraine to be fine.

And for us all to be alive and well. May God help us in this. And let us help God. Let us stay home.

Fellow Ukrainians! Let us remember the wisdom of the Sermon on the Mount of Christ: do not show off your righteousness. The strongest faith is faith in our heart.

May goodness, light and mercy come into our hearts.

May joy, prosperity and love come into our homes.

May peace, peace and peace again come to our land.

I wish everyone health, God’s grace and a delicious paskha!