On Saturday, June 27, 2026, representatives of Christian communities and churches from Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia took part in an ecumenical gathering organized within the framework of the event “Prologue: Sapieha Cultural Gatherings” (Prolog. Sapieżyńskie Spotkania Kulturalne). The gathering was held in Kalwaria Pacławska, in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains of Poland.
Clergy from the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Augsburg Church took part in this joint prayer event. The gathering was a collective plea for peace, unity, mutual respect, and the strength needed to overcome the demons of war, hatred, and division.
The custodian of the shrine basilica in Kalwaria Pacławska, Friar Marian GOŁĄB, OFM Conv., explained the purpose of the gathering. “We want to build a bridge in this place based on shared values: encounter, dialogue, respect, and prayer,” he said.
The gathering coincided with the 1,400th anniversary of the composition of the Akathist, a solemn hymn of praise and supplication considered the oldest and most beautiful Marian poem in the world. It was likely composed in 626 after the repulsion of the first siege of Constantinople. The poem was performed by the Sanok Chamber Choir under the direction of Professor Elżbieta PRZYSTASZ.
Inside the shrine basilica, as the ecumenical prayer service got underway, participants from Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia symbolically processed from three chapels dedicated to the Archangels St. Michael, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel.
After the proclamation of the Gospel, some representatives of the Christian Churches gave brief homilies, namely, the Most Reverend Adam SZAL, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Przemyśl, Poland; Father Jan TARAPACKI, the Dean of the Greek Catholic Church in the Przemyśl–Warsaw region; and Pastor Łukasz OSTRUSZKA, of the Evangelical Augsburg Church in Cracow.
Since this year marks the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis of Assisi, the participants, before exchanging the sign of peace, invoked the intercession of St. Francis, saying: “You, who, unarmed, crossed the lines of war and misunderstanding, grant us the courage to build bridges where the world erects barriers. In this time torn by conflict and division, intercede for us so that we may become peacemakers: unarmed and disarming witnesses to the peace that comes from Christ.”
The ecumenical gathering in Kalwaria Pacławska was animated with hymns performed by the Vešela Ľubiša Choir of Slovakia and by Tetiana SHPRINGER and Vadym VOITOVYCH of Ukraine.
Friar Jan Maria SZEWEK
