On third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Riverhead pastor urges community to ‘stand up to evil’

The glow of candlelight illuminated the ornate interior of the tiny Ukrainian Catholic church in Riverhead last night, where parishioners and community members gathered for a somber prayer service on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion that led to the full-scale war raging on in Ukraine today.

Chanting in both English and Ukrainian, the Rev. Bodhan Hedz, pastor of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, led the congregation in prayers for his native land, its citizens, soldiers and leaders. 

Censing the space before the altar, filling the sanctuary with the fragrant aroma of incense, with each swing of the censer, Hedz prayed for the souls of the tens of thousands of people, both soldiers and civilians, killed in the war. 

He prayed for the courage and strength of those who continue to defend the country’s sovereignty and for the civilians, especially the elderly and children, who continue to endure the conflict. He prayed that Ukraine, with the help of its allies, will defeat the “evil forces” that seek to annihilate it. 

Most of all, the pastor prayed for a just and lasting peace.

The Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, Hedz said, was an escalation of 11 years of conflict between Ukraine and Russia, its giant neighbor along its eastern border, a conflict that began with the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

The invasion three years ago was not the only thing weighing heavily on the minds of the pastor and many of those gathered in the church last night.

Also weighing heavily is the eroding support of the United States after President Donald Trump’s return to power, triggered by comments of the recently inaugurated president and top U.S. officials, and the U.S. holding peace talks with Russia without Ukraine’s participation. Trump in comments to reporters and in social media posts, insulted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “mediocre comedian” and a “dictator,”  with little support of his people, and falsely stated that Ukraine “started” the war with Russia three years ago. 

Then yesterday, the U.S. voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine, joining Russia, Israel, North Korea, Hungary, Belarus and 12 other member nations in opposition. Sixty-five other nations, including China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, abstained.

In remarks to the congregation after concluding the prayer service, Hedz spoke out against Russia’s aggression.

“It was a Russian aggression,” he said. “Ukraine did not provoke Russia. Ukraine did not attack Russia in any shape or form. It was Russian forces that crossed the border of the sovereign nation, negating any agreements, negating any promises, on paper and otherwise, Russia showed itself as an aggressor, plain and simple,” Hedz said.

Ukraine has been a sovereign nation since it declared its independence on Aug. 24, 1991, as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, of which it had been a member, crumbled. The USSR was officially dissolved that December. 

“Now we have a choice as a free world,” Hedz said last night, “whether we are going to be quiet in the face of injustice, or we are going to stand for those democratic principles that the world is supposed to have, that we as Christians believe that everything on this planet, basically needs the same things, in doing just things, in protecting the innocent, in standing up to the evil,” Hedz said.

“There’s always a choice,” the pastor reminded those gathered in the pews of the church. “The quote that comes to my mind again and again, a very smart individual said that for evil to be able to succeed in this world, only one thing is needed: for good people who are able to oppose it, to do nothing. That’s all,” he said.

Hedz said individuals may wonder ”What can I do?” You may say, “I’m just a simple person,” he said. You might even say that you’re afraid in the face of adversity, he said. 

“Well, you know that fear can be translated two ways. Right?” he asked. F-E-A-R can mean “Forget Everything And Run” or “Face Everything And Rise,” Hedz said. 

“Which one will we choose as humanity, as people of good will?” he asked.

“I say to you, my friends, my English-speaking friends, be not afraid. Be not afraid to make a stand against evil. Whatever the face of evil is, you know better than I do. There’s many faces of evil in the modern world. Stand up to evil. As soon as you stand up to evil, evil is not that strong anymore,” Hedz said.

“For evil to succeed, it is for every man who can make a difference to do nothing. You can make a difference.”

The pastor stated his belief that the majority of Americans support Ukraine  and “the time will come when they will tell the government the truth.”

He reminded the congregants again that the only way evil can succeed is “for you and me to do nothing. Face everything and rise,” he said, thanking those in attendance for their show of support.

The parish has led a three-year-long effort to collect supplies and goods needed in Ukraine, where commerce has been disrupted and infrastructure destroyed. Volunteers have collected and shipped tons of humanitarian aid items to Ukraine since the Russian invasion, more than 1,200 pounds in 2025 alone. 

St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, located on Pondview Road in Riverhead, celebrated its centennial in 2024. It has been a religious and cultural hub for Ukrainian-Americans across eastern Suffolk County since its founding. It is especially vital for recent immigrants to the U.S., including refugees fleeing from war. Sheltering and providing for refugees has deep roots in the church. Between 1949 and 1956, the church organized and coordinated a parish campaign of sponsorship that brought 74 Ukrainian refugee families to Long Island, according to a church history. 

The war and its eventual resolution are deeply personal issues for the church’s parishioners, many of whom, like their pastor, have family members living in Ukraine, including soldiers fighting for the country and civilians coping with the war’s destructive impacts.