On February 12, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved Resolution No. 12412 on the establishment of the National Day of Prayer in Ukraine, which will be celebrated annually on February 24.

The celebration of this event is associated with the third anniversary of the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war on February 24, 2022. The aggressors hoped that it would take them a few days to seize Ukraine, but Ukraine not only survived, but also gave a worthy rebuff to the Horde attackers, preserving its statehood and sovereignty. This happened thanks to the strength and courage of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, their high motivation, patriotism and purposeful activity of the absolute majority of the Ukrainian people, who demonstrated extraordinary unity and solidarity in resisting the occupiers, as well as the prayer for Ukraine that rose up in those days all over the world.

For three years now, Ukrainians have been defending their independence and identity, defending their right to live freely on their own God-given land, so prayer to God is a supernatural force for victory and a guarantee of consolidation and unity of Ukrainian society. As the initiators of this resolution rightly believe, joint prayer will protect Ukraine and those who continue to fight on the battlefield, will become evidence of the spiritual unity of the Ukrainian people and a symbol of our unshakable faith in Victory. As the deputies emphasized, "history knows many examples when a nationwide prayer changed the course of history."

On the National Day of Prayer, the Verkhovna Rada will hold a session that will begin with the performance of the spiritual anthem of Ukraine "God is Great, Only One." This is "Prayer for Ukraine" - a solemn song, also known as "God is Great, Only One, Save Ukraine for Us." It was written exactly 140 years ago - in 1885. The author of the music is the brilliant son of the Ukrainian people, composer Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912), the words are by the Ukrainian translator, writer, publisher, lexicographer, teacher, and public figure Oleksandr Konyskyi (1836-1900), who had the symbolic literary pseudonym Vernyvolia. The text of this hymn, which naturally became the spiritual anthem of Ukraine, contains impressive, strong, and emotional lines addressed to the heavenly Lord:

God the Great, the Only One,

Protect our Ukraine,

With the rays of freedom and peace,

You will illuminate it.

We pray, God the Only One,

Protect our Ukraine,

All your graces and generosity

You turn to our people.

The Verkhovna Rada resolution states that the introduction of the National Day of Prayer will contribute to “preserving the spiritual heritage, strengthening the patriotic spirit, and consolidating Ukrainian society in a common prayer for victory and restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

It is known from world history that the introduction and celebration of the National Day of Prayer has its historical roots; it was embodied in critical times for some states, in particular during the Second World War. Thus, just four days after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain (in May 1940), he approved the National Day of Prayer.

In the United States, on June 6, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt called on his fellow citizens to join him in prayer on a live radio broadcast when American troops landed in Normandy. The text of the prayer was published in advance so that Americans could recite it with him.

In the United States, the National Day of Prayer was established by a Congressional resolution signed by President Harry Truman. The National Day of Prayer in the United States was established as a day on which people should "turn to God in prayer and meditation."

In the war with Russia, Ukraine, according to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, lost more than 46 thousand soldiers, tens of thousands are missing, and 380 thousand soldiers were wounded. There are still tens of thousands missing and in captivity. Hundreds of employees, teachers, and graduates of our university with weapons in their hands defended and are defending the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine. Unfortunately, many of them will no longer come to the auditoriums and halls of our university, having given their lives for their homeland. Their exploits and victories are told in the "Book of Memory of Fallen Alumni", published in 2024. Today, on the National Day of Prayer, there is another opportunity to remember them all, to bow to their memory as well as to the feat of all the fallen citizens of Ukraine in this war! The words of our compatriot from Khmelnytskyi Anatoly Rozumny, written in 2019, will be appropriate here:

Every day I pray to God for you,

Every day I ask Him for one thing:

That each of you returns home,

Alive and healthy... I pray to Him..

I will remember everyone on my knees,

Some gave their lives in battle...

For my mother, my grandmother Ukraine...

I bow my head in sorrow...

Volodymyr HRECHENKO - professor of Ukrainian history