Metropolitan Borys Gudziak Leads Liturgy and Speaks at UCU Gala Luncheon in Oakville

Speaking to supporters, Metropolitan Borys reflected on the transformative power of education, even amid the realities of war. "Something special happens when you learn," he said. "It's even more special when you learn in a loving context, even in a hateful atmosphere of war."

He spoke of the distinctive spirit he encounters at UCU, describing an institution that sees its students as more than vessels for information. "Every time I come to Ukraine I am inspired," he said. "The quality of holistic pedagogy doesn't look at a student as a computer to be programmed, but recognizes the heart and the soul, the family, the context, the culture."

At the heart of UCU's mission, he continued, is a commitment to human dignity and community. "There is a constant, conscious, attentive effort to understand what it means to be a person, to understand others, and how we can work together. It is about hope — you cannot be hopeful alone in an isolated place. Knowledge grows in exchange. Ukraine is a place where people come together."

Metropolitan Borys was joined by two other distinguished speakers: Professor Timothy Snyder of the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, who holds the Temerty-endowed Chair in Modern European History, and Larisa Galadza, a Member of the UCU Senate and former Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine from 2019 to 2023.