“He Heals the Brokenhearted and Binds Up Their Wounds” (Psalm 147:3)

As the sacred days of Holy Week unfolded with solemn beauty and spiritual intensity, His Eminence Archbishop Daniel, spiritual father of the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States of America, embarked upon a pastoral pilgrimage to the Ukrainian Orthodox communities of the greater Los Angeles and San Diego, California areas. This holy journey was not merely one of geographical movement, but one of spiritual solidarity, healing, and sacred companionship with the faithful during the most holy and profound days of the Orthodox Christian year.

On Holy Wednesday evening the archpastor stood before the Holy Altar of Saint Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Pro-Cathedral in Los Angeles, California, presiding over the Holy Mystery of Unction. The sacred temple, led by the devoted pastoral care of the Very Reverend Fr. Vasyl Sauciur, became a spiritual hospital for the faithful who gathered to receive the healing balm of God's mercy through the anointing of holy oil, prayer, and repentance.

Among those who prayerfully participated in the sacred service was the Rev. Fr. Myroslav Mykytyuk, pastor of Saint Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, California. His reverent presence alongside his flock was a testament to the unity and spiritual thirst of the faithful in the Western Eparchy.

The hierarch was prayerfully assisted at the altar by Protodeacon Pavlo Vysotskyi of Saint Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, New Jersey. Joining them were Subdeacon Mykola Stefanyk, along with seminarians Bohdan Bodnar and Marian Meleshko of St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Bound Brook. These young servants of the Church had traveled with Archbishop Daniel to the Western Eparchy to assist in the celebration of the Holy Week services. Their dedication and prayerful demeanor reflected the living continuity of faith, as the next generation of clergy actively immersed themselves in the Paschal mystery and pastoral life of the Church.

From the earliest days of the Church, the Holy Mystery of Unction has been understood not simply as a rite of comfort in times of bodily affliction, but as a profound manifestation of the healing power of Jesus Christ, the Divine Physician. The Apostle James clearly exhorts the faithful:

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:14–15)

In this sacred command, the Church sees both a physical and spiritual ministry - one which brings the faithful face-to-face with the merciful healing of Christ, who “took our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). The oil, blessed in prayer and sanctified by the Holy Spirit during the service, becomes a holy sign of God’s mercy, poured out upon the sick, the burdened, and the wounded - both in body and soul.

The early Fathers of the Church, including St. John Chrysostom and St. Cyril of Jerusalem, affirmed the healing grace of this sacrament, not as superstition or mere ritual, but as a divine mystery in which the believer encounters the living Christ who touches, restores, and forgives.

Holy Wednesday occupies a special place in Holy Week, as it commemorates the tragic betrayal of the Lord by Judas Iscariot, the falling away of one of His own disciples. Yet within this sorrowful act, the Church invites us to confront our own betrayals, our own illnesses of heart, and to seek restoration through repentance and humility. It is no coincidence that the Holy Mystery of Unction is appointed for this evening - when we stand on the threshold of the Passion of Christ. As the faithful prepare to walk with Him to Golgotha, they first seek to be cleansed, to be made whole, to be healed.

In his sermon, Archbishop Daniel addressed the gathered faithful with words of spiritual clarity and pastoral tenderness:

“My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ - tonight, the Church opens for us the doors of healing. This is not only a service for those who feel pain in their backs, their hearts, or their limbs—it is a service for every soul that has been wounded by sin, by loss, by betrayal, and by fear. Holy Unction reminds us that Christ never turns away from our wounds. He enters them. He sanctifies them. He heals them. And He does so not because we are worthy, but because His mercy is without measure.”

He continued:

“We live in a world that is sick - sick with war, with division, with loneliness, and with despair. In Ukraine, in our own neighborhoods, in the hidden corners of our hearts - there is so much pain. But tonight, we do not stand in pain alone. Christ is with us. He kneels beside us as He did before the blind man, before the woman with the issue of blood, before the lepers. He anoints us not with distant pity, but with love that saves and raises us.”

“This oil, my dear ones, is not magical. It is sacramental. It is holy. It is the touch of God through His Church. It is hope in liquid form. It is mercy applied to the aching flesh of humanity.”

As Holy Thursday dawned and the faithful prepared to witness the Passion Gospels, followed by the crucifixion and entombment of Christ on Great and Holy Friday, the prayers of Holy Unction remained fragrant in the souls of those who had received them. They carried into the days ahead the assurance that they were not forgotten, not forsaken, but touched by the healing hand of the Savior who goes willingly to the Cross.

The journey of Holy Week is not easy. It leads through pain and darkness. But it ends at the tomb - and the tomb is not the end.

“By His wounds, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

As Archbishop Daniel reminded the faithful, “We walk through these days not as mourners without hope, but as those who know that the Resurrection is not a myth or metaphor - it is the truth that changes everything.”

To be anointed during Holy Week is to stand in the shadow of the Cross and to feel the first rays of the Resurrection. It is to know that Christ is not distant, but intimately near to every suffering soul.

And as the faithful of Southern California were anointed by their spiritual father, Archbishop Daniel, they were reminded that healing begins in the heart, that grace is greater than grief, and that through the Church - Christ still heals, still loves, still raises us up.