Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church: the righteous do not die - they live forever
We pray before the relics of saints because they have the power of life. This was said by his Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and all Ukraine on the feast day of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, according to the Information and Education Department of the UOC.
Metropolitan Vladimir noted that the Lord gave Panteleimon the gift to heal the diseases of people, and after death he helps everyone who asks him calls for help.
The Primate said that St. Panteleimon’s head is kept on Mount Athos, pieces of his relics are all over the world, and people with special faith worship them. He noted that sometimes people ask Orthodox believers a question: "Why do you pray before the bones? What good can they bring? If a person has lived righteously in God’s eyes, even departing from this world, he remains a life holder," – said the Primate.
According to him, we worship the Holy relics and receive healing from shrines because they have the power of life. "The righteous do not die - they live forever," – he said.
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