UOC bishops congratulate His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry on the third anniversary of his primatial ministry

On May 28, after the festive moleben service on the occasion of 25th anniversary of Kharkov Council of Bishops, 75 bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church congratulated His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Onuphry in front of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra’s Holy Assumption Cathedral, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

Metropolitan of Odessa and Izmail Agafangel delivered a welcoming address to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy on the occasion of the third anniversary of the primatial ministry of His Beatitude.

"Your Beatitude, on behalf of the Holy Synod, the episcopate, the clergy, the Synodal departments, theological schools and monasteries, and the entire multimillion-fold flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, we heartily congratulate you on the triumph of Orthodoxy on the ancient Ukrainian land. We express our deep gratitude for your pioneer works for the benefit of our Church and Universal Orthodoxy," he said.

On behalf of the episcopate, clergy, Orthodox America, Australia and other believers of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, the Primate of the UOC was congratulated by the First Hierarch of the ROCA, Metropolitan Hilarion.

"Our flock is populous and is located on different continents, but we all love our motherland Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the Archpastor said. "We are closely following the events that are taking place in this country and we are praying fervently that the Lord will send you peace, prosperity, brotherly love and piety."

As a gift to the Primate, Metropolitan Hilarion presented the icon of the three saints: His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, St. John of Shanghai and St. Jonah of Hankus.

The Primate expressed his gratitude to the participants of the Bishops' Council in Kharkov, who on that day attended the celebrations, "for their courage and heroism – at their time they showed that they are good pastors who are ready to lay down their lives for their flock." Metropolitan Onuphry with special trepidation remembered his predecessor, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir, who was elected Primate at this Council. "He was a manly, intelligent, meek, humble and wise man. He faced very difficult circumstances, but having peace in his soul and with God, he managed to pacify the people around him." Then His Beatitude congratulated the flock on the anniversary and blessed everyone.

As the UOJ reported earlier, celebrations of the anniversary of Kharkov Council of Bishops were held in Kiev.

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