Primate: Our faith must be not only the faith of mind but the faith of life
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine. Photo: news.church.ua
May 31, 2020, on the day of memory of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine led the Divine Liturgy in the Sts. Anthony and Theodosius Church at the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, reports the UOC Information and Education Department.
Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, the Lavra’s abbot, and the clergy of the monastery concelebrated the Primate.
Liturgical chants were performed by the monastery choir.
At the Divine Liturgy, a special prayer was offered for deliverance from the epidemic of the coronavirus.
At the end of the service, the clergy performed a glorification in front of the icon of the Ascension of the Lord.
After the vacation, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry congratulated the flock on the feast. The Primate spoke about the significance of the First Ecumenical Council, the memory of the holy participants of which the Church celebrates on Sunday.
His Beatitude especially emphasized the importance of preserving the purity of faith: “May the Lord help us, fathers, brothers and sisters, so that we sacredly keep the purity of the Holy Orthodox faith so that this faith is for us not only the faith of the mind but also the faith of life so that we live according to this faith.”
The Primate noted that one who lives "according to the Orthodox faith, according to the Orthodox notions of God's commandments, has great grace and joy, because he abides in the understanding of God, in the understanding of himself, in the understanding of the destiny of man and his life on Earth."
“May the Lord help us preserve the Holy Orthodox Faith and testify with our life to all people how beautiful it is, how good it is and how saving it is for each of us,” the Primate wished and blessed everyone.
As reported earlier, in the Easter message to the clergy and flock, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine called to love and forgive each other for the triumph of Christ's victory over death and hell.
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