His Beatitude officiates Liturgy at Kyiv Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh

Primate of the UOC. Photo: uoc-news.church.ua

On October 8, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine led the Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the patronal feast at the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the Solomianskyi District of Kyiv, as reported by the UOC's Information and Education Department.

The Primate was concelebrated by the Chancellor of the UOC, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, Metropolitan Ioasaph of Vasylkiv, Metropolitan Filaret of Lviv and Halych, Metropolitan Vctor of Khmelnytskyi and Starokostiantyniv, Archbishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka, Archbishop Dionysius of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Bishop Mark of Borodianka, Bishop Jacob of Drohobych, the clergy of the church, and visiting clergy.

His Beatitude performed the ordinations of a deacon and a priest. Deacon Maksym Karpets, a graduate of the Kyiv Theological Academy, was ordained as a priest, and Ivan Kovalchuk, a fourth-year student at the Kyiv Theological Seminary, was ordained as a deacon.

After the reading of the Gospel, His Beatitude addressed the faithful with a sermon in which he spoke about how St. Sergius always sought to reconcile those who were in conflict.

"Today we ask St. Sergius to stop those who are at war, those who attack, that they may cease their actions. Because God did not create us for war; He created us for peace," he said.

During the Liturgy, prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine, for deliverance from the enemy, and for God's blessing on people of goodwill who help those in need. The Primate invoked God’s mercy on the Ukrainian people, so that the Lord might give wisdom to the authorities, strengthen the courage of the soldiers, free the captives, heal the sick, and shelter those who have lost their homes.

After the Divine Liturgy and the cross procession, the Primate of the UOC presented church awards to active parishioners and congratulated the faithful on the feast. The rector of the church, Archpriest Yaroslav Shovkenyk, expressed his gratitude to the archpastors for the joint prayer.

As previously reported, on October 5, the Primate officiated the patronal feast of a UOC monastery in the village of Fasova.

Read also