Metropolitan Onuphry: The time of Christ’s return is near

Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: UOC Press Service

On the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, Metropolitan Onuphry, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, delivered a sermon reminding the faithful of the Second Coming of Christ and urging them to prepare for it.

“Christ the Savior will come into the world once more – not to save, but to carry out righteous judgment. When all the dead will rise, the living will be transformed, and the Last Judgment will take place. Each person will be repaid according to their deeds,” said Metropolitan Onuphry.

According to the Primate, modern humanity rarely reflects on the Second Coming of Christ, despite its inevitability and approaching nearness: “We are nearing the time when the Lord will come. That time is already close. But today, few people speak about it, few think about it.”

He noted that most people are caught up in the pursuit of material goods and worldly glory: “Most people are preoccupied with getting rich, taking something from others, seizing something. It’s a mad pursuit of earthly wealth and fame. But we do not speak of the Lord’s coming for the Last Judgment.”

However, in the Metropolitan’s view, today’s environmental problems are a kind of sign of the coming end: “There is now a phenomenon of a global shortage of fresh water, of clean air... These are the ‘stones’ that proclaim that God will come into the world, and that this world will come to its conclusion. The depletion of natural resources – these too are ‘stones’ that are necessary for life. They also proclaim that God will come to the earth. And after His coming, there will be a new earth and a new heaven.”

In his sermon, Metropolitan Onuphry emphasized that no one will escape the Last Judgment: “This moment is inevitable for everyone. No one can avoid it. You can’t buy your way out of it, you won’t be justified by excuses, and no other means can help you escape it. It will come for each one of us. And everyone will answer for their deeds.”

The Primate called on the faithful to keep this in mind and to align their lives with God’s commandments, “so as not to have the kind of errors for which one must pay so dearly later.”

Speaking about the Feast of the Entry into Jerusalem, Metropolitan Onuphry stressed that the only way to reach the Heavenly Jerusalem is through humility: “It’s important that we travel to this Jerusalem not on the chariot of human pride, but on a donkey, which is a symbol of humility. The Lord could have chosen white horses or anything else and entered in glory, but He sat on a donkey. It is an image of humility.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to Metropolitan Onuphry, the passions are like wild beasts that can only be conquered through repentance.

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