His Beatitude: Our task is to live in such a way as to resemble the Creator

Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: UOC press service

On June 8, 2025, on the day of the celebration of the Holy Trinity, Metropolitan Onuphry in a sermon at the Liturgy at the St. Agapitus Church of the Lavra revealed the profound theological meaning of this great Christian feast, emphasizing humanity’s special calling to the likeness of God.

The Primate noted that the mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed already on the first pages of the Holy Scripture. "When we read about the creation of the world, we see the action of all three Persons of the Holy Trinity," the archpastor emphasized.

Metropolitan Onuphry paid special attention to God's words at the creation of man: "Let Us make man in Our image," where the plural indicates the trinity of the Godhead.

The sermon included key biblical testimonies about the Trinity – from the appearance of three angels to Abraham to the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan, where all three Persons of the Holy Trinity were present simultaneously: the Son in the waters, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father from heaven.

"Every creation bears the seal of the triune deity," noted the Primate, giving the example of the sun as an image of the Holy Trinity: the solar disk symbolizes the Father, the light emanating from it – the Son, and the warmth – the Holy Spirit.

Metropolitan Onuphry particularly focused on the fact that man is created in the image of God: "The human mind is the image of God the Father, the thought born from the mind is the image of the Son of God, and the energy of thought is the image of the Holy Spirit."

The central theme of the sermon was the teaching on the difference between the image of God and godlikeness. "Every person has the image, but godlikeness is possessed by the one who lives according to the sacred Divine laws," the archpastor emphasized.

"The task of every person is to live on earth in such a way as to resemble their Creator and Maker, who is holiness, love, life, wisdom, and absolute harmony," concluded Metropolitan Onuphry.

The Primate urged believers not to distort the image of God within themselves, but to develop it through living according to Divine laws, which leads to the attainment of peace, joy, and happiness, which "is found only in God".

Earlier, the UOJ reported that on the feast of the Ascension, the Primate of the UOC emphasized that the Lord exalted human nature to the heavens.

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