His Beatitude: One deprives oneself of God’s gifts by failing to thank Him
Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: screenshot from a YouTube video
On December 21, 2025, the 28th Sunday after Pentecost, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, performed the consecration of the church dedicated to St Nicholas Svyatosha in Kyiv. After the rite of consecration, during the divine service, His Beatitude addressed the faithful with a sermon in which he spoke about the power of gratitude to God and its significance in the spiritual life of a Christian.
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry emphasized that all the good things a person has in life are gifts from God. “Our very life itself is God’s benefaction. The fact that we live, move, think, speak, see, and feel – all of this is God’s gift, for which we must thank God,” the Primate stressed.
According to His Beatitude, gratitude is not merely an external expression of piety, but a deep inner state of the soul. “If a person thanks God, he becomes capable of receiving even more gifts,” Metropolitan Onuphry said.
At the same time, the Primate pointed out that ingratitude has the opposite effect and spiritually impoverishes a person. “If a person is ungrateful to God, although God abundantly bestows gifts upon him, such a person makes himself unworthy even of what he already has,” Metropolitan Onuphry emphasized.
Referring to the Gospel reading about the healing of the ten lepers, His Beatitude recalled that only one of those healed returned to give glory to God. This example, he noted, testifies to true faith united with gratitude, which opens for a person the path to salvation.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that His Beatitude presided over the patronal feast of the church of the Kyiv Theological Schools.
Read also
Bill banning LGBT and childfree propaganda adopted in Belarus
A bill in the Belarusian parliament provides for administrative liability for propaganda of homosexuality and childlessness.
In women's monastery of Holovchyntsi village, monastic tonsure performed
In the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy, two nuns were tonsured into the lesser schema.
Finnish MP urges EU to repeal law banning criticism of LGBT
Päivi Räsänen stated that the "hate speech" law in Europe serves as a means for censorship.
Displaced children from Dnipro baptized at orphanage in Mukachevo
A priest of the Mukachevo Eparchy of the UOC performed the baptism of children from the "Barvinok" orphanage.
During Holy Week, Catholics celebrate Mass at Holy Sepulchre without believers
The RCC bishop, who was previously barred by police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was nevertheless allowed to conduct a service there on Thursday.
UGCC calls murder of TRC employee "particularly grave sin"
UGCC cleric Yustin Boyko emphasized that hatred against TRC employees is being artificially incited on social media.