His Beatitude: Living faith leads a man into the Kingdom of Heaven

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: UOC

On April 11, 2026, Holy Saturday, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Dormition Kyiv Caves Lavra. The service was held at the Church of St. Agapit of the Kyiv Caves.

In his homily, the Primate reminded the faithful of the meaning of Holy Saturday as the day when the Lord completed His feat of redeeming the human race. According to the archpastor, before the coming of Christ, paradise was closed to all people, and even the righteous of the Old Testament descended into hell after death.

“When the Lord died on the Cross as man, by His soul He descended into hell in order to preach His coming there to the people who had awaited Him and lived by faith in Him,” His Beatitude said. He emphasized that together with the human soul of the Savior, the Godhead also descended into the underworld – and hell could not withstand it, and so it was destroyed. As a result of this victory over death, Christ led Adam, Eve, and all the righteous into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Addressing his flock, Metropolitan Onuphry called on Christians to strive so that their faith would not be “dry” or merely “a faith of the mind,” but living faith. “Living faith is the faith that bears witness to the fact that a person lives according to Christ’s commandments. It is precisely such living faith that leads a person into the Kingdom of Heaven,” the Primate stressed. The archpastor wished the faithful to be granted, in the age to come, to become partakers of the “eternal Pascha” that God has prepared for those who love Him.

Concelebrating with the Primate were Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, Chancellor of the UOC, Archbishops Spiridon of Dobropillia, Lavr of Irpin, Mark of Borodianka, and the Lavra clergy. Special prayers were offered at the Liturgy for peace, for deliverance from the enemy, for wisdom for the authorities, and for the strengthening of soldiers in courage. His Beatitude also performed the ordination of Mykola Zadorozhny to the diaconate.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that His Beatitude explained the difference between faith and trust in God.

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