Priest at Lavra prayer vigil: a monastery cannot be a museum or a club

UOC priest at a prayer vigil near the Lavra. Photo: screenshot t.me/save_Lavra

During the prayer vigil near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where access for the brethren and parishioners has been restricted by representatives of the reserve and police, a sermon was delivered on the essence of the Church of Christ and the danger of reducing faith to a formality. Addressing the faithful, the clergyman stressed that the Church is not an “ethnographic museum” or a “club of interests,” but a living Divine organism.

“We gather here so that people may understand that the Church of God is not an ethnographic museum, not some kind of propaganda office, and not a club of interests. It is a Divine organism. The Church is a step toward Heaven,” the priest said.

He recalled the celebration of the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council and noted that the holy fathers taught Christians zeal for the truth and the defense of the purity of the Orthodox faith.

According to him, the Arian heresy in the fourth century was dangerous not merely as a “dispute over terms,” but as an attempt to distort the very teaching about Christ as True God. That is why the holy fathers did not compromise, even for the sake of outward peace.

“False teaching leads to attempts to turn Christianity into merely a beautiful philosophy. But without inner strength, it has no meaning,” he stressed.

The priest noted that only faith in Christ as God gives rise in a person to reverence, the fear of God, and the desire to live according to the commandments.

“If people perceive Christianity simply as a philosophy, then they begin to choose: I like this part of the teaching, so I accept it, but that part is not necessary. And then Christianity loses its power,” the clergyman said, recalling the Gospel words about salt that has lost its savor.

At the end of the sermon, the faithful were urged to pray for the enlightenment of those who “look at the Church through the wrong lens” and to ask God to preserve the Orthodox faith and spiritual steadfastness.

As the UOJ reported, prayer vigils near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra are held regularly. Prayer at the church in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, located near the monastery, is heard almost every evening. The faithful are invited to join in common prayer for the preservation of holy sites, for the monastery brethren, and for peace in Ukraine.

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