О Блаженнейшем Онуфрии
A clergyman must lead a person to God. And not by roundabout ways through service to the state, the nation, or ecology, but by the most direct and shortest road – the road of the Gospel.
Today we celebrate the name day of Metropolitan Onuphry.
We do this every year, and have been doing so for 12 years now, and each time we fervently thank God for such a Primate. Why? After all, his ill-wishers constantly criticize him, saying that His Beatitude does not react at all to various events, makes no important statements, does not condemn, does not call upon anyone, and so on. They say with irony that His Beatitude «only prays».
Unfortunately, today there are many hierarchs and even patriarchs who do not «remain silent» but regularly make «important statements» on a wide variety of issues. Yet we see that none of this leads to anything good.
A clergyman must lead people to God. And not by roundabout ways through serving the state, the nation, or the environment, but by the most direct and shortest road — the road of the Gospel. It would seem such a simple and obvious thought, yet for some reason far from everyone is guided by it.
His Beatitude Onuphry teaches us precisely this — quiet yet steadfast following of God. That the word of Christ, and not of politicians, must always come first — and that which is so easy to speak of and so difficult to put into practice: love even for one's enemies, rejection of war and malice, mercy and forgiveness. He teaches humility as a true spiritual strength.
And when he is reproached for «only praying», these words in essence contain the finest praise that can be rendered to an archpastor, for prayer is not «only» — prayer is the very essence of what matters most.
Many and blessed years to you, Your Beatitude!
