UOC bishop: Church is not holy water and prosphora but a bridge to Eternity
Metropolitan Boholep of Oleksandriia said that Christians must go beyond simply believing to embracing faith and being born again. Otherwise, they remain mere consumers of “church services.”
In a sermon, Metropolitan Boholep of Oleksandriia and Svitlovodsk urged believers to recognize that the Church is not merely a formal religious institution designed to meet religious needs, but the Church of Christ, established by the Lord Himself. A video of the sermon was published on the Oleksandriia Eparchy’s YouTube channel.
The hierarch recalled that in apostolic times, baptism was preceded by knowledge of God, faith, and repentance. “The Apostle Peter says, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you.’ It turns out that in the ancient Church, before being baptized, a person had to come to know God, come to faith, repent, and only then be baptized,” the metropolitan said.
According to him, nearly everyone believes in God today, but there is a difference between simply believing and truly coming to faith. The metropolitan said that mothers and grandmothers often come to him because their children, who had received Communion every Sunday since early childhood, stopped attending church by the age of 15.
“They believed, they were taught to believe, but they never truly came to faith. That is precisely what it means to be born again,” the archpastor emphasized.
The hierarch also recalled that in the early Church, repentance meant renouncing one’s sins, while confession was a means by which those already born again could heal the wounds of their souls.
He compared a person without grace to a marble statue by Michelangelo: it appears lifelike, but when touched, it is cold. “A person may be exceptionally kind, compassionate, and decent, but it is only through the grace of the Holy Spirit that this good person becomes truly alive,” the hierarch noted.
“The Church is not simply a gathering of people who receive Communion and seek health, prosperity, and miracles for themselves. The Church is a community of those who have been born again and have decided once and for all to be with God,” Metropolitan Boholep declared.
He urged his flock to be committed Christians rather than “consumers of church services” and warned against self-deception: even a beard and beautiful vestments do not mean that a person has been born of God.
Recalling the conversation between St. Seraphim of Sarov and Nikolai Motovilov about acquiring the Holy Spirit, the metropolitan stressed:
“Spiritual life is not about a little prosphora, a little holy water, or a little candle. It is about grace, which gives us the opportunity to be with God not only in this earthly life but also in eternity.”
Concluding his sermon, the archpastor reminded believers that through the Sacrament of Chrismation, every baptized Christian received the “seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit,” and urged them not to “erase” it through sin.
“We may not see the obvious changes we would like to see in our lives. But we know for certain that God has the final word. If we belong to Christ, we will make it through all of this,” the metropolitan said.
As the UOJ previously reported, Metropolitan Boholep said that we must enlighten our people even if they curse us.
