08 June 2025
Dear brothers and sisters!
I wholeheartedly congratulate you on the Great Feast — Trinity Day, Pentecost!
Today, we remember an event which became a watershed for the entire mankind — the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. It is on this day that the Orthodox Church was born — not as another social institution but as the Body of Christ, a living gracious community, wherein God Himself acts and is present in the midst of the faithful.
The Holy Spirit filled the hearts of the Apostles, gave them strength and courage to stand in the Truth, bring the Gospel to the whole world, preach the crucified and risen Christ in all languages, to all peoples and estates, and to be faithful till the end. God is unchanging yesterday, today, and forever and ever. And hence, the same strength is given in the Sacraments of the Church to us as well, who live amidst contemporary trials and worries.
Today, it is seen as clearly as never before that the world is ruled by people with unhealthy souls, who are filled with envy, greed, malice, and pride. Their impulsive decisions sow death and devastation, confusion and fear. And yet, they are not the main force on earth, let alone in the Church. Although these people, who are far from the faith or even hostile thereto, try to dictate to us to whom and how to pray, whom to love and hate, they do not have any spiritual or moral prestige for it — only a temporary administrative resource. Their attempts are futile, for no external influence is able to depose Christ from the place which belongs only to Him.
True power, always and everywhere, belongs to God alone. And he who unites his mind with his heart, who lives according to his conscience, who keeps faith and bravery in times of temptations, who steadfastly chooses the side of Christ, is already outside the zone of the influence of all this darkness.
In a world where truth becomes a crime, and faithfulness to Christ becomes a reason for persecution, Pentecost is a reminder of the unwavering strength and freedom which the Almighty Lord has endowed us with. It is an eternal call to cleanse one's heart from fear, anger, despair, and doubts, opening it for the action of grace, which is capable of transforming and enriching our inner world and the world around us.
Our Mother — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — is a territory of the Holy Spirit. As long as true faith, genuine prayer, truth and love, and faithfulness to the canonical order and our centuries-old traditions live in her, she is invincible. They may try to ban, dislodge, slander us, but the Church will live because her head and foundation is Christ Himself.
On Trinity Day, may each of us renew and fortify his determination to live in God, to keep strength of spirit, faithfulness, purity of thought, and ability to discern the truth from lies. May grace, which gives genuine freedom and true peace, always shine in our hearts.
Happy Feast, dear brothers and sisters!
All related news I wholeheartedly congratulate you on the Great Feast — Trinity Day, Pentecost!
Today, we remember an event which became a watershed for the entire mankind — the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. It is on this day that the Orthodox Church was born — not as another social institution but as the Body of Christ, a living gracious community, wherein God Himself acts and is present in the midst of the faithful.
The Holy Spirit filled the hearts of the Apostles, gave them strength and courage to stand in the Truth, bring the Gospel to the whole world, preach the crucified and risen Christ in all languages, to all peoples and estates, and to be faithful till the end. God is unchanging yesterday, today, and forever and ever. And hence, the same strength is given in the Sacraments of the Church to us as well, who live amidst contemporary trials and worries.
Today, it is seen as clearly as never before that the world is ruled by people with unhealthy souls, who are filled with envy, greed, malice, and pride. Their impulsive decisions sow death and devastation, confusion and fear. And yet, they are not the main force on earth, let alone in the Church. Although these people, who are far from the faith or even hostile thereto, try to dictate to us to whom and how to pray, whom to love and hate, they do not have any spiritual or moral prestige for it — only a temporary administrative resource. Their attempts are futile, for no external influence is able to depose Christ from the place which belongs only to Him.
True power, always and everywhere, belongs to God alone. And he who unites his mind with his heart, who lives according to his conscience, who keeps faith and bravery in times of temptations, who steadfastly chooses the side of Christ, is already outside the zone of the influence of all this darkness.
In a world where truth becomes a crime, and faithfulness to Christ becomes a reason for persecution, Pentecost is a reminder of the unwavering strength and freedom which the Almighty Lord has endowed us with. It is an eternal call to cleanse one's heart from fear, anger, despair, and doubts, opening it for the action of grace, which is capable of transforming and enriching our inner world and the world around us.
Our Mother — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — is a territory of the Holy Spirit. As long as true faith, genuine prayer, truth and love, and faithfulness to the canonical order and our centuries-old traditions live in her, she is invincible. They may try to ban, dislodge, slander us, but the Church will live because her head and foundation is Christ Himself.
On Trinity Day, may each of us renew and fortify his determination to live in God, to keep strength of spirit, faithfulness, purity of thought, and ability to discern the truth from lies. May grace, which gives genuine freedom and true peace, always shine in our hearts.
Happy Feast, dear brothers and sisters!
