28 February 2026
Dear brothers and sisters!
On the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Holy Church celebrates the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
This day is historically connected with the victory over iconoclasm. Then, the Church defended the most important truth: God has become Man, so the human image is sanctified by the grace of God. It was not only a theological discussion about the purity of faith but a question of the very dignity of the pinnacle of God's creation.
Today, we live in an era of a new, more crafty spiritual struggle, when there are attempts to depersonalise people and deprive them of their right to faith, freedom of conscience, and historical memory — the right to be a living image of God.
We see it around ourselves: when canonical Orthodoxy is declared 'inconvenient', when there are attempts to subjugate the Church to the political trends, and faithfulness to the tradition is called a threat. But history teaches: there were moments in the past more than once when heretics and schismatics seized a significant part of the churches and enjoyed full support from the authorities. Yet the Truth was always victorious, remaining with those few who were faithful to the canons and enjoyed support from God Himself.
The Triumph of Orthodoxy is neither a feast of superiority nor a victory over a defeated enemy. Our faith is manifested not in the ability to loudly proclaim that we are right but in the ability to humbly bear our crosses, remain human, and not return evil for evil.
And today, we have near us good examples of those who have not bent and have not broken under the pressure of the soulless system. By the mercy of God, a prisoner of faith and conscience, Metropolitan Arseniy (Yakovenko) of Sviatohirsk, was released from jail on the eve of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. I know how many of our brothers and sisters prayed for it, and I wholeheartedly wish His Eminence a quick recovery of strength and return to his Lavra.
The victory of the Truth of God is accomplished in the innermost depth of a person's heart. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is going through severe trials. However, the Church is neither walls nor seals on documents but the living Body of Christ. And as long as faith lives and faithfulness is preserved in the hearts of millions, as long as people pray and help each other, Orthodoxy is triumphant.
Happy feast!
Peace, spiritual steadfastness, and God's help be with all of us!
All related news On the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Holy Church celebrates the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
This day is historically connected with the victory over iconoclasm. Then, the Church defended the most important truth: God has become Man, so the human image is sanctified by the grace of God. It was not only a theological discussion about the purity of faith but a question of the very dignity of the pinnacle of God's creation.
Today, we live in an era of a new, more crafty spiritual struggle, when there are attempts to depersonalise people and deprive them of their right to faith, freedom of conscience, and historical memory — the right to be a living image of God.
We see it around ourselves: when canonical Orthodoxy is declared 'inconvenient', when there are attempts to subjugate the Church to the political trends, and faithfulness to the tradition is called a threat. But history teaches: there were moments in the past more than once when heretics and schismatics seized a significant part of the churches and enjoyed full support from the authorities. Yet the Truth was always victorious, remaining with those few who were faithful to the canons and enjoyed support from God Himself.
The Triumph of Orthodoxy is neither a feast of superiority nor a victory over a defeated enemy. Our faith is manifested not in the ability to loudly proclaim that we are right but in the ability to humbly bear our crosses, remain human, and not return evil for evil.
And today, we have near us good examples of those who have not bent and have not broken under the pressure of the soulless system. By the mercy of God, a prisoner of faith and conscience, Metropolitan Arseniy (Yakovenko) of Sviatohirsk, was released from jail on the eve of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. I know how many of our brothers and sisters prayed for it, and I wholeheartedly wish His Eminence a quick recovery of strength and return to his Lavra.
The victory of the Truth of God is accomplished in the innermost depth of a person's heart. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is going through severe trials. However, the Church is neither walls nor seals on documents but the living Body of Christ. And as long as faith lives and faithfulness is preserved in the hearts of millions, as long as people pray and help each other, Orthodoxy is triumphant.
Happy feast!
Peace, spiritual steadfastness, and God's help be with all of us!
