31 May 2026
Dear brothers and sisters!
I wholeheartedly greet you on the great Feast of the Holy Trinity!
On the day of Pentecost, the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity was revealed to the world, and the Church of Christ was born. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, and the small community of disciples became the living Body through which God acts in history, consoles, sanctifies, and leads man to salvation.
The Church is not only walls of temples, not only an external structure, and not only an assembly of people. The genuine Church is where there is a living connection with God. She is in the silence of a monastic cell and in a mother's ardent prayer. She is in a hospital ward and in a prison cell. She is in help to victims, in the consolation of the sorrowful, in faithfulness to Christ, manifested not only in word but first of all in works of love and mercy.
Today, many try to judge the Church from the outside and divide her according to administrative borders, language, and political sympathies. But the Church is known not theoretically but only through life in her — in prayer, repentance, Sacraments, in the experience of grace. It is the unity of the Holy Spirit, which unites those who are faithful to Christ beyond time and earthly differences.
Once, people in Babylon stopped understanding each other because they wanted to establish a world without God. And today, mankind again tries to build a collective 'earthly paradise' on fear, coercion, and political passions. But where there is no Spirit of God, new walls, new enmity, a new Babylon inevitably appear. We see it in our Ukrainian land as well, where for so many years now, war has been killing, ruining lives, scattering the people, and making them live in constant pain, tiredness, and anxiety.
Pentecost reveals for us today that there is an exit from this horrible deadlock: only the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in the Mother Church and in the hearts of the faithful, gives peace, genuine freedom, and the courage to live according to the truth and not to betray Christ for an imaginary well-being. The Lord has not forsaken the world: now as well, His grace warms hearts which have grown cold, fortifies the feeble, consoles the sorrowful, and makes man capable of loving where there seems to be no more strength left.
Today, we bring green branches — a symbol of the triumph of life and spiritual spring — into churches. But Christianity is not ritual floral design. If a renewal does not begin in our souls, and if our hearts remain cold, the feast has passed us by.
On this sacred day, may the Spirit of Life enlighten our souls, strengthen our faithfulness to the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ, and help us to be true Christians — not only in name but according to actual works of faith and love.
Happy Feast of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity!
All related news I wholeheartedly greet you on the great Feast of the Holy Trinity!
On the day of Pentecost, the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity was revealed to the world, and the Church of Christ was born. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, and the small community of disciples became the living Body through which God acts in history, consoles, sanctifies, and leads man to salvation.
The Church is not only walls of temples, not only an external structure, and not only an assembly of people. The genuine Church is where there is a living connection with God. She is in the silence of a monastic cell and in a mother's ardent prayer. She is in a hospital ward and in a prison cell. She is in help to victims, in the consolation of the sorrowful, in faithfulness to Christ, manifested not only in word but first of all in works of love and mercy.
Today, many try to judge the Church from the outside and divide her according to administrative borders, language, and political sympathies. But the Church is known not theoretically but only through life in her — in prayer, repentance, Sacraments, in the experience of grace. It is the unity of the Holy Spirit, which unites those who are faithful to Christ beyond time and earthly differences.
Once, people in Babylon stopped understanding each other because they wanted to establish a world without God. And today, mankind again tries to build a collective 'earthly paradise' on fear, coercion, and political passions. But where there is no Spirit of God, new walls, new enmity, a new Babylon inevitably appear. We see it in our Ukrainian land as well, where for so many years now, war has been killing, ruining lives, scattering the people, and making them live in constant pain, tiredness, and anxiety.
Pentecost reveals for us today that there is an exit from this horrible deadlock: only the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in the Mother Church and in the hearts of the faithful, gives peace, genuine freedom, and the courage to live according to the truth and not to betray Christ for an imaginary well-being. The Lord has not forsaken the world: now as well, His grace warms hearts which have grown cold, fortifies the feeble, consoles the sorrowful, and makes man capable of loving where there seems to be no more strength left.
Today, we bring green branches — a symbol of the triumph of life and spiritual spring — into churches. But Christianity is not ritual floral design. If a renewal does not begin in our souls, and if our hearts remain cold, the feast has passed us by.
On this sacred day, may the Spirit of Life enlighten our souls, strengthen our faithfulness to the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ, and help us to be true Christians — not only in name but according to actual works of faith and love.
Happy Feast of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity!
