A Christian should not think too highly of themselves, but be humble and should respect everyone, because everyone is a bearer of the image of God said His Beatitude Onuphry, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine, in his sermon during the Divine Liturgy at the square in front of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on May 16, 2021, the 3rd Sunday after Pascha, the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, the commemoration day of St. Theodosius of Kiev, Hegumen of the Caves, reports the Information and Educational Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“A Christian should not be proud, should not think highly of themselves than anyone. A Christian must be humble, must respect everyone, because every person is a bearer of the image of God. Respecting a person, we respect the image of God in a person, and by this we respect the One who gave this person this image, that is, God,” said the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The archpastor encouraged the faithful to take an example from the Venerable Theodosius of the Caves, who discovered true Christian humility in his life, and demonstrated how pious an ordinary person can be.
“The Venerable Theodosius served those monks who were sick, weak, and he behaved very simply. People could not recognize him as the abbot of the monastery looking at his clothes or behavior, because he was so modest,” said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.
The metropolitan urged believers to put God first in their lives and make important life decisions so that they do not contradict the commandments.
“When we need to decide something important in our life, we must ask ourselves the following question: “Will I offend my Creator by doing this?” If a certain deed is according to the commandments of God, then we must do it. If this is contrary to God’s commandments, then we should not do it, even if people applaud us or praise us for it. If we commit a sin, today we will be applauded, but tomorrow they can remove our head from our shoulders. We must honor God, His commandments, then the grace of God will be with us, will help us to overcome all the difficulties of earthly life,” said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.
During the service, fervent prayers were offered for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, and for the health of doctors and patients.
Photo: news.church.ua
On the occasion of his 60th birthday, Metropolitan Pavel, Abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, was awarded the Sign of Honor of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry thanked Metropolitan Pavel for his work that he has done for the sake of the Church and the Kiev Pechersk monastery. Metropolitan Onuphry also expressed his gratitude to the mother of the hierarch.
After the Liturgy, the clergy and believers, led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, made a cross procession.
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