The preaching of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called inspired our people, who have overcome all trials with dignity said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in his sermon during the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on December 13, 2020, the 27th Sunday after Pentecost, the commemoration day of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.
According to Metropolitan Onuphry, the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called is our teacher, educator and intercessor. The seeds of faith, sown by him on this land, have given fertile sprouts at different times.
“Today nearly all of our people are baptized in the Name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We believe with honor that we are spiritual children of the Apostle Andrew. But we must remember that in order to be true children of the Apostle Andrew, and to be his followers, we must try to fulfill the laws, rules, and teachings of St. Andrew in our lives,” said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.
As the metropolitan noted, the Holy Apostle Andrew brought to this land a message about the sacrifice of Divine love, and this message inspired people.
“For God so loved the world that “He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”(John 3:16). This commandment, this message about the sacrifice of Divine love inspired our people, raised them to a new level of spiritual development. And history shows that the people who populate these places have gone through all of the trials that God had sent us for our spiritual improvement with dignity. We have withstood everything, we have endured everything and we believe and hope for the mercy of God that [we will see] the times to come,” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry emphasized.
At the end of his sermon, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church noted that if we live according to the Sacred laws – the laws of love and mercy – then we will really be followers of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called.
During the Liturgy, special prayers were offered for the end to the coronavirus pandemic and for doctors, who are fighting for the life and health of their patients.
