The Mother of God is a model of what an ordinary person can become, the main thing is to give up on pride and to try to be humble. His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and all Ukraine said this in his sermon during the Divine Liturgy held in front of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra on August 28, 2019, feast day of the Holy Dormition of the Holy Theotokos, reports the Information and Educational Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Primate of the UOC told how the miraculous Dormition of the Holy Theotokos happened and stressed that “the Mother of God, Who is the greatest example of humility and holiness, is the model of what an ordinary person can become”.
“People often think that if a person is humble, others will trample them, hurt them. It is nothing of the kind! God fills a humble person with grace and protects that person from all evil and injustice. The Holy Scripture says that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5)”, explained the Primate.
“Therefore,” the Archpastor continued, “it is very important to train yourself in humility and prayer.”
“We should learn not to say unnecessary words, and say the words that matter, we should pray and read the Holy Scripture like the Holy Theotokos loved to do it. For both prayer and the Word of God help a person understand what is light and what is darkness, what is good and what is evil”, said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.
In the end the Metropolitan wished those present that the Mother of God “would cover us from all evil that may cross our earthly path” with Her omophorion.
Among those who concelebrated the festive Liturgy in the Lavra were Abbot of the monastery, Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, Chancellor of the UOC, Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary, Metropolitan Kliment of Nezhin and Priluki, Archbishop Panteleimon of Bucha, Bishop Alexis of Voznesensk and Pervomaisk, Bishop Dionisiy (Konstantinov), Bishop Nikolai of Vasilkov, Bishop Evseviy of Shepetov and Slavutsk, Bishop Victor of Baryshev, and the clergy of monastery.
At the little entrance the Primate presented the brethren of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra with liturgical awards.
During the Liturgy, fervent prayers for peace in Ukraine and unity of the Orthodox Church were offered.
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry ordained Sergey Mytei, cleric of Michailovsky church of Boyarka of Kiev region, as deacon.
At the end of the Liturgy, the archpastors, clergy, parishioners and numerous pilgrims led by the Primate of the UOC participated in a cross procession around the Lavra, starting from the Holy Dormition Cathedral to the Near Caves. There a Service of Intercession was held, after which all of the participants were sprinkled with consecrated water.
Translated by Julia Frolova
