His Beatitude on enthronement anniversary: All our hope is in Christ alone

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: UOC

On the 12th anniversary of his enthronement as Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry thanked the clergy, monastics, and laypeople who had come that day “to pray for me, a sinner, and to unite around the Holy Chalice.”

Metropolitan Onuphry stressed that the ministry of a bishop and that of a primate are not fundamentally different, “because every holy bishop is a witness to Christ crucified and risen.” This witness, he said, must be borne always and everywhere – both among one’s own flock and among those outside the Church.

“Our hope, our faith, our love, and everything good that a person could ever desire are found in Christ Jesus, our Lord, the incarnate God and our Savior,” the archpastor said, adding that witness to Christ must be expressed both in words and in one’s life.

The Primate said he could not boast of his own life as a flawless witness, but that he strives to speak rightly and urged the faithful to be guided by his words. He also noted that he does not regard his ministry as sufficient, although, as a human being, he makes every effort and gives all the strength he has.

Metropolitan Onuphry thanked the hierarchs, priests, brothers, and sisters for their support, recalling that in the Church everyone – from the highest hierarchical ministry to the layperson – is united by the love of Christ, and that each person is a bearer of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which does not dwell in a person automatically but is given in response to a pious life.

“I thank you for loving God, for loving one another, for knowing how to forgive one another, and in this way making yourselves worthy to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. When people love God, it is easy for a pastor to guide them,” the Primate said, once again thanking everyone for their patience and holy prayers.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that UOC Protodeacon Vadym Novynskyi said His Beatitude’s steadfastness was not stubbornness but faithfulness to Christ.

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