His Beatitude Lubomyr: If we believed in St. Nicholas, the world would be a better place

"Are you willing to share with people in need, and many of these people not only don’t have bread, but don’t have love, no warmth in their hearts; are we ready to share with other people, are we prepared to do good for them?" His Beatitude Lubomyr asked in a sermon on St. Nicholas Day, in the Church of St. Nicholas of Good in Kyiv. The head of the UGCC, talking about childhood, said that when a boy was eager to be an adult, he stopped believed in St. Nicholas. "It seemed that only small children could believe in St. Nicholas, not adults. The children know that it is their parents who give the presents, not St. Nicholas," said the head of the UGCC. Patriarch Lubomyr then asked of all those present, both young and old, whether they believed in Saint Nicholas. "You know that we live in difficult times, difficult in many ways. Many People complain that things are not as they should be, such as our economy, our politics. They think everything has to be different. We complain. But the question arises: Do we believe in to St. Nicholas? It means to do good,” said the head of UGCC. According to the patriarch, St. Nicholas did many good deeds from God's inspiration and his personal desire to do good. "It is important that we use what God has given us, whether it a material good, talent, or a warm word of good, and willingly share this with others ... If people opened their hearts to God's inspiration, to God's grace, then all the evil we have today would not exist,” said His Beatitude. “If we believe in St. Nicholas, the world would be a better place."

Information Department of the UGCC

The History of the Church of St. Nicholas the Good The Church of St. Nicholas the Good stood across the street from the still existing Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin. The history of this church building dates back to the end of the 16th century when Hetman Samlilo Kishka, in memory of his liberation from Turkish captivity, built the wooden Church of St. Nicholas. The origin of the name of the church comes from the presence of an ancient wonderworking image of St. Nicholas, who was named by the people as the Good one. At the same time, next to the church, a hospital for the elderly and the poor was built. Thus the church received its appellation from the adjoining hospital. In 1706 the wooden structure was replaced by a brick baroque church of the same name. Next to it a bell tower was built by an unknown architect it in 1716. The baroque construction was replaced in 1800-1807 by a large neoclassical building designed by architect Melenskiy. The neoclassical structure was destroyed in 1935, but the bell tower remained. In 1963 the bell tower of the Church of St. Nicholas the Good was listed in the registry of architectural monuments Ukraine. The communities Mother in Prayer and Faith and Light and a Bible study group hold meetings in the church. There is also a Svichado religious bookstore. (Material from www.kyiv.ugcc.org.ua/).