The Head of the UGCC on Easter: Today Christ takes the hand of modern man and leads him into life

Monday, 03 May 2021, 21:17

Today, from the Patriarchal Council, we want to embrace all the brothers and sisters scattered around the world. Today, our entire global Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church sings "Christ is Risen!" I especially want to greet those who are far from home due to difficult circumstances. I want to share this Easter joy with you. With these words, Father and Head of the UGCC His Beatitude Sviatoslav addressed the faithful during a sermon in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on Easter.

The Head of the Church was assisted by the Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archeparchy Yosyf Milian, the Bishop of the Curia of the Kyiv-Halych Major Archbishop Stepan Sus, and the Bishop of the Kyiv-Zhytomyr Diocese of the RCC Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytsky.

"Today, all creation - heaven and earth - is united in the majestic singing of its God, Creator and Savior, who emerges victoriously from the grave. Our Lord, as a man died on the cross, but as God descended into the deepest dungeons of Hades in order to find man and reopen to him the way to life,” the Primate began his Easter sermon with these words.

The preacher explained the meaning of the event of the Resurrection of Christ, which is described in the Holy Gospels. The beloved disciple of Christ, Apostle John the Theologian, personally tells about his experience on Easter morning, “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb… He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in... Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed." According to the preacher, these are mysterious words that mean that John realized that his Lord had come to save the world.

Easter is a great celebration of man's freedom from sin and death. The risen Christ today takes the hand of all those who have died from the age, but also of those who are disappointed, who lost the meaning of their lives, who are afraid to live. “Today, Christ takes the hand of modern man and rises together with modern humanity, restoring us to life,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

The Father and the Head of the UGCC greeted everyone with the great Christian holiday and asked to rethink the meaning of the word "greeting." "Greeting is something to pass on to each other. We know how sometimes a word of solidarity and support can re-inspire people and give them strength to live. Today, as Christians, we do not share human words of support, but the gift of Easter joy. We share the gift of the life of the risen Savior," His Beatitude emphasized.

"Let us be happy! May this Easter be a breath of new strength for all of us. We have been looking forward to this holiday. From the heart of our mother Church, from our Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, I want to send this Easter greeting around the world, to all the children of our Church. I especially want to greet those who are sad, who feel abandoned or forgotten in difficult life circumstances,” the Primate said and asked, “Greet people who are lonely today. Call on your neighbors, keeping the quarantine norms, and tell them that Christ is truly risen!”

His Beatitude Sviatoslav also greeted Christian families, noting that this year the Catholic Church proclaimed a year of pastoral attention to the Christian family.

"I wish you all a blessed Easter feast and a tasty sharing of our traditional blessed egg, which is a symbol of the empty tomb. Let the Paschal, life-giving and inspired singing be heard in Ukraine and in the whole world! Christ is Risen!” wished in conclusion the spiritual leader of Ukrainians.

 

The UGCC Department for Information


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