"This community ... will be the light that will enlighten not only Bila Tserkva, but also the whole Ukraine" - the Head of UGCC in Bila Tserkva

Friday, 10 January 2014, 18:16
January 9th, the day of the Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stefan, His Beatitude Svyatoslav (Shevchuk) first visited the community of Christmas of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Bila Tserkva, not far from Kyiv. The visit was organized to mark the 10th anniversary of the parish.

The Pontifical Divine Liturgy was headed by the Head of the Church in one of the premises of the local Consumer Service Centre, as a parish community still has no the church. "Your joy today is the joy of the whole Church” - remarked the Father and the Head of the Church, congratulated the congregation on their Jubilee during a sermon.

In addition, the Major Archbishop of the UGCC said that we are all God's people, His property and His inheritance. Therefore, we need to remember that. Because the person who is called to any kind of service - church, or public, should  " give the master  the fruits of his work, which are the fruits of a good Christian life ."

Also, the Primate of the Church recalled that St. Stefan was the first deacon and martyr in the Christian Church. The deacon – is a servitor who has cared especially for those who needed social care. "May not the widows and orphans were abandoned, the apostles were called to diaconal ministry of deacons, and the first was Stefan - said the Preacher. – He was also the first of the martyrs, who were accused of the same as the Christ, that he allegedly neglected the temple - a holy place. However, Deacon proved himself a faithful servant of his Lord, and when he was stoned, in his heart he did not have hatred or anger against those who took away his life. And his testimony of faith was the means of its distribution, because seeing in Stefan’s face the face of an angel, a young boy Savlo, who became soon a great apostle Pavlo, carried the word of God to the world. "

 "The figure of St. Stefan is an important word of God to us - those who are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Christian community in Bila Tserkva . Today we not are praying in a grand magnificent cathedral, which still may occur, but in borrowed small premises. However, in the same circumstances Christmas happened: not in the magnificent palaces, not in wide open spaces, but in the poor cave. Jesus Christ was born there, where the animals came to eat their food and where people were not supposed to live. But from a little stable the light shined upon the world. I think ,this community that is full of Christian faith , the community of true disciples of Christ will be the light that will enlighten not only Bila Tserkva, but also the whole Ukraine ", - said His Beatitude Svyatoslav.

At the end of the liturgy Fr. Igor Grishchenko, the parish administrator of Christmas of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Bila Tserkva, granted to the Head of the Church the picture painted by the parish children in memory of this event.

Then the patriarch visited the land, which is allocated by the local authorities for the construction of the temple. Finally, the Hierarch of UGCC met with the Mayor Vasyl’ Savchuk.

It should be noted that to the celebration to Bila Tserkva came the clergy from neighboring Greek- Catholic parishes and also priests and parishioners of the Roman Catholic Church local parish.

UGCC Department of Information

 

 

 

 

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