Kiev, August 20, 2024
Photo: news.church.ua
August 17 marked His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine’s 10th anniversary as the primate of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He was enthroned in 2014 following the repose of His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir.
His Beatitude is beloved not only in Ukraine, but throughout the Orthodox world, and he received a number of letters of congratulations from primates and hierarchs of Sister Orthodox Churches.
The UOC and its God-loving hierarchs, clergy, and faithful festively celebrated the occasion in the St. Agapit Church of the Kiev Caves Lavra—one of the few Lavra churches still accessible to Orthodox Christians amidst the state’s persecution of the Church.
Photo: news.church.ua
The celebration began Friday night, with an All-Night Vigil celebrated by Met. Onuphry and a host of Ukrainian hierarchs and clergy, reports the Information-Education Department of the UOC.
He was again joined by his fellow hierarchs and clerics for the Divine Liturgy the next morning. During the service, three hierarchs were awarded the right to wear a second Panagia, and six hierarchs were elevated to the rank of archbishop and metropolitan.
Fervent prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and for all who suffer.
At the end of the service, a congratulatory speech was read on behalf of the Holy Synod and the entire UOC, noting that Met. Onuphry’s enthronement as primate “placed not a crown of glory on [his] head, but sharp trials.” It also stated:
Your Beatitude's personal qualities of soul—calmness, patience, moderation—greatly contribute to the necessary mutual understanding. In the most important doctrinal matters for the Church, you, as a worthy successor of the Kiev First Hierarchs, always demonstrate unwavering firmness, which serves as a reliable guarantee of preserving Orthodoxy in the God-protected Ukrainian land…
We all understand the great weight of the cross that the Lord has placed upon you and which you have been carrying without complaint for 10 years. God’s grace and the protection of the Queen of Heaven give you the strength to lead the ship of the Church worthily in very difficult conditions of storms and undercurrents.
Photo: news.church.ua
In turn, His Beatitude thanked his faithful flock for helping him bear his cross. He exhorted:
On the path that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven, a man encounters difficulties, illnesses, sorrows, and various trials. This is a narrow path, but it is the path of the Church. If we didn’t suffer, we wouldn’t feel like we were Christ’s. But suffering convinces us that we are Christ’s, that the Lord hasn’t turned away from us, that we have a chance to become better…
May the Lord grant us courage and strength, so that our power wouldn’t be weapons, not money, but so God would be our protection and strength. If it is so, then no one will defeat us.
His Beatitude received congratulations from fellow hierarchs from throughout the Orthodox world, including His Beatitude Patriarch John of Antioch, His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia of Georgia, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, His Holiness Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria, His Eminence Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro, His Eminence Archbishop Michael of Prague, and His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
Photo: news.church.ua
Pat. John of Antioch ensured Met. Onuphry of the prayers of the Church of Antioch for the martyric Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and noted that they are comforted by Met. Onuphry’s steadfast love for Christ even amidst persecution.
Pat. Daniil of Bulgaria wrote:
The time of your primacy has coincided with severe trials for the Ukrainian people and their Church. You have resisted and continue to resist, with God’s help all attempts at division, preserving the unity, integrity, and canonicity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. At the same time, these were years of division within Ukrainian society itself, during which you always showed yourself as a unifier and peacemaker, which is the evangelical duty of every true shepherd of Christ.
Abp. Michael of Prague told the Ukrainian primate: “Your wisdom, patience, and unwavering faith are a source of inspiration for all of us.”
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