On the 11th Sunday after Pentecost, 20 August 2023, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine paid a Primatial visit to the village of Feodosivka of the Pereyaslav-Vyshneve Diocese and led the Divine Liturgy in the Transfiguration Church. This is reported by the official website of the OCU.
The village of Feodosivka, Obukhiv district, Kyiv region, is named after St Theodosius of the Caves, who once prayed on this God-blessed place and is considered the patron saint of the village.
The Primate of the autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church was concelebrated by the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Ukraine, Bishop Mykhailo of Komana, Metropolitan Symeon of Vinnytsia and Bar, Metropolitan Mykhailo of Lutsk and Volyn, Metropolitan Oleksandr of Pereyaslav and Vyshneve, Metropolitan Hilarion of Rivne and Ostroh, Archbishop Agapit of Vyshhorod, Archbishop Mytrofan of Kharkiv and Slobozhan, the brethren of the Monastery of St Nectarius of Aegina and invited clergy.
During the service, Metropolitan Epiphanius elevated Hieromonk Vikenty (Kozak) to the rank of abbot and offered a special prayer to the Lord at a time when the Motherland is in danger.
During the service, prayer requests were made for the soldiers defending Ukraine, for the government and our people, and for the repose of the souls of all the fallen defenders of the Motherland and civilians.
At the end of the service, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius addressed the faithful with the Primatial Sermon.
"We continue to celebrate the great feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we continue to honour our Lord, who came into the world for our salvation and testified that human nature can be transformed and changed. After all, each of us is called to transformation, to renewal, each of us is called to be a good Christian.
In these days when we glorify the Lord, we are all inspired to continue our persistent struggle. After all, the life of each of us is a constant spiritual struggle. We are paving the way that leads each of us to salvation, and we all strive to inherit eternal and blissful life, but this requires a lot of work and we need to live according to the Gospel law, which is based on the virtue of love," Metropolitan Epiphanius said in particular.
The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine also called on the clergy and believers to continue to offer prayers to the Lord and His Most Holy Mother for the victory of Ukraine, for our newest warrior heroes who are fighting and on whom our future success depends.
"On this beautiful day, together with you, we offer our prayers in the difficult time of trials and war that our Ukrainian people are going through. We will pass this path of trials, we will overcome the evil that has broken into our common peaceful home and put an end to it. We must be merciful and loving to our neighbours who are suffering; to those who have lost their homes, who have lost their neighbours. To those who have lost their newest heroes, who are giving the most precious thing - their lives - for the sake of our common future. They lay down their lives on the altar of our independence, protecting that great gift of freedom and independence, because it is truly a great gift of God that we must appreciate, preserve and pass on to future generations," the Primate stressed.
At the end of the solemn service, Metropolitan Epiphanius read prayers for the blessing of grapes and other fruits, sprinkled the offerings of the faithful with consecrated water and awarded the soldiers with high church awards.
In turn, Metropolitan Oleksandr, the head of the Pereyaslav and Vyshneve Diocese, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to His Beatitude for the Primatial visit and prayers and presented an icon with a part of the relics of the holy saints.
According to the press service of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC (OCU)
Press service of the Diocese of Vinnytsia and Bar of the UOC (OCU)
