“On this day we see the crucified Truth on the cross”: Head of the UGCC on Good Friday
In his sermon at the Vespers with the placement of the Shroud in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv on Good Friday, April 14, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, emphasized that the Savior crucified on the cross is the crucified Truth. But Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, is the Resurrection ahead of us. Ukraine is going through its own Calvary today. And today, on our Good Friday, we are called to see the hope of the Resurrection, of the victory of good over death and evil.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav says that contemplating the Savior crucified and dead on the cross today, on Good Friday, we should not be afraid to see the truth about ourselves because Christ crucified on the cross of sin is a mirror for each of us.
“We are now called to see the truth about man in the face of the crucified and dead Christ, for the crucifixion and death of Christ is not only about Him. It is the truth about us. When Christ died on the cross, all masks were cast off. A tragedy was unmasked, perhaps the deepest and most remarkable that has ever happened to a human being. Today, in the face of the scourged Savior, we see the marred beauty of our faces — deformed by sin, by the violence of man against man. Today on the cross, we see the crucified Truth. When a person despises the Truth and crucifies it, everything becomes unjust in their life. There is neither a fair trial nor the ability to distinguish between good and evil clearly.”
However, as His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted, in the crucifixion, we are called not only to contemplate the suffering and death of Christ but also to behold the glory of his resurrection, who is the Way, Truth, and Life, to discover the source of immortality, which the Savior confirmed by his earthly death: “The prophet says: ‘They will look on Him whom they have pierced.’
Why does he emphasize contemplating the moment of the piercing? We know that to ensure Christ was dead, the centurion pierced Christ’s side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out. He may not have realized what he was doing. He opened the source. St. John Chrysostom says that the water that came out is the water of Baptism, and the blood is the Sacrament of the Eucharist. That is, by dying on the cross, Christ revived all condemned to death. He opened a way out for those who were at a dead end. Therefore, on the cross, we see the Savior who said of Himself: ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ Amid death, He revealed a wonderful source of immortality, which is why we call His death life-giving.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav said today’s Gospel event reflects a profound truth about modern Ukraine: “Today, looking at the crucified Christ, we see a crucified Ukraine. As a nation and state, we know that we are experiencing the moment of Calvary, the moment of Good Friday for our people.”
His Beatitude recalled the times of the UGCC underground when priests administered the Holy Sacraments in secret as a means of survival for the people, who were under threat of having everything taken away from them then as it is being taken away now.
“Many of you may remember how in the darkest Soviet times, in private homes, behind closed doors, our parents tirelessly baptized their children because they knew that the sacrament of baptism makes us participants in the death and resurrection of Christ. They poured eternal life into us there — in the Sacraments of the underground, tortured, condemned to death, but true Church of Christ. In our small communities, even in prison, our priests tirelessly served the Divine Liturgy and fed their people with the Eucharist everyday.
“Today, on this Good Friday, we see that suffering and death will never have the final say in the history of the Ukrainian people. Good Friday is not eternal. Only Christ’s three-day resurrection is eternal. And so, Christ’s death on the cross, our suffering, truly becomes a turning point in our nation’s history. When we laid Christ in the tomb, His lifeless body, the moment of waiting for the Resurrection began. So let us leave the church today and look at our homeland, our destroyed cities and villages, and the wounded people with the hope of Resurrection.”
The UGCC Department for Information
