“We, the community of UGCC disciples, have experienced the Resurrection of Christ”: His Beatitude Sviatoslav on Bright Monday
When we say today, ‘Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!’ we are not simply passing on some information someone has told us. It ‘truly’ means ‘tested by the truth of my own life.’ We have encountered the risen Christ, present in the community of his disciples today, stated the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in his sermon on Bright Monday at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.
The Patriarch noted that Christ began to take care of his disciples in the first days after the resurrection. “We know that at the moment of Christ’s death on the cross, the apostles and other disciples who were with Christ scattered and dispersed. Some hid behind closed doors and trembled with fear of the Jews because they believed what had happened to their Teacher would happen to them. Others left Jerusalem. And what does Christ do? First, he appears to his disciples. The forty days after the resurrection are a period of unique, remarkable encounters. Christ gathers the community of his apostles anew. He appears to them, allows them to comprehend Himself,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
He noted that Christianity is not a doctrine, ideology, or a list of moral codes of behavior. Instead, Christianity is an encounter with the risen Christ: “Christ dwells in his Church, which is the community of his disciples, the community of those who are the successors of those who have seen the risen one.”
The Primate also reminded us that on this day, we celebrate the patronal feast of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv.
“During the war, the Patriarchal Cathedral has become a truly ecumenical center of unity for Ukrainians. While praying here, we may not even realize how many people from all over the world are confiding in and synchronizing their personal spiritual lives with the heartbeat of that cathedral.
“I had a memorable experience yesterday. When we were blessing the Easter baskets around the church, one woman was holding her iPhone, and we could hear her husband’s voice, who was at the frontline, streaming online through the phone. And I could greet him, saying, ‘Christ is risen!’ And behind him, bombs were exploding. How those at the front looking into the face of death synchronized with our spiritual life, how they feel the presence of the Savior who has risen among us. Indeed, this experience meant and meant a lot to me,” said the Archbishop.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav congratulated the parishioners of the cathedral on the feast day. He then thanked all the benefactors, donors who helped build this cathedral and are helping to complete it, all the workers, and Bishops Yosyf Milian, Andriy Khimyak, Stepan Sus, and the cathedral dean, Fr. Nykanor.
The UGCC Department for Information
