UOC Primate congratulates the faithful on Day of Christianization of Rus’

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of the UOC. Photo: a video screenshot from the "1 Kozak" YouTube channel

On July 27, 2020, the Primate of the UOC, Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, greeted the flock on the Day of the Christianization of Rus’. His congratulatory address was published by the "1 Kozak" channel.

“The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called came to our lands with a sermon about Christ Crucified and Risen. After the Apostle Andrew sowed the seeds of faith in our land, a certain time passed before they gave the first shoots,” said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.

The Archpastor reminded the believers of what those first shoots were like. Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius invented the Slavic alphabet and translated the Holy Scriptures and liturgical books into the Slavic language, Princes Askold and Dir baptized many Rus’ people and were baptized themselves, and later Saint Princess Olga, Equal-to-the-Apostles, was baptized herself and christened a lot of people, as well as built churches.

The Primate also recalled that Rus’, which was baptized by St. Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, included the territories of modern Belarus, Russia, as well as part of Poland and other states.

“May the Lord grant each of us strength, courage, determination to be like St. Prince Vladimir, who before his christianization was a cruel, harsh, licentious prince, and when he was baptized, he became ‘the Red Sun’,” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry called on the faithful.

He noted that if we keep the faith, we ourselves will become better – we will love, pity, respect each other, and be kind. If we want to be the children of St. Prince Vladimir who christened Rus’, we must take him as a model, the Primate explained.

“If we want to be the children of St. Prince Vladimir, we must live as Saint Prince Vladimir lived. And he lived by the faith that he accepted with all his heart, with all his soul. May God bless and have mercy on all of us with the prayers of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, our enlightener and christianizer,” the Archpastor wished the believers.

As reported earlier, all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church will toll the bells on the Day of the Christianization of Rus’.

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