On May 29, 2023, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine paid an archpastoral visit to the Cherkasy Diocese.
That’s according to the OCU press service.
In the city of Cherkasy, His Beatitude consecrated the throne and temple in honor of St. Nicholas the Wondermaker, and also presided over the first Divine Liturgy there.
Metropolitan Ioan of Cherkasy and Chyhyryn, Metropolitan Fedir of Poltava and Kremenchuh, Metropolitan Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva, Bishop Antoniy of Chernihiv and Nizhyn, rector of the church, priest Ihor Myskiv, and local clergy co-served with the head of the local Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
After the divine service, Metropolitan Epifaniy honored father Ihor with another priestly award – elevation to the rank of archpriest.
After reading the Gospel, the Primate of the autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church delivered the consecration of the sermon.
“We are in the time between the feasts of Ascension and Pentecost. The Lord ascended to Heaven, but remains with us, the Lord ascended, but sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Holy Spirit works invisibly, but we feel it in a special way. We feel it when we meet God, when we communicate with God through prayer. And this invisible Divine grace strengthens our physical and spiritual might.
Today we feel this spiritual joy, this spiritual elevation in a special way, because together we are consecrating this beautiful temple in honor of St. Nicholas, the Miracle Worker. Because the temple itself is a building that we build with our own hands. But there we invoke the divine Grace and visibly sanctify the throne. Invoking the Holy Spirit, this building becomes a special place, a place of our prayer, a place where the faithful gather. After all, we are all living stones that make up the Church of Christ.
Therefore, in this difficult time of trials, we must strengthen our prayer, be steadfast in our faith, and always thank God for all the blessings that He bestows on us every day. It is necessary to thank both for the good deeds and for the trials and ask for His help. May the Lord not leave us in the future,” said Metropolitan Epifaniy.
During the service, prayers were voiced for the soldiers who defend Ukraine, for the government and people, and for the souls of all fallen defenders of the Motherland and civilians to rest in peace.
Metropolitan Epifaniy also offered a special prayer to the Lord at a time when the Motherland is in danger.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the Primate honored with high church awards patrons, volunteers, and believers who worked the hardest for the construction of the temple.
Metropolitan Ioan, in turn, expressed his gratitude to His Beatitude Bishop for the Primate’s visit and wished him strength and effort to continue working for the benefit of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
