On April 23, on Antipascha Sunday (Fomyna), the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bishop Michael of Koman celebrated the Divine Liturgy along with deacon Ivan Petrushchak at the Stauropegium of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine, headquartered at St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv.
This is reported by the Stauropegium of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine.
During the service, the bishop read a prayer for the liberation of Ukraine from the invasion of foreigners. The clergy also prayed for the repose of the souls of all Ukrainian defenders and civilians killed in the war.
The Church has been carrying Christ into the world for over 2,000 years, and this gift is given to every believer so that they can show Christ to others through their actions and attitudes. The apostles were not wealthy but they conquered the world with the Word of God and united people in Christ. It depends on us how we bring the Good News to people and Christ to the world. This was addressed in Bishop Michael’s sermon.
“In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Dear friends, we have heard wonderful words from the Holy Scriptures – ‘all this was written,’ as the apostle John the Theologian says, ‘so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him’. Let’s look at and remember the story of Tomas the apostle, which the Evangelist John the Theologian tells us today, when Thomas dared to say: ‘Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ Doesn’t it remind us of anything? The behavior of Peter the apostle.
When the Risen Lord appeared to the myrrh-bearing women, He said: ‘Go tell my apostles.’ They were scared. They didn’t say anything to anyone. Only then did they quietly tell, and what did Peter the apostle do? He must have said ‘Thank God.’ He ran to make sure that Christ had risen. John the Theologian ran first because he was a young man and it was easier for him to run faster than an older person. But Peter the apostle not only ran to the tomb of the Lord. He went there and convinced himself that there was no Christ there. He did not voice the fact that he does not believe, and the exclamation of Thomas the apostle that ‘I cannot believe’ is rather from joy. Most likely, he believed, he simply wanted to see the Lord, to make sure that something was possible, and he envied the other apostles who had already seen the resurrected Savior. And we see that the Lord responds to this appeal of Thomas the apostle, comes to the apostles a week later, energes through closed doors, and says again: ‘Peace be with you,’” the Exarch said in the introduction to his sermon.
The bishop emphasized that the Lord always comes with peace. He brings peace. And so that the apostles would not be frightened and think that it was some ghost, the Lord said: “Peace be with you.” And then he turns to Thomas and says: “Look at my wounds. Put your finger in my arms and do not be an unbeliever, but be a believer.”
This is how carefully the Lord treated each of the apostles and treats each of us sparingly, the Exarch is confident. He asked the believers if they also wanted the Lord to come and hug them, saying: “Everything will be fine. Do not be sad.” It is clear what was wanted.
The bishop noted that after the apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit; after they started celebrating St. Eucharist, we in the Church together are in such a state that the Lord comes at our call every time. Every time the Lord Jesus Christ appears in the temple, in the Holy Communion – the Eucharist.
Bishop Michael recalled that the Eucharist cannot be celebrated without people and all the prayers of the Liturgy ask God to give the Body and Blood of Christ. “According to our faith and prayer, the Sacrament is performed and we have the True Body of the Lord and the True Blood. Christ himself comes at our call. If we had not prayed, this would not have happened,” said bishop.
The Lord always hears us, the Bishop of Koman said, and when we call upon the Lord, He always hears us and comes with peace, which we are called to accept and carry on after leaving the Church. It is this attitude of the Lord that shows us how we should treat others, noted Bishop Michael.
The apostles did not hide from persecution after Pentecost, as it was before that. They healed people and stayed in the Old Testament temple. They preached Christ. Such was the overflow of the Holy Spirit that people saw miracles and healings every day. However, other people who knew the Old Testament well were filled with envy. They began to deny that Christ was the promised Messiah. They saw what was happening, something was wrong because Christ is Risen, and His disciples continued the work of Christ. They were filled with envy. Because of jealousy, they imprisoned the apostles and crucified Christ. But this did not stop the Word of God. Christ did not take revenge on them and neither did the apostles. The apostles were simply fulfilling their calling. It was the grace of the Holy Spirit that called them to bring Christ to this world and they could not ignore it. The Church has been bringing Christ to the world for over 2,000 years, Bishop Michael said.
There is nothing else in the Church – only Christ, Whom it distributes to its faithful, noted the Exarch. The timid apostles, who until the holy Pentecost were hiding and were frightened, who could not believe out of joy that Christ had risen, fearlessly went out to preach.
The gift that the apostles received is unique. As the bishop said, we have another gift and calling – to bring Christ in our lives and show Him to others, to do this with peace and fearlessness, so that when we come into people’s lives, people see the peace of God in us, in our attitude and communication. For people to see the glimmers of Divine glory in our actions. To this end, it is not necessary to be strong and wealthy because the apostles were fishermen. However, the apostles conquered the whole world with the word of God. Everyone was united in Christ, in the peace of God.
Summing up his thoughts, the Bishop of Koman said it depends on us in what form we bring this Good News and Christ to people. In this regard, the bishop urged the faithful to be attentive and remember that joy from the Resurrection of Christ is not courage, but a call to each of us to witness the Resurrection of Christ with our lives for others, to bring joy of God, the peace of God into the lives of others.
We need to seek reconciliation with our neighbors, especially at a time when we are being attacked by enemies and many defenders of Ukraine were unable to come to the Church on Easter and pray.
“They protect us so that we could peacefully celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. Let’s take care of each other. Let’s get together, pray for those who protect us from enemies, let’s support each other. Let’s not bring hatred and anger into our society. There’s so much of it out there. Let’s try to do everything with the peace of God, so that Christ reigns everywhere,” concluded Bishop Michael of Koman.
