His Beatitude Sviatoslav's sermon on Palm Sunday
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies!" (John 11.25)
Reverend Bishops!
Venerable and all-honourable fathers!
Our dear beloved Ukrainian youth!
Dear children!
Dear parishioners of our Patriarchal Cathedral!
Beloved children of our Church in different parts of Ukraine and the world, who are now with us praying and celebrating with us through this live broadcast!
Dear guests of today's celebration!
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Today the Church of Christ celebrates one of the greatest Christian feasts of the
of the liturgical year. A holiday that we also call Palm Sunday.
It is a holiday that is the doorway to the Easter of the Lord.
It is not for nothing that we congratulate ourselves today and say to each other: from now on, in a week, it will be
Easter!
The content of this holiday is a historical event that took place in Jerusalem six days before
Easter, which Christ will perform as His passage from death to life. Today we contemplate our Saviour riding on a young colt and triumphantly entering the city of Jerusalem.
into the city of Jerusalem.
In order to reveal the depth of this event and explain why it is such a great
the Evangelist John gives us the Word of God today (John 12.1-18).
This Gospel reading describes a single act of God that seems to have taken place in two
stages. In order to understand what happened in Jerusalem today, the evangelist tells us
about the resurrection of Lazarus, Christ's beloved friend, who had been in the tomb for four days.
in the tomb for four days. Christ raises him from the dead. Today we hear about the strange dinner at
Bethany. The resurrected Lazarus sits at the table with Christ. The one who yesterday
was lying in the tomb today is having dinner with his Saviour. With the One who gave him life again.
gave him life again. It is interesting that the figure of Lazarus was so attractive that all
Jews who came to the Passover feast wanted to see not only Christ, but also
Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. Lazarus was a very strange man, a sensation in
of Easter Jerusalem.
So the next day, Christ sits on a donkey and enters Jerusalem. All the people, who
had come from all over the Roman empire at that time to Jerusalem for the Passover festival,
to see the one who has the power to raise the dead. Perhaps also looking at
Lazarus, who was walking beside Christ, they asked each other questions, pointing to Christ
about who he was. Who is this Christ that everyone talks about so much? The one who
is being solemnly revealed to the people today. It is interesting that the Gospels answer this question
This question is answered by the Gospels using various symbols, signs that we find in the books of the prophets.
The prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, gave us certain signs by which we can
to recognise the one and only king, the Saviour, for whom the people of the Old Testament were waiting.
As if to answer the question of who he was, people came out to meet Christ,
carrying palm branches in their hands. It was a very well-known sign, a symbol. When people took
palm branches and went out to meet someone, it meant that they were welcoming
the victor. They were greeting the king who was returning after a victory. Those palm fronds greeted
the one who is able to conquer death.
Today Jerusalem welcomes not only the victor over death. It is interesting that the sign that
Jesus Christ fulfils, according to the prophet Sophonia, speaks of a king who will enter
Jerusalem not on a horse, which was a symbol of military, earthly, human power.
He enters sitting on a donkey. He enters so humbly, even gently, because the young donkey
shows that the one about whom everyone asks who he is is not a simple man. He is
God, the only king of Israel, entering his city, coming, coming to his people. А
to this question: who is he? Christ Himself, raising Lazarus, gives the answer: "Я -
I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies!" (John 11.25)
Into Jerusalem, which was in slavery to the Roman occupier, in which hope had begun to die
hope, enters the source of life and resurrection. A life that cannot be supplied by any earthly ruler.
earthly ruler, for the source of that life is the life-giver, the Lord...
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Ukraine is praying!
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† Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) / Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church:
- UA website ugcc.ua/
- EN website ugcc.ua/en/
- churches map.ugcc.ua/
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