Baptism is not just a rite but the beginning of a new life – His Beatitude
The Primate of the UOC explained how the grace of the Holy Spirit acts on a person after Baptism and how to preserve it.
In his sermon on the Day of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry spoke about how God's grace received through the Sacrament of Baptism transforms a person. This was reported by the UOC Information and Education Department.
The Primate noted that Saint Prince Vladimir entered history as the baptizer of Rus, but his sainthood lay not only in baptizing the people but also in the profound inner transformation brought about by faith itself.
"He himself was a personal example of how faith transforms a person from darkness to light, from deceitful to sincere, from hateful to loving," said the Primate.
The change that occurred in the life of the Russian ruler shows, according to Metropolitan Onuphry, how the action of God’s grace, received through Baptism, changes a person.
Baptism gives a person the strength to be kind, to love, to endure, and to live on earth not as a consumer but as a creator. However, these gifts require constant growth. This is where each individual's personal effort is important: through prayer, fasting, repentance, and good deeds, spiritual talents must be developed and strengthened in life.
"Prince Vladimir also kept the fire of gracious burning alive in his soul – the burning of love for God and people," emphasized His Beatitude Onuphry, adding that we all must protect our souls from the "sinful waters" that try to extinguish this fire.
In conclusion, he called on everyone –both the spiritual and physical descendants of Prince Vladimir – to preserve the faith that he embraced and passed on to us.
"May the Lord, through the prayers of Saint Prince Vladimir and all the saints of the Kyiv land, help us live on this earth in such a way that the fire of love, kindled in our hearts at Baptism, grows stronger, and that we come to God with it just like the wise virgins who, with their lamps lit, met the Heavenly Bridegroom," said the Archpastor.
As reported by the UOJ, the Primate of the UOC led the celebrations on the day of the Baptism of Rus.
