Metropolitan Onuphry: A neighbor is any person who needs our help
The Primate of the UOC explained why Christians should help all people, regardless of their faith.
On 23 November 2025, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Agapitus Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. In his sermon, the Primate of the UOC offered a detailed reflection on the Gospel parable of the Good Samaritan and its meaning for contemporary Christians.
Metropolitan Onuphry emphasized the central lesson of the parable: “The Lord shows that one’s neighbor is every person who is in need of our help.” The Primate of the UOC dispelled the common misconception that Christians should assist only those of their own confession. “When we do good for nonbelievers or those of other faiths, through this goodness we invite people to come to know the truth and become believers, rightly believing in God,” he noted.
In his spiritual interpretation, Metropolitan Onuphry explained the symbolism of the parable. Jerusalem represents the community of the holy, Jericho the community of sinners, and the road between them the spiritual life of every Christian. “Each person has his own route between Jerusalem and Jericho, between holiness and sin,” His Beatitude stressed.
Concluding his sermon, Metropolitan Onuphry urged the faithful not to despair when they fall: “If it happens that a person sins, stumbles, falls, one should not fall into despair, but turn to God, who is infinitely merciful.” He reminded the faithful that through repentance and the Church’s sacraments, a person receives spiritual healing and grace for earthly life and eternal salvation.
Earlier, His Beatitude Onuphry said that the one who prays during times of joy possesses a strong prayer even in sorrow.
