His Beatitude: Live in such a way as to become a vessel of the Holy Spirit
The Primate of the UOC explained why the Annunciation is called the “Lesser Pascha” and urged the faithful to acquire grace through “two spiritual wings” – fasting and prayer.
On April 7, 2026, the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine addressed his flock with a sermon on the meaning of humility and the salvation of the human race. The hierarch recalled that after the fall into sin and expulsion from Paradise, humanity lived for 5,500 years in hope of the coming of the Redeemer.
“The Lord Himself comes to us and Himself raises us up, sanctifies our nature, saves us, and lifts us to heaven,” the Primate emphasized. Speaking of the life of the Most Holy Virgin, His Beatitude noted that she spent her time in prayer in the holiest place of the Jerusalem Temple – the Holy of Holies. Reading the prophecy of Isaiah about the birth of the Savior from a Virgin, Mary did not even suspect that this great honor had been prepared for her. According to His Beatitude, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin in order to announce God’s choice: she was to become “the dwelling place of the Uncontainable God.”
His Beatitude called the feast of the Annunciation the “Lesser Pascha.” “The Greater Pascha is the Resurrection of Christ and the completion of the Redeemer’s saving feat,” he explained. “The Lesser Pascha is the Annunciation and the beginning of the Savior’s redeeming work on earth.”
The Primate called on every believer to strive to make his life a habitation of divine grace. According to the hierarch, a person acquires the grace of the Holy Spirit through keeping the commandments, fasting, and prayer. “These are two great spiritual wings that lift a person up and make him capable of containing God within himself,” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry added.
In closing, he wished the faithful to use the remaining time of the Fast to cleanse themselves through repentance, so as to meet the Bright Resurrection of Christ.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that His Beatitude officiated the Divine Liturgy at the Annunciation Church in Kyiv.
