Owing to Lent we regain the Lost Paradise, – UOC Primate (VIDEO)

In the Cheesefare week when the Church recalls Adam's expulsion, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry told about the importance of the Lent observance for spiritual perfection, reports the UOC Information and Education Department.

«The Holy Church, preparing us for the salvational time of the Lent, recalls the most tragic history of the mankind – expulsion of Adam from paradise. The Holy Scriptures tells us about a human being created by God and placed in a beautiful, pleasant, sweet place called the Garden of Eden or Paradise. There was everything in this place for carnal pleasures of the human, his welfare and spiritual rejoice. The man was made a ruler of the whole creation of the Lord. But the story continues in a sad way. We know that Adam violated the only divine commandment and ate the forbidden fruit form the tree of good and evil,» reminded the Biblical story His Beatitude.

He explained that the Lord gave this commandment to man for him to grow spiritually.

«Sometimes people, not understanding the sense fo spiritual life, say the Lord could give no commandment to Adam. But He established His prohibition, because the fulfilment of commandments is a means to spiritual perfection. A human could have self-actualized in the good in this case.»

But Adam was tempted to try the forbidden fruit and, consequently, was expelled from the paradise.

«At times people tend to think God got angry with Adam for his being disobedient and obstinate and due to this the Lord did not wish to have Adam by His side. Yet God expelled Adam not because of His rage, but because Adam was no longer able to live in the paradise,” continued the Primate. “All-merciful God when having a man driven from the paradise sent us the Messiah, Who returns to humans their lost paradise.»

Following the expulsion Adam was sore at his heart and wanted to come back but was unable to do it, therefore his life in exile was the time for sorrow and repentance.

The Holy Church reminds us this tragic episode in the run-up to the Lent, since Adam lost his paradise due to incontintence.

According to the Archpastor, owing namely to the Lent we regain our lost paradise: «Adam lost it due to his incontinence – we regain it thanks to our continence.»

«The Lent is the time when we must remember about the fact we are also standing in front of the gates to the paradise. And we must pray, lament and repent to return to this paradise. The difference between Adam and us is that Adam was standing in front of the gates and there were closed so he couldn't get inside, while we are standing in front of these gates which are opened for us by the most glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ.»

His Beatitude urged to follow the rule of the Church: «During the Holy Great Lent we should try to refrain from the food forbidden during the Lent, from evil thoughts, evil actions and bad language. Instead, we should get habituated to praying, obedience, mercy and tolerance.»

«If we live through the Lent in that way, upon entering the eternity we will deserve to be citizens of the blissful and sweet paradise lost by Adam but returned to us by our Lord Jesus Christ,» concluded Metropolitan Onuphry.