UOC Primate: Man should find his personal Tomos – freedom from sin
Preserving the purity of faith, we retain the hope of salvation, said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy.
Each person should search for his own personal Tomos, i.e. strive to get rid of sin. This was said on October 23 by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kiev and All Ukraine in his sermon after the service at the Cathedral of All Saints of Volyn in Lutsk, reports VolynPost.
“We are living in the time when inexperienced people try to bring something of their own to the Church,” noted the Primate. “It seems to them this will be good, but we know that only what agrees with God's will turns out good. If a person relies solely on his own will can never end up being good.”
Vladyka Onufriy emphasized that today it is necessary not to look for something extraordinary in ourselves, but to preserve what our ancestors lived with and keep to the faith they defended.
“As regards prospects of receiving the Tomos ... we already have independence and all freedoms – administrative, ecclesiastical. We do everything as we see fit. Besides, we have prayerful ties with all the Orthodox community: from Russia, from America, and from Greece. And these ties should not be broken to please someone,” said the Primate.
The Archpastor emphasized that each person should receive a personal Tomos, i.e. freedom from sin.
“This is the Tomos we must receive from God,” noted the First Hierarch. “Other kinds of Tomos will not save us. This is the Tomos we should all look for and blessed is the man who has already found it: it means he is free from the sin and can enjoy real freedom. But at the same time such a man does not pursue any fads. He wants only what God wants. Because he is aware of the fact that the most perfect, the most graceful is the will of God.”
On 23 October 2018, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kiev and All Ukraine made an archpastoral visit to Volyn, where he led the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of All Saints of Volyn Lands in honor of the Dedication day.
