Address of Metropolitan Emmanuel of France delivered in Kyiv on December 15, on the occasion of the Second Anniversary of the Unification Council of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Your Beatitude,
Your Excellencies / Eminences,
At this moment, we are gathered here in prayer to give thanks to our Triune God for this second anniversary of the Unification Sobor, which took place on the 15th of December 2018, and the achievement of this historical event is brought to mind. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we managed, all together, to give a new perspective and to show the unity of the local Orthodox Church two years ago. The creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was a new beginning as it became the 15th autocephalous Orthodox Church. The adoption of the Charter paved the way for the signing of the Tomos of Autocephaly, which was bestowed by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the day of the Epifany of our Lord, the 6th of January 2019.
However, the gathering in this same church of Saint Sophia helped us proceed in the necessary wisdom, by overcoming all other obstacles, to obtain the unity of the Church. Reminded by the words of the Apostle to the Gentiles, you ought to be united “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” (1 Cor. 1:10). Therefore, the primary challenge that remains is to maintain this unity and not to leave any space for the devil to destroy that which was accomplished with a lot of joint efforts.
The growth and the challenges of the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine are noticeable, and Your Beatitude has shown, during these last two years, the appropriate maturity and determination in ensuring the optimal organization of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine by the proper steps. The recognition of the Church by the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Orthodox Churches of Greece and Cyprus bode well and shows much hope for its recognition in the future by other churches.
There is a lot still to be done, and this will only be accomplished by joining forces and will only be possible with the cooperation of all of you, under the leadership of His Beatitude. It is indeed a very emotional moment every time that we gather in this holy and historical place, the church of the Holy Wisdom of God, and we give thanks once more to God, and we ask for His peace and that He may free us from the slavery of the pandemic. As we are proceeding to celebrate the feast of the Nativity of our Lord, let us not forget the angelic hymn “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14) so that we first give glory to God so that we can have peace on earth.
Source: OrthodoxTimes.com.