On Thursday, February 7, in
the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra the commemoration event
dedicated to 90 years of martyrdom of Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych Volodymyr
(Bogoyavlenskyi) took place.
In the opening of the
exhibition both the representatives of the clergy of the UOC and the famous
political and public leaders took part. In particular, the following people
represented the Church at the exhibition: His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr,
Archbishop of Rivne and Ostrog Varfolomiy, Archbishop of Bila Tserkva and
Boguslav Mytrofan, Bishop of Boryspil Anthony, Bishop of Sumy and Okhtyrka Ilariy,
Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi Alexander as well as the Abbess of the Holy
Archangel Michael Convent of Odesa Hegumeness Seraphima (Shevchyk), and clergymen
of the Kyiv Diocese.
The event started with a
Moleben to Hieromartyr Volodymyr and All the Holy New Martyrs. It was served by
the assembly of the clergy.
The official part was
opened by Hegumeness Seraphima. In the opening address she said: "The XX
century put on the altar of God millions of New Martyrs and Confessors. And the
first one among those who suffered from the godless Bolshevik power was
Metropolitan of Kyiv Volodymyr. Right
on these hills, on this sacred Kyiv land which had once brought to our world
the light of the Baptism, the Martyr's blood was shed. Today ninety years has passed from the day
when Metropolitan of Kyiv Volodymyr (Bogoyavlenskyi) was tormented, plundered
and then shot at the walls of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. But before his death he blessed his murders
as Our lord Jesus Christ did."
Then His Beatitude Metropolitan
Volodymyr addressed those present.
"Dear friends! The present
day is not the day of mourning," he said.
- "This day the most awful persecution and annihilation began, which
resulted in shooting and plundering of Metropolitan Volodymyr (Bogoyavlenskyi).
Today the Orthodox faith triumphs, since it has innumerable Holy New Martyrs. The
Church rejoices now that it is founded and rests on the blood of martyrs,
rejoices that no one can win the invincible, no one can win something that has
happened and that continues nowadays.
And the martyrs today possess the special grace to pray the Lord for us. One can
say "praise be to God!" because
God let it happen for our benefit, for our purification, sanctification, "praise be to God!" since He has shown once again that
He is Wonderful in His saints. Memory eternal to all those Holy New Martyrs whom the Church has been
collecting up to the present, whom it canonizes, to whom it composes church
services and prayers; prays before them as the early Christians did,
celebrating the Divine liturgy in the catacombs. We believe that God is ever living, that he is not the God of the
dead, but of the living, and let's thank Him that through this awful tragedy,
through the Holy New Martyrs the grace of God outpours upon us."
Thereafter the floor was
given to a famous historian, academician of NAS of Ukraine Petro Tolochko, who
said the following:
"At the sharp turnings of
history it happens that we often meet outstanding figures and the figures that
bear the name Volodymyr. There was Volodymyr the Great when the Rus took
another civilization basis, borrowing Christianity from Byzantium. There
was Metropolitan Volodymyr who was the defender of the Orthodox faith in those
hard and outrageous revolutionary times and who laid down his life; - and when
the destiny of the canonic Orthodoxy was being decided as well. And now we have
Metropolitan Volodymyr who is standing at the defense of our uninterrupted
civilization identity. And it seems to
me that while the Orthodox Church founded in those depth of the Kievan Rus has
such men of faith as Volodymyr the Great and Metropolitan Volodymyr
(Bogoyavlenskyi), whose anniversary of death we honour, and while we have His
Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr, I think our faith will stand ground and grow
and multiply for many years to come."
Also the people's deputy
Andriy Derkach addressed the participants, he thanked the Primate for those
good words and labours due to which "the crowd in Ukraine
turns into the Orthodox people and confesses more and more the Orthodox
faith".
Then the floor was given to
the collector Oleksiy Evgenovych Sheremetiev who lended his precious showpieces
for the exhibition, and to the deputy of the Kyiv Rada, head of the Deputy
Commission for Health Protection Olga Bogomolets.
After the official part was
over those present had an opportunity to look over the display of the
exhibition, at which there were: the icon with a part of the relics of
Hieromartyr Volodymyr, his episcopal vestment of the end of the XIX century, his
life-time photos, the works written by the holy hierarch and many other things.
It should be noted that the considerable part of the showpieces was provided by
His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr from his private collection.
Maxim Sydorenko | |
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