Lenten Epistle of His Beatitude Volodymyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of The Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Lenten spring has come!
The flower of repentance!
Brethren, let us cleanse ourselves from all evil,
Crying out to the giver of light:
Glory to you, lover of mankind!

(The Lenten Triodion)

By God's grace we again enter into the Great Lent - the period especially favourable for salvation.

Throughout hundreds of years a special mode of spiritual life had established, formed by the alternation of commemoration dates, festive events and fasts. This mode is inscribed in the Church statutes and canons, protecting the Church against pernicious influence of this world, so changeable and unsteady. Due to the Church traditions, which express the internal life of the Church as theanthropic organism, every believer has a possibility for harmonious spiritual growth, has a possibility to draw the spiritual forces for struggle with passions, for perfection in goodness. Joining ecclesiastical life, the impermanent human nature gradually restores the hierarchy of mind, will and senses, destroyed by sin. Man obtains integrity of his being again. And a pledge of such spiritual healing is a fast - a fast as a commandment of God and His gift at the same time; a fast as a law of spiritual perfection, well-tried by the men of piety; a fast as a spiritual demand of each person to get out of the stream of world's vanity and to arrive to the quiet harbour of Christ's peace.

Fasting is necessary both for those who have reached the spiritual perfection as well as for those who are still on the way to it. The ancient prophets and righteous men were keeping fast, as well as Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and the Holy Theotokos fasted; the Apostles, the holy men and women were keeping fast, together with all the Christian people, saint by their vocation, but in their present state still wrestling against "principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". (Ephesians 6: 12). This kind, as Christ testifies to it, "can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting" (see: Mark 9: 29).

The sense of fast, its aims and tasks are defined by the sense of Christian life itself, consisting in victory over evil and in communion of the Divine life.

In this relation the words of Apostle Peter give an exact description of the conditions and the process of spiritual growth of a Christian: "... According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. " (2 Peter 1: 3-7).

Thus, the fast is the fruit of our faith, but it is not the aim in itself, but the blissful means of perfection in virtues, the sum of which is love.

The fast is a medicine for soul. And just as taking medicines is not always pleasant, but requires patience and observation of certain conditions restraining our desires, the fast has some features of constraint. Sometimes our will and senses, enervated by sin, oppose the necessity of keeping fast. But the mind, enlightened with the light of Christ won't give us a miss until we put up with this necessity, bend to it, and make it a part of our lives. "Compel yourself to every good deed", said the Holy Righteous John of Kronshtadt, because, as Christ the Saviour said, "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11: 12).

The Great Lent prepares us for the greatest event - celebration of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. As much as we take pains on the eve of the feast, we fill with its light, endure sorrow and achieve joy. As none of the periods of the church year does, the Lenten season requires from us the exertion of our spiritual forces, diligence in the cause of salvation, soberness of mind and watching over senses. In the Great Lent the feelings of spiritual sorrow and joy interweave, combining without antagonism. This sorrow, pain of one's sins, should not discourage us, and the joy of purification and God's mercy should not lead to carelessness. Observing the church rules of fasting, we are to follow the royal way, remembering that not all of us can equally observe these rules, everyone according to one's lights. Thus we can avoid the traps of pride and vanity. But to avoid the nets of self-will it is important to ask priests, our spiritual directors for advice. Each of us has something to work on in these God-saving days of the Holy Lenten Season. Let them not melt into the air for us, but bring the worthy fruit of repentance and good deeds.

"O faithful, while fasting bodily, let us also fast in spirit", thus the Holy Church calls us to the spiritual feat through the words of liturgical chants, - "Let us loosen every bond of injustice.... let us give bread to the hungry and welcome the poor and homeless to our houses, that we may receive from Christ our God, His great mercy."

Addressing the Plenitude of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the days of Lent, I send all of its children my Primatial blessing. Let Our Shepherd-master Christ strengthen the pastors in their diligent and conscientious care of the flock, over which "the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." (Acts 20: 28). I wish the spiritual strength for the flock: "Quench not the Spirit.... Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. " (1 Thessalonians 5: 19, 22, 23).

Dear beloved in Christ brothers Archpastors, honourable fathers, God-loving monkhood, dear brothers and sisters! I wish You that these days of Lent change and spiritually transform our lives, fill them with strength of faith, with beauty of the good deeds, with joy of victory over sin and with light of love to God and neighbour. Let our life become the best preaching of Christ Crucified and Resurrected, of the victory of light over darkness.

Let the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!

Volodymyr,
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Lent 2008

Kyiv