His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr Visited Diocese of Khmelnytskyi of Ukrainian Orthodox Church

On June 25, commemoration of St. Onuphrius the Great, seven hierarchs, presided over by the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine, hundreds of priests from the diocese of Khmelnytskyi, Shepetivka, Vinnytsia, Rivne and other dioceses and thousands of people  visited  the Convent of Holy Transfiguration in the village of Holovchyntsi, Letychiv district, having raised the communal prayer at the spring of the Venerable Onuphrius, which has attracted the pilgrims for a long time on that day, known by its healing properties.   

Taking into account clear and hot day and the great number of people, it was decided to celebrate the Divine Liturgy out in the open - in the territory by the source of the Venerable Onuphrius the Great, situated in the distance of 300 m from the convent.  

Metropolitan Anthony of Khmelnytskyi and Starokostyntyniv and hegumeness of the monastery mother Liubov, expecting the high guests and many pilgrims, has started the preparation long before the feast, having provided conditions for reception and entertainment of the great number of pilgrims, having made refurbishments of the Holy Transfiguration Church of the convent, having carried out improvement of the territory of the convent and of the site around the spring.   

At 8.30 a.m. His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr arrived to the spring. He was met by  Metropolitan Anthony of Khmelnytskyi and Starokostyantyniv, Archbishop Simeon of Vinnytsia and Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Archbishop Pavel of Vyshgorod, Bishop Panteleimon of Uman and Zvenigorod, Bishop Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi (Secretary for the Primate of the UOC) and Bishop Alexander of  Horodnytsia with a host of clergy.  

Due to the powerful amplifiers the Divine Liturgy was heard far beyond the boundaries of the Spring.  The two choirs - the Hierarch's Choir of the Holy Protection cathedral o Khmelnytskyi and the choir of nuns of the convent endowed solemnity and elevation to the prayer. 
Five priests administered the sacrament of reconciliation for many pilgrims, who came to the abode to get purified from sins and to receive the Holy Communion on that very day which coincided with the Apostles' fast this year.   

After the Gospel reading His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr addressed those present with Primate's words, in which he stressed the necessity of frequent and attentive prayer for every Christian, taking into account that the Lord will not answer the prayers whose words we do not hear ourselves, and to live out the divine commandments, following examples of the great Church's ascetics, such as the venerable Onuphrius the Great, addressing them with a prayer.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy more than 500 people received the Holy Communion.   
After the Liturgy the traditional water-blessing prayer-service was conducted, following which the pilgrims could not only have taken some holy water, but also to take a wash at the bathhouse, constructed at the spring in order to get healed from spiritual and bodily diseases.    

During the final prayers of the water-blessing prayer service there was a little rain, as if uniting heavens and earth, whose drips were sign of the God's mercy and the grace of the Holy Spirit to all those present, that came down onto the holy abode especially on that day, inspiring peace and inexhaustible joy in the hearts of thousands of people. 
The festivities ended up with charitable dinner for more than thousand of people, arranged by the nuns of the convent in its territory.  

All those who visited the Holy Transfiguration Convent of Holovchynets, returned home that day joyous and restored after the sincere prayer, which is the utmost duty of all Christians.