Address of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Adoption Day

Address of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Adoption Day   


This year, on the commemoration of the Holy Martyresses Vera (Faith), Nadezhda (Hope) and Liubov (Love) and their mother Sophia for the first time we celebrate the Adoption Day.

The Holy Church believes that the children devoid of parental affection are taken care of by the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel and the Lord Himself do not stop taking care of them. By their care can manifest itself through the believing people, who are not to stay apart from the problem of orphanhood. Restoring of the authentic family values and preserving the family as one of the main basics of morality of the society is crucial for this problem to be solved.  

The Holy Church hopes that in our society there will be lesser and lesser orphans in future, especially the orphans whose parents are alive. And we hope that establishing the Adoption Day will help it forward.   

The Church loves children. That what we are taught by the Lord Himself, Who, as the Gospel witnesses, picked up a child in His arms and said to His disciples: "Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me" (Mark, 9: 37).

Adoption is an important and  responsible step requiring Christian virtues of faith, hope and love, which a man can receive only from Sophia the Wisdom of God - Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that the Lord bestowed wisdom in the noble matter of adopting the children on those it depends upon: orphanage pedagogues, state officials and pious families.

30.09.2009
 


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