The Archbishop of Nizhyn and Pryluky Clement
If you need to die for the Church, it is not scary, because the heavenly Father will give us the Kingdom, said the Archbishop of Nizhyn and Pryluky Clement.
The Lord called not to fear death. This was stated by the Bishop in the homily during the Liturgy, the commemoration day of the uncovering of the relics of the Holy Martyr Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky), June 27, at the refectory Church in honor of venerable Anthony and Theodosius of the caves in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, said “Foma in Ukraine”.
Bishop Clement reminded the life of priest-Martyr Vladimir, about the circumstances of his life before and after the adoption of monasticism and Episcopal dignity. Before you get to Kiev, St. Vladimir did his Ministry in different departments, where he had to face different attitudes of the time. Then he came to proclaim the word of truth in the city of Kiev.
“The Holy Martyr showed an example that, if necessary to die for the Church, it is not scary, – said Lord Clement,’ because the Lord has called not to fear death, because the heavenly Father will give us the Kingdom. And now, during the various trials and temptations for the Church we need to scale our conscience to believe what is offered by the world, and that the Lord gives us”.
According to him, the relics of the Saint without words preach that you need to choose in this life: “Did the Holy Martyr Vladimir could not take the easy way out? Except he couldn’t leave and go off of that cross, which gave him the Lord? All can be had. But he was a believer, and he knew it was earthly, but the Kingdom of heaven is something for which we were born, why we live and why we die have to.”
“Today we celebrate the Saint, his relics lobyte saints, and we pray that through his prayers the Lord would increase our faith that we ourselves have seen God’s provision the Kingdom, not the good of this world to the Kingdom ruled our lives, sent our way,” said Bishop.
“We never would have prevailed on this path, if not for the example of the Holy martyrs, which are abundant in our Holy land. Prayers of the Holy PriestMartyr Vladimir and all new martyrs and Confessors of our Church, may the Lord grant all of us the Kingdom, which is so vividly tells us the Scriptures!” – concluded the Archbishop Clement.
The relics of the first Martyr of the twentieth century, the Metropolitan of Kiev Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) are buried in the Near caves of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. In 1918, unknown persons broke into the chambers of the Metropolitan of Vladimir, after the abuse they took him outside the walls of the monastery and brutally murdered between the ramparts of the Old Pechersk fortress. Before his death, the Archpastor offered a prayer and blessed his murderers with the words: “May the Lord forgive you”. His relics were discovered in 1992 and moved to Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.