“It is not enough to speak about the unity of the Church; we must also pray for it,” Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church said in his sermon on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.
His Beatitude attended the Divine Liturgy celebrated on Sunday at the historic chapel of St George the Great Martyr at the Patriarchal Residence, where he highlighted the link between confessing the true faith and preserving the unity of the Church.
“When the Church established the liturgical calendar, it decreed that this Sunday, the seventh after Pascha, which precedes the great feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit and follows the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, should be dedicated to the commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in the year 325.”
“Convened by the Holy Emperor Constantine the Great, the Holy Fathers confessed the divinity of Jesus Christ and formulated the first seven articles of the Orthodox Creed. They proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Only-Begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages,” Patriarch Daniel added.
Prayer for the unity of the Church
The Patriarch of Romania explained that the connection between the truth of faith and the unity of the Church is reflected in Christ’s prayer before His Passion for His disciples and for all those who would believe in Him.
“He prayed that God the Father would protect them in the world after He, through His death and Resurrection, would pass from the earthly world to heavenly life.”
“The Lord Jesus Christ prays that His disciples may be one, just as He and the Father are one. Then He prays for those who believe in Him, that they may be one — namely, that they may live in communion just as the Father and the Son are one, that is, in perfect communion and reciprocal self-giving in holy love.”
His Beatitude stressed that Christ already foresaw the danger of division, “because the devil seeks to sow discord among people and separate them”.
“We must pray so that we may preserve and confess the true Christian faith and together preserve and cultivate authentic Christian living, thus affirming the holy unity of the Church,” Patriarch Daniel added.
Orthodox faith, foundation of Christian life
Patriarch Daniel underlined the calling of this Sunday: “to preserve the right faith, especially today, in a world that is becoming increasingly troubled and spiritually confused”.
“This apostolic faith, solemnly formulated and proclaimed by the Holy Fathers of the Church at the first two Ecumenical Councils, is the basis of the Church’s unity, the light of Christian life and the foundation of salvation and eternal life,” he said.
The Patriarch of Romania also stressed that right faith must be accompanied by authentic Christian living, “calling us to repentance for sins, to rising from sin, to a pure life and to good works of mercy and assistance towards our fellow human beings”.
“The Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council teaches us that the right faith, or Orthodox faith, is not preserved individually in isolation or division, but in communion of thought, confession and life with the Church.”
His Beatitude concluded with an exhortation: “Let us grow in the right faith and in the holiness that it grants us, so that we may attain the joy of which the Lord Jesus Christ speaks in the Gospel, saying: that My joy may be fulfilled in them (John 17:13).”
Photo: Lumina Newspaper
