Speaking on All Saints Sunday at the Historic Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said the Church established the feast in order “to emphasise the connection between holiness and unity, or communion.”
“On this Sunday, God is wonderfully present in the diversity and communion of the saints, united by the same grace and the same Orthodox faith in Christ, even though the saints differ in age, the time and place in which they lived, nationality, gender—men and women—social rank, from emperors to simple peasants, and from renowned figures to humble anonymous or unknown persons.”
“All Saints Sunday helps us understand that in heaven the saints do not live in isolation but in communion, and that the unity of the Church is manifested above all in the communion of the saints throughout the ages.”
In God, Unity and Holiness Are Inseparable
Patriarch Daniel noted that in the Creed, the Church’s unity is immediately linked to its holiness because “in God, unity and holiness are inseparable.”
“More precisely, the Holy God is One not because He is an eternal solitude, but because He is the perfect eternal communion of the same divine essence, life and everlasting love shared by three Holy Persons who are equal, distinct and inseparable: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
“In this sense, the glory of the Holy Trinity is the uncreated light, or the beauty of Its perfect inner communion, as well as of Its humble and merciful love shared with the created world.”
The Patriarch explained that God’s holiness is His perfect love, which He shares with human beings according to their faith and humble love.
“For these reasons, All Saints Sunday reveals to us the mystery of the Church’s unity, lived in holiness.”
He added that unity and holiness are never achieved through selfishness, pride or the desire to dominate others, but through communion in humble and generous love.
The Greatest Treasure
Patriarch Daniel also reflected on Christ’s promise that those who leave family and possessions to follow Him will receive a hundredfold reward.
“This refers to the richness of the grace of Christ’s love, more precisely to the ever-increasing and limitless joy of human communion with Christ, to the blessing and sanctification of life on earth, to which is later added the fullness of eternal life. Eternal life means life lived in holy communion of love with God—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—and with all God’s saints in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
“Whoever follows Christ, believes in Him and loves Him through prayer, a pure life and good deeds will receive a hundredfold. Such a person renounces something temporary—material wealth—but receives Someone eternal in return: Christ, the eternal Source of life and everlasting happiness.”
The Patriarch concluded by describing Christ’s presence in believers as the greatest treasure a person can possess.
“This presence of Christ in faithful people is the greatest wealth or treasure gathered in the soul, as holy light and the joy of faith and love for God and neighbour. This spiritual treasure remains in the human soul and is carried into the Kingdom of God.”
Photo: Lumina Newspaper
