Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine has issued a heartfelt message on social media ahead of Forgiveness Sunday, the final day before Great Lent, calling on the faithful to embrace forgiveness—especially amid the harsh conditions of war facing Ukraine.
With the nation enduring immense suffering caused by Russian aggression, the Metropolitan noted that Ukrainians today live “like an exposed nerve,” where even small provocations can spark pain, anger, and emotional outbursts. In such a climate, he stressed, the ability to forgive—to let go of grievances and resentment—is not weakness, but a spiritual necessity.
“Forgiveness helps us see our neighbor not as an enemy, but as an ally; not as an opponent, but as someone who suffers just as we do,” he wrote. Rooted in love, forgiveness has the power to heal, calm, and unite. In times of war, when life is reduced to its essentials, mercy, self-sacrifice, mutual support, and compassion come to the fore. Without these, he warned, it is impossible to endure and survive.
Metropolitan Epifaniy reminded believers that no one is without sin and that each person stands in need of God’s mercy. Therefore, those who seek forgiveness must also learn to forgive others. Referring to Christ’s parable of the unforgiving servant and to the Lord’s Prayer—“forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”—he emphasized that refusing to forgive closes the door to receiving forgiveness ourselves.
At the same time, he clarified that forgiveness does not mean reconciling with evil or excusing injustice. Rather, it means refusing to perpetuate the cycle of evil. “Evil cannot be overcome by evil, but only by good, just as darkness is defeated only by light,” he wrote, urging people not to pass evil along, but to stop it with goodness.
Concluding his message, Metropolitan Epifaniy called on Ukrainians to be kinder to one another, wiser than their true enemy blinded by hatred, and strong enough to ask for forgiveness and to forgive. True strength, he noted, is found in choosing humanity, mercy, gratitude, and love over anger and resentment, echoing the Apostle Paul’s exhortation: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32).
