Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine shared a message on social media marking the Second Sunday of Great Lent, when the Orthodox Church commemorates Gregory Palamas and honors the assembly of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
In his message, the Metropolitan explained that St. Gregory Palamas played a key role in clarifying the Orthodox teaching about the knowledge of God. Drawing on the spiritual experience of the monks of Mount Athos and the writings of earlier Church Fathers, Palamas taught that while God’s essence remains unknowable to humans, His divine energies, manifested as grace, can be experienced by believers.
According to Metropolitan Epifaniy, this divine grace, sometimes described as the uncreated light revealed during Christ’s Transfiguration, allows Christians to enter into communion with God through prayer, participation in the sacraments, and ascetic struggle.
He also highlighted the spiritual heritage of the Kyiv Pechersk monastic tradition, recalling that Anthony of Kyiv brought the ascetic experience of Mount Athos to the hills of Kyiv, laying the foundations for one of the most important spiritual centers in Eastern Christianity.
The Metropolitan emphasized that the teachings of the Church Fathers are not merely theological ideas but a practical guide for Christian life, encouraging believers to pursue prayer, humility, and inner silence during the Lenten period.
Concluding his message, Metropolitan Epifaniy called on the faithful to seek the intercession of the Fathers of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and to remain steadfast in the Orthodox faith, praying that God would strengthen believers and guide them on the path toward spiritual renewal and salvation.
