Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Iurii Tychenok on the Seventh Sunday after Easter
May 16, 2026
When we reflect upon the fact that Christ ascended into heaven to prepare a place for each one of us, the thought of eternity no longer fills us with fear but instead brings hope and joy. The task of each one of us is not only to believe and prepare for eternal life with God, but also to share this joy with our neighbours.
Today, on the Sunday between the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, our Church honours the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council — the bishops, priests, and deacons of the early Christian Church who gathered from throughout the world in order to preserve the true faith in the face of emerging heresies (false teachings) and to clearly define and establish the norms of the Universal Church.
Relying upon the teaching of Jesus Christ and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, they gathered together all the most important truths of our faith in the form of the prayer which we call the Creed, which we continue to pray to this very day.
In today’s Gospel we heard the words of the so-called High Priestly Prayer of Jesus Christ, in which the Son of God asks God the Father on behalf of us, His people, that we all may be one, just as God is one. The mission with which the Son of God came into this world was to reveal the true God to humanity and to show the one true path to salvation. And this path is faith in the Triune God and love for Him and for our neighbour.
On the gate of an old cemetery there hung a sign with the inscription “We once lived where you now live; we have gone where you too shall go.” These words sound very тяжко when we look upon a cemetery as a place of sorrow and darkness, upon the cold stone grave markers and the faces of people unknown to us when we think about death only as the end of earthly life.
As the years pass, each of us has more and more dear and close people who have departed into eternity, people for whom we grieve and whom we deeply miss. Especially now, during the present war in Ukraine, when almost every day we hear about the deaths of innocent relatives and friends, we begin to look differently upon eternal life after death — as life in a better world, which the Son of God, Jesus Christ, promises to those who believe in Him. We believe that these heroes of ours cannot simply disappear. They remain alive in our hearts and in our memory.
Especially now, in this period after the Ascension of the Lord, when we reflect upon the fact that Christ ascended into heaven to prepare a place for each one of us, the thought of eternity no longer fills us with fear but instead brings hope and joy. We believe that there, in eternity, our beloved Lord awaits us, together with many friends and relatives, as well as simply good and sincere people, whose presence and companionship cannot be replaced by anyone or anything. The task of each one of us is not only to believe and prepare for eternal life with God, but also to share this joy with our neighbours, transforming their sorrow and fear into joy.
For this reason, today’s commemoration of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council is for us not merely the remembrance of a historical event but also a reminder that our faith, founded by the Son of God, has a firm foundation and is guided by the Holy Spirit. Thanks to their faithfulness to the Lord and their sincere labour for the salvation of us all, today we are able to proclaim with hope: “I believe… and I await the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” Amen!
