Homily by Fr. Taras Gorpynyak on the Seventh Sunday after Easter
May 12, 2024
The source of knowledge of God is God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only mediator between God and the human race, for which he came to our earth, sacrificed himself, died on the cross, and was then gloriously resurrected. He saved the human race; he reconciled us to God, and therefore only through him can people gain entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life with God.
Today we remember the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, which was held in Nicaea in 325. We honour those saints of the early Church who bravely defended and zealously spread the true teaching of Jesus Christ, which the heresy of Arius tried to destroy. Although the apostles and their followers received the gift of the Holy Spirit, this did not protect the Church from difficulties, persecutions, and the influence of evil forces in the form of false teachings (heresies) about Jesus Christ. At the same time, the Holy Spirit strengthened spiritually the true pastors of the Church and helped preserve the unity of its community and science. Under His inspiration, the fathers learned God’s knowledge and God’s love, jealously guarded it, and shared it with others.
Thus, the Fathers of the First Council, by the example of life, prepare us for the Descending of the Holy Spirit. Through these Fathers, Christ shows us the main task of the Church and each of us: to know and understand God’s science, to enlighten and sanctify people with the Word of God, for the implementation of which he sends us the help of the Holy Spirit. Having departed to the Father, Jesus instructed the apostles and their followers to continue the work of sanctification and salvation of the human race. An important condition for the success of this mission is the preservation of the unity of Christ’s science and the community of believers, an example of which is the unity of the three persons of the Holy Trinity: Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.
In today’s Gospel, we hear the following words of our Saviour, Jesus Christ: “And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” The Lord Himself testified with these words that eternal life depends on knowing the true God, the Father, and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
The source of knowledge of God is God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only mediator between God and the human race, for which he came to our earth, sacrificed himself, died on the cross, and was then gloriously resurrected. He saved the human race; he reconciled us to God, and therefore only through him can people gain entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life with God.
“Whoever enters through me will be saved,” says the Lord Jesus Christ, and this means that through faith in the Son of God, he will receive the true knowledge of God and become a participant in all the blessings that are prepared for those who love God.