On the eve of the Resurrection of the Lord, on Holy Thursday, Metropolitan Fedir of Poltava and Kremenchuk paid an archpastoral visit to the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”.
This good tradition of receiving a message from the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians of the Poltava region on the eve of the bright holiday of the Resurrection of the Lord and delivering Easter loaves for our defenders to the Poltava Military Hospital and some units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the frontline was established by the staff and the Volunteer Headquarters of Multidisciplinary Classical University in the year of the full-scale invasion. This year, the volunteers of Poltava Polytechnic prepared more than 250 Easter paskas, which were handed over to the defenders and the “Poltava Battalion of the Caring” after the consecration.
“It is a great pleasure to maintain the tradition of holding an inspiring meeting with a respected friend of Poltava Polytechnic, Metropolitan Fedir of Poltava and Kremenchuk, for the third year in a row. It is no exaggeration to say that our university is eager to listen to his good word and the powerful instructions that we should follow in this world, heeding his wise advice. The Metropolitan’s statement about our university as “Poltava Stanford” will be imprinted in my mind for the rest of my life, as it is a very high appreciation of the academic staff and students,” – commented Acting Rector of Poltava Polytechnic, Professor Volodymyr Onyshchenko and presented an artistic business card of the university.
The archbishop spoke about the bitter losses of Ukraine over the centuries of enslavement by the enemy, our murdered geniuses, the losses for the development of the nation, the essence of Easter and the main task of Christians.
“It has already become a tradition that I am here with you in this venerable hall, once a church hall, now a scientific hall, and we meet here on the eve of Easter. This is a very good and significant tradition. Thank you for the invitation, I am very pleased for your constant attention, and I have just thought that your university has such a heritage of traditions – employees, scientists with extensive life experience, scientific and pedagogical experience along with young teachers. In my opinion, this is the way it should be in society, when maturity and experience should be passed on to the younger generation, who will accept it with the energy inherent in youth and implement it in real life. When there is such harmony, it gives a good result,” – noted the archbishop.
It should be recalled that on the occasion of the 205th anniversary of the powerful educational institution, Metropolitan Fedir of Poltava and Kremenchuk awarded the university community of Polytechnic with the distinction of the Diocese of the OCU for their significant contribution to the revival of spirituality and the establishment of Ukrainian Orthodoxy in the Poltava region, calling the university “Poltava Stanford” and noting the importance of social mobilisation around educational centres.
“Our primary task now is to survive, to preserve our state, for if we can preserve the state, this evil empire will collapse, crumble, even if it has some achievements, but the evil it is bringing now and will bring more is very, very great. If we do not preserve our statehood, then this evil empire will destroy all our achievements and we will need to rebuild again, but we must survive.
I believe that we will survive, because evil does not have the power to dominate forever, but this is how it is for now. Our world is a struggle between good and evil. When we talk about Easter, the victory of God over evil, we always remember Jesus Christ, a unique person in human history, and what He did for humanity.
We need to remember on these days that if we are talking about the Christian tradition. Christ offers us a way of renewal, healing, and a path that we should follow.
If we imagine our universe, and today scientists say that the boundaries of our visible material universe are 13 million light years away, and among this huge material world there is one small particle – our planet, and on it is a human being who gives meaning to the whole creation, that is, we are an entry into the meaning of the whole creation. We are the meaning of creation. And without man, without his understanding, nothing can exist. Worship is the comprehension of religious texts. The task of a Christian is to comprehend and embody what they have heard. The main principle of Christian life is to acquire the virtue that distinguishes us as human beings. We have to learn to love throughout our lives.
God created man out of love, and it spills outside. God created us to be happy.
Christian faith is not a declaration of words, it is the ideal we want to unite with.
Everything external is very ephemeral, and the war showed us that in one minute a person can lose everything, even their life, but Christ offers that if you are with Him, even the loss of life is not a loss, since human consciousness, according to our Christian tradition, does not disappear, but remains forever. It is a question of whether you are left with emptiness or whether you are filled with love and God’s grace. I congratulate all of you on the upcoming holiday and wish you to be filled with love,” – wished Metropolitan Fedir.
The Easter speech about the symbolism of the holiday as a triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, and humanity as the ability to love was very symbolic in the former house church of the Institute of Noble Maidens and resonated in the hearts of those present.
After the conversation, Metropolitan Fedir of Poltava and Kremenchuk personally performed the rite of consecration of Easter paskas.
The head of the university, Professor Volodymyr Onyshchenko, on behalf of the scientific and pedagogical staff as well as students, thanked the Metropolitan for his comprehensive support in all volunteer and charitable initiatives and spiritual assistance from the first days of the full-scale invasion:
“We sincerely thank dear Metropolitan Fedir for his wise spiritual guidance and pleasant communication, which we all need now, the optimism you inspire in people’s souls with every word.
Appreciating the opportunity provided by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to live and work in our native land, we make every effort to ensure that young people – the future of our unbreakable country – receive quality knowledge and skills that will help rebuild our country in the near future, bringing our common Victory closer. May they enjoy our gifts and feel the warmth of our home!
You have done an extremely important thing for us, since supporting the mental health of academic staff and students is extremely important, because when we enter the classroom, we have to smile and give positive emotions to others, to set students up for the fact that soon the whole civilised world will look up to Ukraine. We have someone, something and whom to protect!
That is why we will win! Because light conquers darkness! Congratulations on the coming bright holiday of Christ’s Resurrection!”
The members of Volunteer Headquarters of Poltava Polytechnic immediately sent the consecrated Easter paskas to the soldiers.
Earlier, Metropolitan Fedir of Poltava and Kremenchuk took part in the opening of the humanitarian aid distribution point for IDPs “Warm Sweater” on the campus of Poltava Polytechnic.
Media Center of
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
