On April 24, 2008, Holy Thursday, the Most Rev. Ihor (Vozniak), Archbishop of Lviv, celebrated Vespers with the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great in the Cathedral of Saint George. Before the beginning of the Liturgy, Archbishop Ihor blessed antimensions on which Divine Liturgy will be celebrated. At the Liturgy with Archbishop Ihor priests of the Lviv Archeparchy, twelve of whom were involved in the ceremony of the washing of the feet, concelebrated. Archbishop Ihor conducted this ceremony at the end of the Liturgy.

On Holy Thursday the Church recalls the Last Supper of the Lord Jesus with His disciples and apostles. The main sacrament of the Christian faith, the Eucharist, was instituted there, and the ceremony of the washing of the feet was performed there, as well. In the image of Christ, Who humbly washed the feet of the disciples, the bishop washes the feet of the priests who serve with him and wipes them with a special towel. This ceremony is conducted in remembrance of the event described in the Gospel of John (John 13: 2-17).

In addition to this, as Archbishop Ihor noted, the divine service which is conducted on the Thursday of Holy Week is special also because we call to mind the establishment by Jesus Christ of the sacrament of holy orders.

In his sermon Archbishop Ihor noted: “The desire of God is that those called serve Him justly, performing service for the people. We cannot forget that the responsibility of priests lies also on the people, who need to pray together and support them in ministry.” According to the words of the archbishop, it is not the vocation to the priesthood that saves us, but carrying out the will of God, and just ministry brings us to the Lord. That is why it is necessary to love God, thank Him for the “great gift of the priesthood, which He established on the last day before His suffering, in order not to leave us orphans; that we not perish in sin but have the possibility to obtain forgiveness and communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord,” the preacher noted.

Taras Havryshko

Press-service of the Lviv Archeparchy