Nobody who is not good can hope for a good outcome after death, even if they may count thousands of saints among their ancestors, for, as Holy Apostle Paul says, every one may receive the things done in his body… whether it be good or bad (2 Corinthians, 5, 10).
Metropolitan Vladimir celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Nativity of the Lord Cathedral in Chisinau on the Sunday of the Dreadful Judgment.
The arch-pastor of the Orthodox Church of Moldova was assisted at the Divine Service by archpriest Vadim Cheibas, the Cathedral Dean, and a synaxis of priests and deacons of the holy settlement.
The Sunday Gospel Reading used in the entire Orthodox Church across the world refers to the Dreadful Judgement:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25: 31-46).
Today’s Gospel Reading provides us a perspective over the sense of life, that is, pleasing God. Anything done to anybody should be understood as done for God’s sake. What you do, you do for yourself, says a popular wisdom, that is why, according to the Evangelical truth, we crop what we saw.
This Sunday service was particularly significant for deacon Liviu Angelus, who was ordained priest and appointed to ministry in the community of Negresti, Straseni region.
Also during this Divine Liturgy, subdeacon Mihail Cretu received deaconal ordination and was appointed to service in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Chisinau.
Thanks-giving prayers were uttered after the Divine Liturgy, and the church-goers were advised to prepare spiritually for the coming Great Lent. This Sunday is called Meatfare Sunday, for this is the last day when Orthodox Christians use meat in their meals before the Great Feast of Holy Pascha.
Synodal Sector of Institutional Communication and Mass-Media Relations