Metropolitan Tikhon delivers address at annual Prayer Service for the Unborn
On Sunday, January 17, 2021, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon delivered an address at the annual Prayer Service for the Unborn sponsored by ZOE for Life!.
His Beatitude spoke following the service held at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Cleveland Heights, OH presided by the Cathedral dean, Protopresbyter Stephen Callos, and Archpriest Alexander Garklavs, rector of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Parma, OH.
In his address delivered via teleconference, His Beatitude thanked the staff of Zoe for Life for their invitation, as well as for “their strong and effective witness to the sanctity of life in very tangible and helpful ways.”
Metropolitan Tikhon emphasized that “If we truly want to do something about abortion, we, as the Church and individually, ought to turn to Christ again and again in prayer. By this action of prayer, we can ask our Lord to bring reason to all those who support abortions, and repentance and divine mercy to all those who have been involved in abortions.”
Yet, His Beatitude remarked, “Prayer is not simply a pious action that religious folk do, hoping for a miracle from God. The kind of prayer we engage in is not a retreat from social action, but is, in fact, the strongest expression of social action.”
At the conclusion of his address, Metropolitan Tikhon reminded that as “the faithful followers of Christ, we should pray, we should make the truth known, and we should do good deeds. We do this for the sake of the unborn, for the sake of all mothers, and especially for those who have been wounded by abortions.”
Zoe for Life! is a support organization, endorsed by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, for women in crisis pregnancies. It aims to offer emotional and spiritual support, to provide confidential access to existing professional agencies, and to connect interested women with potential adoptive Orthodox Christian families.
As previously announced, Sunday, January 24, 2021 will be observed as Sanctity of Life Sunday in parishes of the Orthodox Church in America. On Thursday, January 28, 2021, His Beatitude will lead a virtual March for Life event which will be live-streamed on oca.org/live and via the OCA’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
In preparation for Sanctity of Life Sunday, the faithful are encouraged to explore the numerous reflections, articles, texts, liturgical services available online.