Archpriest Theodore Gignadze...

The Lord says “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So, how is our identity as Christians protected? It's protected by our unity, by our love.

One of the characteristics of Christianity is this: a person loves another person.

This is his obligation.

Whether I can or I can’t,

Whether I want to or not,

Whether the heart allows it or not,

This is an obligation,

And, of course, this is primarily taught in the parish life and in the Christian family.

This is what it is.

Therefore, if we don’t have the unity, this means that we reject the protection of the divine grace and live our own way.

We have this illusion - the illusion of glory.

What is the illusion of glory? 

It is the illusion that we are better than others.

We don’t say this, but this illusion is always with us, this temptation, this delusion that I am under, that makes me believe that I am glorious with my morals, my knowledge, my intellect, my success.

Take a look: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one”

Here, this is the oneness and what kind of oneness, what kind of unity is it?

It is the oneness of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.

What kind of oneness is between the Persons of the Holy Trinity?

It is absolute love.

If we claim to have received the divine glory that the Lord has given us, then I have to love a person and not raise my head in front of him.

Archpriest Theodore Gignadze