The Ukrainian primate has called on his flock to increase their prayer lives during the days of the upcoming holy fast and has blessed them with a special prayer rule.

“The most important goal of fasting is humility before God. Man, humble before God, ever strives for good. The lack of humility breeds pride, enmity, confrontation, and wars, which, unfortunately, there are many of in our world today. We must always remember that we must all be transfigured through humility and sincere repentance,” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine explains in his Lenten epistle, to be read in all churches and monasteries of the Ukrainian Church on Sunday.

In this vein, the Metropolitan blesses the faithful of the UOC to add prayers and prostrations to their Lenten prayer rule:

“The faithful of our Church are also blessed to read one kathisma from the Psalter every day throughout this Great Lent, and to make three prostrations praying the Lord’s Prayer, entreating forgiveness for our sins, and also three prostrations praying ‘Rejoice, Virgin Theotokos…,’ entreating the blessing of God for our Ukrainian land and its people.”

This is the seventh year in a row that His Beatitude has made the call for increased prayer for peace during Great Lent.