UGCC Patriarch explains what an ideal Christian couple should be like
This was stated by the UGCC Sviatoslav in a live broadcast of "live television" dedicated to the role of women in the church and society, according to the Information Department of the UGCC.
The Patriarch of the UGCC explained what obedience should be in spouses. Quoting the words of the Apostle Paul, he noted that it should be mutual. "A man should be obedient to a woman, and a woman should be obedient to a man. And this obedience is a manifestation of mutual love," the head of the UGCC believes.
The model for marital happiness, in his opinion, is love, up to complete self-giving, as the Apostle Paul teaches: "men, love your women as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it." Such sacrificial love is the obedience of a man to a woman.
A woman, in turn, should respect her man. And this respect does not mean that you need to keep quiet about lies or build some distorted relationships. On the contrary, respect means the courage to tell the truth and take care of your husband's kindness in love.
"The Christian understanding of spouses is not the dominance of one over the other," the head of the UGCC noted, "such dominance is considered a consequence of the fall, the curse that sin brought for the first couple, and Jesus Christ restored harmony. In fact, the sacrament of marriage is the sacrament of returning to original harmony, as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit for the family, so that a man and a woman can love themselves not only to the best of human abilities."
The Primate of the UGCC noted that the sacrament of marriage helps to build not self-serving, but partnership relations in spouses.
"Such marital love creates a climate of confidence. Then the woman is confident in her man. She decides to give birth because she feels that her husband will never leave her, even to the point of death. Such a marriage can really be happy," His Beatitude Sviatoslav said.
"The Christian vision of marriage is a journey to perfection, to holiness together. This is a project for life, not only financially, but also a project for holiness – to be implemented in perfection, in holiness, in fatherhood and motherhood," the head of the UGCC stressed.
