Patriarch of Romania: The Transfiguration shows humanity’s destiny is heaven, not the grave

“This feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord shows that human beings were not created for the grave, but for heaven,” Patriarch Daniel of Romania emphasised on Thursday.

The Patriarch participated in the Divine Liturgy celebrated for the Feast of the Transfiguration at the historic St George Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence.

“The Transfiguration was accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ for the sake of His disciples, so that after seeing Him disfigured and crucified, they would not fall into despair or lose their faith, but would await His Resurrection, when His divinity would once again be revealed,” Patriarch Daniel explained.

The Romanian Patriarch said that human beings were not created for corruption but for eternal glory in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The purpose of Christian life The Patriarch stressed that the Feast of the Transfiguration reveals the true purpose of Christian life.

“This feast, which became especially popular among us in the fourteenth century through the hesychast movement, shows that the purpose of Christian life is the purification of the heart and the vision of God’s grace—the unseen light, the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven—perceived even…