From the Head of the UGCC on the 313th day of the war: “The Lord is coming to be born among us; he is coming to Ukraine”
This year began thunderingly — with active raids by Russian missiles and drones over our cities and villages. However, the epicenter of those attacks is our capital, Kyiv. The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, already said in his daily address on the 313th day of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
“And today, we want to proclaim with joy again: Ukraine stands! Ukraine is fighting! Ukraine is praying!” His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized.
According to him, the Church is now starting preparations for Christmas. In our liturgical tradition, a few days before Christmas is called a forefeast.
“Like other Christian holidays, we cannot fully comprehend Christmas without the words ‘today,’ ‘this day,’ or the meaning ingrained in it. Therefore, most liturgical texts will link the glorious event of the Savior’s birth to the present moment: “Today Christ comes’, “Today Christ is born,’ “Today the Word becomes flesh,’ and ‘Today we sing and glorify Him,’’ says the Head of the Church.
The spiritual leader believes that the theological idea of God’s actual and real coming is so important that without it, it is impossible to understand the very liturgical life of the Church and Christian existence as such. And here, we mean not a specific calendar day but a particular movement of God toward man.
“Christ has already come, and for those who believe in Him, He is moving and coming constantly, — His Beatitude Sviatoslav invites to ponder and adds: — Therefore, the Christmas holiday carries a critical spiritual meaning that the Lord always comes to us, and a moment of a meeting can occur any time.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasizes that life is constantly changing, flowing, and roaring. We grow, develop, grow old, and change our views and way of doing things. The Lord is continuously looking for new ways of coming to us. Therefore, it depends on us to be ready to meet Him in different circumstances and open to receive Him when He may come to us, even in some unexpected way.
The UGCC Department for Information
