From the Head of the UGCC on the 320th day of the war: “Are you ready to accept Christ as your Lord and King?”
The story of Herod raises a question for each of us. The Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, said in a daily address on the 320th day of the war.
According to the Byzantine tradition, the days we are undergoing now are called the days after the Nativity of Christ. But, unfortunately, the coming of the Son of God into the world is not good news for everyone. Things taking place earlier take place today. Not everyone wants to accept the gift of God’s love. King Herod appears to be an antagonist in the story of Christ’s birth. His power so blinds him that he cannot imagine another King coming.
History describes Herod as a talented and cunning politician who managed to gain power in Israel. Herod discovers where the Messiah will be born and kills all the suspects. He considers himself a messiah. This totalitarian method of solving the problem will often be reprised in history. One of the greatest tyrants and murderers of the 20th century said: “When there is a person — there is a problem. When there is no person — there is no problem.” But in this way, man rebels against God himself.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav referred to Russia’s “sacrilegious” war against the Ukrainian people and noted that this is a way of destroying all those who infringe on the geopolitical project that the modern madman wants to impose on the world.
“We see that modern secularisms are trying to eliminate the presence of Christians and their testimony of Christ’s Church from public discourse. They are killing the sacred anew in the modern world, in contemporary culture. They don’t say anything about religious life; it isn’t good when they do,” the archbishop said.
Perhaps we no longer need a King because we are our masters. Courage to recognize Jesus Christ as our King is evidence of Christian faith. Today, we experience it in the example of the death of the first Christian martyr in history — the apostle and archdeacon Stephen. This is evidence that it is impossible to hold back the Lord’s coming to life!
The UGCC Department for Information
