His Beatitude Sviatoslav on the feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God: Christian Family Is a Beacon of Hope for Ukraine
Ukraine’s victory will come when a young Ukrainian family has no fear of giving birth to children on its native Ukrainian land when we create a space of life in Ukraine and prevent modern ideologies that fight against the family and family values from penetrating the hearts of young people. And here, the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model for every mother — don’t be afraid to say “yes” to your child’s life!
The Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, stated during a sermon on the feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God on December 26. On this day, the Head of the Church celebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the monastery of the Sisters of the Holy Family in Kyiv on the occasion of the feast of their congregation.
“Today, on the second day of the Christmas holidays, we continue to draw closer to the newborn among us in the human body of God’s Son,” the Head of the UGCC began his sermon. “We, people, need time to realize. We need time to experience something and for someone or something to become part of our personal experience and even our personal life. We need time for Christ, who was once born in Bethlehem, to become a part of my personal life today so that we, as a large Christian church family, can not only rejoice in the Savior who is among us but also give ourselves time to express our gratitude and love to Him — all that we call our Christian prayer.”
The Primate emphasized that contemplating the mystery of the incarnation of the eternal God in the body, through history, and even through the tears and suffering of man, on the second day of the Christmas holidays, the Church encourages us to look at the figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the feast of her Synaxis. According to him, this feast seems to summarize all the feasts of the Virgin Mary throughout the year.
Reflecting on the destroyed Old Testament Ark of the Covenant, the preacher specifically pointed to the image of the Virgin Mary in the Book of Revelation. “In the Book of Revelation, John the Theologian envisions the Ark of the Covenant, lost in the Old Testament, represented by the Blessed Virgin Mary. He witnesses the heavens opening and the Covenant Key, the Woman clothed with the sun. In the mystery of Christmas, we see Jesus Christ cradled in the arms of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” said the archbishop.
The Patriarch also pointed to another truth that we are discovering today: in today’s culture, people are beginning to lose the sense of the universal value of the family, what a family is, and what kind of coexistence between people can be called a family.
“In light of the truth of the Nativity, modern man reveals the truth about God and himself, notably the Christian family. The Heavenly Father entrusts His Son in a human body to a man and a woman, Joseph and Mary. It is as though He is saying to us, the people of the third millennium: ‘Look, this is the truth about you, about your family’s happiness.’ There is no other marriage blessed by God than that which is a faithful, fruitful, indissoluble unity between a man and a woman, which Christ Himself elevated to the dignity of a holy Sacrament,” the Head of the UGCC affirmed.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav congratulated the sisters of the Holy Family, who celebrate the Synaxis of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the feast of their congregation. He thanked them for fostering the pastoral care of the family in a truly special manner in their Kyiv monastery.
“The nuns, who had chosen the Holy Family as the name of their congregation, seem to have received a special mission from the Lord God — to cherish not only the truth about the Christian holy couple but also to be special participants in the Church’s care for the Christian family in need,” said the Head of the UGCC.
“Today, we ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, the newborn Savior, to bless the Ukrainian family. We want fathers and mothers with children to feel that the Mother Church wants to provide special care for them in the terrible times we are living through. The Christian family will serve as a beacon of hope for Ukraine,” assured the Head of the UGCC.
The UGCC Department for Information
