Our Motherland is the core of the modern history of the world, where the Son of God is born anew today: The Head of the UGCC on Christmas
Today, the future of humanity and the world is being forged on Ukrainian soil. Therefore, today, the world turns to us, to the Ukrainian people, and asks: how do you celebrate Christmas in times of war? And we feel that today, at this moment in history, the core, the center, the place where the Son of God is genuinely born anew, is our Motherland — Ukraine. It was stated by the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in his sermon on Christmas, which the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church celebrates for the first time this year on December 25 according to the Gregorian calendar, in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that God descends to earth on this day, but man also ascends to heaven. In his sermon, he encouraged the faithful to delve into the meaning of Christmas. The Gospel tells us about the arrival of the Magi, wise men from the east. When Christ was born, Matthew says, wise men from the east came, guided by the star, looking for a newborn king.
But what does the strange procession of the wise men from the center of civilization to humble Bethlehem mean? What does it mean to bring gifts of frankincense, gold, and peace to the newborn Child? If we delve deeper into the books of Scripture, we will see that the past, present, and future meet in the Child Jesus.
The preacher noted that the Kingdom of David has always been on the outskirts of great empires. Invaders and conquerors used to come from where the wise men came today. And on the day of the Nativity of Christ, wise men come from there to kneel and worship the newborn king. They bring symbolic gifts, recognizing Him as a king and God. The poor stable, the nativity scene, becomes the center of the entire visible and invisible world. “For there is a center where God resides,” the Head of the UGCC emphasized.
That is why today, looking at this wondrous worship of the Magi, at these symbolic gifts, looking at this human wisdom that opens the light of the knowledge of the absolute truth in the light of divine revelation, the Church sings: “The hope of the nations has come today to deliver us from the bondage of the enemy.” The face of the Child, in which the past, present, and future meet.
“Today, whoever hears the word Ukraine in Europe and the world sees a Ukrainian mother and a Ukrainian child,” said the Primate. “Today, millions of Ukrainian children and mothers are outside their homeland by force of circumstance. But how fascinating it is that in the Holy Scriptures, the symbol and sign of hope is the birth of a child. At all times, all nations, especially when times are difficult, expect a sign of some comfort, a sign, a symbol of hope, a sign that we are not abandoned or forsaken, a sign that even amidst the most painful wave of our suffering, God is with us. This is the sign that the prophet Isaiah once gave to King Ahaz, who feared the northern conqueror. Today, in the face of a little child, the Lord God gives Ukraine a sign of hope in the Nativity of Christ.”
The archbishop remarked that, in the presence of a Ukrainian child, the Lord God is sending a message of hope for the world’s future today.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav from the heart of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, has sent greetings to the global Ukrainian community on Christmas. “At last, we are celebrating Christmas together! Finally, we are settling the various calendar disputes of the past!” said the Head of the UGCC. He then sent Christmas greetings to all the dioceses of the UGCC around the world — in Melbourne, Australia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Curitiba and Prudentopolis, Brazil, the United States, Canada, Ukrainian Rome, Paris, London, Munich, Przemysl, Wroclaw and Olsztyn.
“Today, from the Patriarchal Cathedral, we extend heartfelt Christmas greetings to our brothers and sisters in Crimea and the occupied territories—places where Christmas is not yet welcomed. Our thoughts especially go to our men and women at the front, in the most dangerous place in the world today,” said the Patriarch. He called for special care and love for children, guiding them to the mystery of the Christian faith through the Christmas presence of God among us.
The Primate greeted all the faithful on Christmas and encouraged them not to stay home during the Christmas holidays but to come with carols to their neighbors, relatives, and friends. “Let this carol, which was a declaration of faith of our faithful people in the most difficult times and sometimes an expression of social protest against invaders and atheists, now ring louder than the voice of an air raid siren. May this joy, which restores and saves, fill our hearts today. Happy holidays!” His Beatitude Sviatoslav wished.
The UGCC Department for Information
