Primate of UOC appeals to believers with a Christmas Message

On the eve of the Nativity of Christ, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, addressed the flock with a Christmas message, the text of which was published by the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

Below is the full text of the Primate's Nativity Epistle to archpastors, pastors, monastics and all the faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church:

Christ is born, glorify Him!

I sincerely congratulate all of you: God-loving archpastors and pastors, pious monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters, on the great world-saving holiday of Christmas in the flesh of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today the Holy Orthodox Church prayerfully celebrates and glorifies the great piety Mystery – the appearance of God in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). The mystery of the coming of the Messiah Christ to the world originates from Paradise, from that tragic event when our first parents Adam and Eve broke the commandment of Divine love. Not wishing to repent, Adam and Eve departed from God, and through their self-justification they also became opponents of God. In order not to violate the freedom of the ancestors and not to force them to live with the One against whom they rebelled, the Lord brought them out of Paradise into a sorrowful and devastated world, where they understood their personal spiritual emptiness. They understood, but it was too late: before the restoration of their inner emptiness, they had to drink the cup of sorrow to the end. And they did drink their cup with gratitude and repentance. All his life Adam lifted his eyes towards Paradise, cried and said the words: "My Paradise, Paradise, my sweetest Paradise!" Adam and his descendants cried, grieved and patiently waited for that blessed day when, according to God's word, the Seed of the Woman would crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15), the devil, when the Redeemer comes to earth and resurrects, restores the devastation of human souls. And that time has come. The Son of God has come into the world.

The Holy Gospel of the Nativity of Christ proclaims this way. During the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus, who owned at that time also Judea, there was a command to make a census of the whole earth (Luke 2:1). The Mother of God, Who bore in Her womb the Savior, Who wanted to take human nature from Her, along with Her earthly guardian angel – Joseph the Betrothed – came from Nazareth to Bethlehem, so that here, in the city of David, they, like the descendants of David, undergo a census. And since all the descendants of David came to Bethlehem at that time for the census, all the places in the hotels were occupied. And the time has come for the Blessed Virgin to give birth. Then they went outside the city, into a cave where the shepherds were hiding in bad weather, and there, in a poor cave, the Mother of God gave birth to the Savior of the world, the Son of God, Who wanted to become the Son of Man. The Blessed Virgin Mary wrapped the Divine Infant and laid Him in a manger, to which, according to Isaiah's prophecy, an ox and a donkey were tied (Isa. 1:3): the donkey that carried the Blessed Virgin from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and the ox that righteous Joseph the Betrothed took in order to sell it when the means for living are needed.

At that time, in the field, not far from the blessed cave, shepherds were guarding the flocks. The Angel of God appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone on them. The shepherds were terrified, but the Angel of God reassured them and said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:9-12). And suddenly a large Heavenly host appeared with the Angel, which glorified God and sang a wondrous song: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14). When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about” (Luke 2:15). The shepherds were the first of the earthly ones who came to the Bethlehem cave to find the Divine Infant there, who was lying in the manger. “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child” (Luke 2:15-17). 

Afterwards, three eastern kings came to the Divine Infant Christ with a bow: one from Persia, one from Arabia and one from Ethiopia. They saw a wonderful star in Heaven and realized that the Deliverer had come into the world, Who was awaiting all the tribes of the earth. The Kings-Magi came to worship the Infant Christ on the very day of Christmas. They brought gifts with them: gold, incense and myrrh. Gold as the King, incense as the High Priest, and myrrh as a symbol that the High Priest Christ would sacrifice Himself for the salvation of mankind. Having given gifts and worship to the God-Infant Christ, the Magi returned to their land, and Herod the Evil began to seek the Infant God in order to kill Him. Unhappy Herod did not know that Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, was not born to be the king of the Jews. Christ is the King of all earth and heaven and He does not want to rule over people as earthly kings do. He wants to embrace all people and warm them with His Divine love. Christ the Savior came to earth not to make us slaves, but to free us from slavery. Christ the Savior took upon Himself our sins that enslaved us, exterminated them on the Cross and made us free in the full and true sense of the word. Christ the Savior not only freed us from the tenets of sin, He also taught us how we should live in order to maintain our spiritual freedom: what we should do and what we should not do. All this teaching of the Savior is recorded in the holy Book, which is called the Gospel.

Every time we celebrate the Nativity of Christ, we remember with love the history of this glorious event. The story of Christ's Nativity in appearance is simple and modest, but in simplicity and modesty the Lord reveals to us His wisdom, greatness and power. The Infant Christ is still in the manger, and the earthly kings are already worried. Eastern kings, driven by love for Truth, come with gifts and worship the Infant God. The wicked Herod is seized with fear, but instead of coming and rationally worshiping the Infant God and through this strengthening himself and his kingdom, he falls into madness and seeks to kill Him. The Roman emperor Augustus, before whom the whole world trembled, also served the mystery of the Incarnation: he made a census of the population, not suspecting that the main thing in this was not to count his subjects, but to bring the Mother of God to Bethlehem in order to fulfill the prophecy, according to which Christ the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

The appearance of the Angels on Christmas night, their words and chants testify to the greatness of the Mystery of Christ's Nativity, which stirred not only the earth, but also Heaven.

On these holy days, prayerfully remembering and glorifying the Mystery of the Nativity of our Savior and God, we join the worldwide celebration and, together with all Orthodox Christians, worship our Savior and humbly thank Him for his love for us, sinful people. We humbly pray that the Son of God, who “for our sake, man, and for our salvation, descended from Heaven and became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary” (Creed), descended to our infirmities, forgive us our sins, our aberration, due to which we today approve and accept unnatural laws thus destroying ourselves. We pray that the Lord will enlighten our spiritual blindness, so that we see and love not our own truth, but the truth of God, which is perfect, eternal and the only one useful for us. We pray that the Lord will strengthen us and give us strength to endure with dignity the trials and illnesses that are shaking the whole world today and which, unfortunately, are caused by our universal sins.

On this bright day, when we remember the coming into the world of God, according to the word of St. Gregory the Theologian, let us rejoice with trepidation and joy: with trepidation – because of our sins, but with joy – because of hope (St. Gregory the Theologian. Volume 1. Word 38. Page 522. St. Petersburg, 1912), the hope in God's mercy, strength and philanthropy.

Once again, I sincerely congratulate all of you, dear brothers and sisters, on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ. I wish you all health, salvation and God's blessings. May peace and God's grace, hailed by the Angels on Christmas Eve, fill our hearts, our families, our Ukrainian land and the whole world. Amen.

Merry Christmas!

Humble

† Onuphry

Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine

Nativity,

2020/2021,

Kyiv City

Let us remind you that on January 6 and 7, 2021, on Christmas Eve and the Day of the Nativity of Christ, the Ukrainian TV channels Inter and Glas will show live broadcasts of solemn services from the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which will be officiated by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine.