The Head of the UGCC on Christmas Day: Sing carols even by phone so that the joy of Christmas is not silenced

   “On this holiday, let me come to each of you, to your heart, to your home with the ancient carol Boh Predvichnyj:

God eternal is born tonight.

He came down from above

To save us with his love

And he rejoiced..”

   - with these words Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Sviatoslav addressed the faithful on Christmas in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. Bishops Yosyf Milian, Bohdan Dziurakh, and Stepan Sus concelebrated with the Head of the UGCC.

   Today, said the preacher, on this majestic and bright holiday of Christmas, heaven and earth rejoice. All creation today is experiencing a special moment in the history of the universe.

   "Christmas is the center and apex of the history of salvation. On this day, all roads lead to Bethlehem, to this poor Nativity scene, where the almighty eternal invisible God is born as a fragile defenseless poor Child," said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

   According to the spiritual leader, this Christmas we feel a strange contradiction… As we look at the modern world, at the mankind wounded by disease and anxiety, we sometimes want to cry, feeling limits of human capabilities.

   “But if we raise our eyes to heaven today, on Christmas, hear heavenly singing, and look at the Newborn Savior in the Nativity scene, we really want to rejoice because what is impossible for man is possible for God, who became man. And that is why in Him, in that little Child, we find our comfort, the power of optimism, the power of grace to go further,” the Head of the Church asks to ponder.

   And every time, he stressed, when we open our hearts to those who are weaker than us, we can experience the joy of Christmas again and again.

   Yes, says His Beatitude Sviatoslav, today we must wear protective masks. "But let those masks not silence our carols. Let's learn to laugh with our eyes, because then our joy, our smile will be real. Let us not forget to cultivate real human relationships and pass on the message of the Incarnate God through them," urges the spiritual leader of Ukrainians.

   The Head of the Church remembered all the children of the Church in Christmas prayer today. "From our golden-domed Kyiv, from the heart of our Mother Church, I send heartfelt greetings to all the children of Ukraine, from Melbourne to Vancouver, from Buenos Aires and Curitiba to London, Paris, Ukrainian Munich, and Rome. Today I cordially greet all the faithful of our Church from Lisbon to Karaganda and even further to Zelenyj Klyn. Let the whole of Ukraine rejoice today,” asked the Primate of the UGCC.

   The preacher especially asks to hurry with Christmas joy to our brothers and sisters in the occupied territories - in the Crimea and Donbas. "We want to sing carols for our soldiers today," said His Beatitude Sviatoslav, "as well as for those who are in captivity or imprisonment. Also, today we want to sing carols to our doctors, nurses, paramedics, who, like Mary and Joseph, watch over human life! We want to sing carols and bring Christmas joy to the sick, especially those who celebrate Christmas in a hospital bed or in self-isolation."

   The Head of the Church wished everyone a Merry Christmas, a blessed New Year. "May it be the year of the victory of good over evil, health over disease, the year when we feel that we are all brothers and sisters, regardless of race, nationality or religion. For it is the worldwide brotherhood and unity that the Newborn Christ the Savior reveals to us today!” His Beatitude Sviatoslav wished.

   Christ is born! Glorify Him!

   The UGCC Department for Information