Christmas address to the reverend archpastors, God-loving shepherds, honest monks, and all the Orthodox faithful of Ukraine
Dear brothers and sisters,
Christ was born!
Let’s praise Him!
Today again, as every year, with special spiritual joy, we remember the words of an angel, which more than 2,000 years ago were announced to the shepherds in the field near Bethlehem, and through their testimony – addressed the humanity as well: “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.” (Lk. 2: 10-11).
What God promised to the first parents Adam and Eve, when after the fall he did not leave them without hope of deliverance from evil, but announced to them the future birth of the Savior of the world, was truly fulfilled. What the righteous have lived with faith from generation to generation has come to pass. The prophecies that confirmed the truth of the appearance of the Son of God into the world many centuries before the birth of Christ were fulfilled. One of these prophecies are the words of the prophet Isaiah, which now solemnly sound during services in our churches: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9: 5).
Let us pay attention, dear brothers and sisters, that the words of Scripture emphasize as an important truth that the Savior is born for us, for people, the Son is given to us. Christ is born not for Himself, but “for us, people, and for the sake of our salvation”, as the Symbol of our faith testifies.
The Son of God, as the second Part of the Holy Trinity, was eternally born from the Father. And this eternal birth is beyond time and space, it exists before all creation. This birth is a mystery of the divine being, beyond human understanding, but revealed through faith as an unchanging truth.
“For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.” (John 5:26), the Gospel tells us. Only God has life in Himself, and His word reveals to us that the Father through the mysterious eternal birth gives this original life to the Son. Therefore, the Son is equal to the Father in everything, of one essence with Him, the true God from the true God.
This eternal birth is not connected either with man or with the world in general because it has existed before all creation, before time and space itself. The birth, which we solemnly glorify today, is complete in time and space, and it is connected with the world and directly with humanity. The Son of God, through the Holy Spirit, is also born from the Virgin Mary as the Son of Man. The One who, as God, was born from eternity, is now born as a Man in space and time – in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of the Roman Caesar Augustus.
The Son of God voluntarily limits Himself and submits to the conditions of created existence, becoming a man, not for His own sake, but for our sake of our salvation.
First created by God, man fell, sinned, opened his nature to the act of evil, became subject to suffering and death. And man could no longer free himself from this yoke and slavery. But God also could not outwardly return man to a sinless state because the fall of the forefathers was the result of their own choice, albeit erroneous and evil. Freedom, which distinguishes man as the image of God, is inviolable, and only man himself determines “yes” or “no.” Therefore, for the sake of restoring man and the world, for the sake of liberating humanity from the slavery of sin and death, the Savior had to be born. He had to come who, at the same time as a man, has a natural unity with all men, but also has power and authority as God, so that as God he would overcome the abyss of human sins, but also as a man he would accomplish something that would have consequences for human nature itself and to which how all people will be able to join the source of eternal life.
Until the Christmas of Christ, humanity, and especially the righteous, lived in faith and expectation of the coming of the One who will free from slavery, Who will restore man to eternal life. Christmas was the fulfillment of this expectation. Through the birth for us of the Son of God as the Son of Man, through His ministry, His sacrifice on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead, evil has lost its undivided dominion. Thanks to the Son of God, man ceased to be an unconditional slave of the devil, death became only temporary and will be finally destroyed through the general resurrection on the last great day of earthly history, during the second and glorious coming of Christ.
This is the great joy that the angels announce to us today, singing and glorifying the Nativity of Christ. The Son of God was truly born for us as a Savior, as the Conqueror of death, as the One who frees us from eternal chains. The kingdom of God has come near to us. The heavens bowed to the earth. The creator unites with the creation. A poor manger and a humble manger receive Him, Whose majesty and glory cannot be contained by heaven and earth.
The Eternal God was born in time to destroy death and restore us for eternity. The Son came from heaven to save mankind and open heaven and paradise to us. Christ begins His earthly ministry, the fruit of which is the opportunity to be saved for everyone who believes in Him and accepts Him, who hears His voice and joins the gathering of the called, joins the Church, which is His Body.
Everything that is required for our salvation has already been done by God, but it depends only on each of us personally whether we will accept this gift. The very example of the Nativity of Christ shows that some, like shepherds and Eastern sages, gladly accepted the news of the birth of the Savior and worshiped Him, while others, like King Herod, were filled with only greater bitterness because of the news of the Nativity of Christ.
Christ is born for us, but it depends on our personal will, on our choice, how we accept Him – as shepherds and magi, or as Herod. Do we open our hearts and our lives to Him, or do we offer Him our love and the fruit of good deeds? Or, on the contrary, do we want to expel Him from our personal and social life in order to continue living ungodly?
They wanted to kill the Baby Jesus from the beginning of his earthly life. And, in the end, human malice crucified Him and buried Him in a tomb, thinking that death could take Him away forever. However, our God is a living God. No matter how much sinful people wish to get rid of God, He IS THERE. And Christmas as a holiday reminds us of this truth again and again every year.
It still today, as it did two millennia ago, calls people to change their earthly life, to change internally according to the call of the Gospel, in order to renovate themselves for eternal life. And it confirms in us the belief that, no matter what power and might evil temporarily displays, God will definitely win. Evil will be defeated. Light will drive away darkness. Death will disappear, and even the dead will be resurrected because Christ was truly, truly born!
Dear brothers and sisters,
With such considerations, we now celebrate the Christmas of Christ. Amidst the grief and suffering of war, amid the pain of losses, we still celebrate because for us, Christmas is not only and not so much a time of entertainment and gifts, but a testimony of the victory of truth and good and the inevitable defeat of evil.
On these festive days, we offer prayers with a special feeling for our soldiers and for all those who are fighting evil, Russian aggression, and bringing victory closer to victory. We ask for God’s protection and help for our defenders, and for the whole of Ukraine and the world – the victory of truth and a just peace.
We pray for our brothers and sisters who celebrate these holidays in captivity, in Ukrainian lands temporarily occupied by the Russian enemy. Let’s remember in prayer about our military and civilian prisoners, about hostages and unjustly imprisoned and ask the Lord for their protection and speedy release.
Let’s pray for refugees and forced migrants, for families separated by war, and may God’s mercy and help be with them. Christ himself was forced to flee from the malice of Herod, therefore God’s mercy is with all who suffer innocently.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the President and everyone who is entrusted with the responsibility of serving the Ukrainian people in the state and local communities. May the Lord inspire you with wisdom and help you in the fight against the enemy!
I warmly greet each of you, dear brothers and sisters, who hear or read these words! I congratulate the entirety of our Local Orthodox Church, Christians of Ukraine and the entire Ukrainian people!
Christ was born! Let’s praise Him!
Epifaniy
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,
Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
Christmas,
December 25, 2023, in the year of God,
Kyiv
