Nativity Epistle of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Christ is born - glorify him!

Christ is from heaven; go and meet him!

(Irmos, Canticle One of the Nativity Canon)

 

Beloved in the Lord Archpastors, Reverend Pastors, honorable monastics of Christ, God-loving laity, brother and sisters!

The life lapses quickly - and so we again stand at the threshold of the coming year of God's grace, meeting again the great feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Folk songs, glorifying the nativity of the Infant-God, shine our life with good news, pushing aside the problems and everyday troubles.  These spiritual hymns reflect with childish sincerity and purity the soul of our God-loving people, its faith, its age-long hopes and aspirations, the joy of encounter with the One, Who manifested the Way, Truth and Life to the world (John 14: 6).

With what feelings are we to come up to the Bethlehem manger? With what words might we convey our awe of the Sacrament of the incarnation of God, observing the "Heavens - the cavern, the Virgin - the Cherubims' altar, the crib - the receptacle, in which Uncontainable Christ the Lord lies"? 

The mystery of Incarnation of the Son of God will never be comprehensible for the cold reason, proud in its search, knowing no limits and obstacles. It is with our hearts that we comprehend first of all the great mystery of love of God to man - the mystery of incarnation of God - receiving the new-born Infant God, since our mind cannot comprehend it and gets filled with humility to the Mystery of Faith.   

The joy of Nativity is not merely a tribute to tradition or one of the feasts in the series of annual festive events.  It's a joy of consolation of the ones burdened with sins and passions, the joy of long-awaited encounter with the Father after a long separation, the joy of awareness that we are not forgotten and abandoned by God, that we are not predestined for desertedness and eternal banishment.  The One has come to balm our sorrows, to bear our infirmities, to wipe away every tear (Revelation 21: 3-4). The great mystery of godliness has come true: God was revealed in the flesh (1 Timothy 3: 16), the wall that separated us from God disappeared, man obtained possibility to partake in the divine nature (2 Peter 1: 4). The Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Eternal Father (Isaiah 9: 6) brings back our honor and dignity as children of God and the inheritors of His Kingdom.  How heartfelt and meaningful are the promises of God, addressed to those loving Him: I will not leave you as orphans; ... I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (John 14: 18; Matthew. 28: 20). Indeed, God is with us!  Truly universal joy fills our souls, Heavens rejoice and the Earth rejoices.  The hearts of the Christians rejoice, mentally beholding the birth of the Lord, Who assumed man's nature to revive all of us, to save us, and, as Apostle Paul said, to dwell in our hearts (Ephesians 3: 17), to grant us, the mortal and disappointed ones,  the immortality and endless joy. We constantly pray that this joy entered each family and warmed every heart.   

In the informational world that rapidly develops further on, we have less and less time for live communication.  Modern technologies, meant to simplify our lives, make human communication superficial, information flow distracts our attention, indwells vanity in our hearts, and estranges one from another.  The feast of the Nativity of Christ is a good occasion to remember those who need our attention and support, whom our love and compassion may warm.  Let every orthodox family, raising thanksgiving prayers to God and having gathered at the festive dinner, feel today the joy of communication and participation in the event that unifies us into one whole.   

The year that passes away, was difficult. Economical disturbances, and impoverishment of people, as a consequence, uncertainty of tomorrow, fear of diseases revealed imperfection of human society, and our weakness and defenselessness. In all times at any circumstances the Church supported the people of God, performing its salutary mission.  So it was and will be till the end of times.  The voice of the Church warns that the cause of any crisis is in the man himself.  On our own experience we made sure that the civilization built on the principles of unrestrained consumption and dishonest gain, will not bring the people either stability or progress, or creative urge. The society, in which the vector of spiritual development  was violated, which lacks respect of the elderly people and which fights the authority of the Church and spiritual bases of life, is predestined  for degradation and degeneration.   

However, the Lord does not deprive us of spiritual joy, manifested in Christian unanimity. The example of this was the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the shrines of our land.   The visit of His Holiness to Ukraine became for our flock the significant event of the year 2009.   Once again our deep devotion to the church unity was testified, the unity that is a guarantee of peace and welfare of the society.  

In the year that has come, Ukraine faces the responsible task: we have to define - whom we are to trust the further rule of the country.  In this respect let me emphasize once again that the Church is beyond politics, and the political priorities are a personal matter of any of us.  At the same time we call all the faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to intensify prayers and to take with full responsibility their citizen's duty. We express hope that peace and quietude will reign in our society.   

Bowing now unto the Infant-God Christ, let's pray to Him for  quietude and welfare, so that He lightened and blessed with peace our nation, that we sang together with the angels the hymn of praise: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

I greet you, my beloved children in Christ, on the feast of Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the New Year 2010.   May the coming year  be the year of God's mercy, the peaceful and fortunate, so that we lived it in piety and purity, growing in strength on the way of eternal salvation.    

"May Christ our true God, Who was born in a cave and lay in a manger for our salvation have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and loveth mankind"

 

Nativity of Christ

2009/2010

Kyiv

† Volodymyr,

Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,

Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church