From the Head of the UGCC on the 314th day of the war: “Christmas star is a navigator on the road to wisdom, enlightenment, hope and freedom”
In the current war conditions, when we are very short of light, even material, we feel that our life is becoming completely different. Therefore, a person needs to know the truth to live rightly! As Pope Francis tells us, we know that the first casualty of war is the truth. So let us prepare for the birth of the light of truth abiding among us, the acceptance of our newborn Savior! The Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav told in his daily address on the 314th day of the great full-scale war which a Russian occupier brought to our peaceful land.
“The enemy has most likely changed tactics and is trying to terrorize the civilian population more and more. It carries out attacks with combat drones and missiles, mostly at night, so Ukrainians cannot rest, thus a person gets drained. This is one of the types of psychological attacks on Ukraine. Moreover, by methodically destroying the critical infrastructure of our cities, the enemy is depriving us of essential livelihoods during this cold season,” the Patriarch mentioned.
Continuing his reflections on the topic that reveals the meaning of Christmas and helps to prepare for it, today, His Beatitude Sviatoslav brought up the subject of light.
According to him, the early Church celebrated the Nativity of Christ as the event of God’s visible appearance to man. The invisible God, sometimes distant and unknown to many people, becomes visible, appears in a human body, and enlightens a person.
“Thus, the moment of a person’s enlightenment, when she could know the true God, for the early Christians, was baptism,” emphasized the Head of the Church.
“The Feast of light was associated with the baptism of pre-prepared members of the Church. Therefore, instead of singing the hymn ‘Holy God’ at Christmas and Epiphany during the Liturgy, we will be singing: ‘For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.’ This is the moment of human enlightenment in the mystery of the Nativity of Christ,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
In his opinion, there is another meaning of light, which Christmas deeply reveals.
And this, the Primate noted, the main hymn of the holiday, the Troparion, says that light is a symbol of truth, accurate knowledge of God. Troparion of the Nativity tells us that those who who worshipped the stars were taught by a star to adore You, the Sun of Righteousness. People who have consistently fixed their eyes on the stars see the star that leads them to the true Sun of truth — Christ. Here is the meaning of this star that led the wise men to Bethlehem.
“The symbol of the Christmas star is such a paramount attribute of the celebration of Christmas. The star is placed on top of the Christmas tree, and carolers walk with it from house to house. The star is, speaking in modern language, a navigator on the way to wisdom, enlightenment, hope, and freedom”, he mentioned.
“Therefore, the Christmas holiday is an opportunity to enlighten a person and learn the truth about God, man, and the universe. And the encounter with the newborn Christ will be a meeting with the embodied truth that enlightens and blesses every person who comes into the world,” the archbishop concluded.
The UGCC Department for Information
