Video-message of the Head of the UGCC on the 150th Week of Full-Scale War, December 29, 2024
Christ Has Born!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
We are approaching the 150th week of the horrendous full-scale war in Ukraine. And this is the third time that Ukraine has celebrated Christmas under the brutal circumstances of war. This year, we celebrated Christmas amidst blood, pain, destruction, and heavy Russian attacks on land, sea, and air.
On the very day of Christmas, December 25, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine. It was so severe that we had to perform part of our Christmas services in the crypts of the Patriarchal Cathedral, in a bomb shelter.
This is how the Lord God intended us to meet the Lord Christ, who was born in Ukraine, among children, women, and the elderly—exactly where He wanted to be born today, in a bomb shelter. Christ the Savior is born where Ukraine hurts the most today. But not only on this day, but in the following days the enemy mercilessly bombed our cities and villages. In particular, powerful missile attacks targeted Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, and our mighty, unbreakable Kharkiv, which was burning.
Ukraine sings carols, celebrates Christmas, and continues to stand, fight, and pray!
This Sunday was a special day in all of our eparchies and exarchates, not only in Ukraine but also around the world. In response to the call of Pope Francis, we opened the jubilee doors of the new Jubilee Year of Hope, proclaimed by the Holy Father, in all our cathedrals and pro-cathedrals.
Opening the door of hope marks a particularly significant moment, inviting our long-suffering people to embark on a pilgrimage of hope during this Christmas season and the approaching new year.
Our hope is rooted in God. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was born into the very midst of our people, is the source, essence, and ultimate aim of our Christian hope.
As the Holy Father reminds us through the Apostle Paul’s exhortation, “Spes non confundit” — “Hope does not disappoint” — because God’s love, poured into our hearts through the grace of the Holy Spirit, sustains us. Christian hope is the virtue of trusting in the God who is already present among us: the One who came in the flesh in Bethlehem, who dwells in our hearts today, and who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead at the culmination of history.
As the psalmist David proclaims, “Some with horses, some with chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
This hope warms the hearts of Ukrainians, gives us strength, and allows us to view ourselves and the world with renewed eyes.
We pray: Lord, You have come to us; make Yourself known to us. Reveal Your power in our nation. Grant us the strength and courage not only to defeat the unjust aggressor but also to inspire the international community to secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.
You, Lord Jesus, are the Prince of Peace. Bless our long-suffering Ukraine with Your heavenly and just peace.
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, through His grace and love for mankind, always, now and forever, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
Christ Has Born! Glorify Him!
