Nativity of our Lord – Royal Doors

Jan

03

2017

2016 Christmas Pastoral Letter of His Beatitude Sviatoslav

Featured Articles, NewsChristmas, Nativity of our Lord

CHRISTMAS PASTORAL LETTER OF HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV Most Reverend Archbishops and Metropolitans, God-loving Bishops, Very Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics, Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters, in Ukraine and throughout the world And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) Christ is born! Glorify Him! Today our hearts are filled with lightsome Christmas joy. The eternal God becomes man, so that man might be united and reconciled with Him forever. The Son of God becomes the son of the…

Jan

03

2017

By Fr. Michael Winn

Christmas Pastoral Letter of the Ukrainian Catholic Bishops of Canada

Featured Articles, NewsChristmas, Nativity of our Lord

PASTORAL LETTER FROM THE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF CANADA ON THE OCCASION OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD 2016/2017 To the Reverend Clergy, Monastics, Seminarians and Laity of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada: Christ is born! Let Us Glorify Him! The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2) At the Complines service on the Eve of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we sing out “Z Namy Boh! God is with us!” This beautiful hymn evokes in us…

Dec

22

2014

By Fr. Michael Winn

Origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas

LiturgyChristmas, domestic church, Nativity of our Lord

by Fr Hal Stockert You’re all familiar with the Christmas song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” I think. To most it’s a delightful nonsense rhyme set to music. But it had a quite serious purpose when it was written. It is a good deal more than just a repetitious melody with pretty phrases and a list of strange gifts. Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829, when Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England, were prohibited from any practice of their faith by law—private or public. It was a crime to be a Catholic. “The Twelve Days of Christmas”…

Dec

18

2014

By Fr. Andriy Chirovsky

Fr. Andriy Chirovsky Speaks About Ukraine and About the Meaning of Christmas

Christian LifeChristmas, Nativity of our Lord

On December 16, 2014 The "Daily Double" radio program on Tucson, AZ, radio station KVOI 1013 AM featured an hour-long conversation with the founder of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies (MASI), Fr. Andriy Chirovsky. The program, hosted by Chris DeSimone, features a daily extended interview with one guest. Fr. Andriy has been the featured guest before. This time the MASI professor was asked to speak about the current situation in Ukraine, after it has largely fallen out of the attention of the Mass Media. He was also asked to speak about Christmas, focusing not only on folk customs…

Dec

20

2013

By His Beatitude Sviatoslav

Christmas Epistle of His Beatitude Sviatoslav

News, UGCCNativity of our Lord, Sviatoslav

Christ is born! Hearing the voice of the angel which could be heard by the shepherds in the dark night, we are hurrying today to the poor stable in Bethlehem. Here in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we see the Son of God who came into our world as a human being. Together with them we rejoice, we sing praises, and we look upon the live and true God, who was born in a human body and gives himself to the hands of a person as a tiny, tender, unprotected Child. The Nativity of our Savior uncovers for…

Dec

20

2013

By Brent Kostyniuk

The Nativity Icon

Both Lungs, LiturgyChristmas, Nativity of our Lord

by Brent Kostyniuk It is often said that icons are windows onto heaven. Indeed, that is exactly what they are meant to be. In their beauty, in their unique artistic style, and in the theology they convey, icons do lead us away from this world and into the next. Unlike other forms of religious art, icons are not meant to be realistic. As the noted Canadian iconographer Myroslaw Tataryn explains, “...they are symbols that reveal, in an artistic manner, a profound spiritual truth - the mysterious reality of God’s presence in human life.” The question of whether or not it…

Dec

13

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

Christmas Pastoral Letter of Vladyka Ken, Bishop of New Westminster

UGCCBishop Ken, Christmas, Nativity of our Lord

Office of the Bishop New Westminster Eparchy Christmas Pastoral Letter of 2013 Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Dear Sisters and Brothers, Thanks to the wonders of electronic communication, reaching people around the world and sharing news, trends and events is possible at the touch of a keyboard or the tap on a smartphone screen. In the last several weeks we have seen first-hand how Ukrainians are struggling for freedoms, the devastation in the Philippines, the on-going plight of the citizens of Syria and of those seeking refuge from the battles that rage on in countries throughout the world. We have…

Dec

24

2011

By Most Rev. David Motiuk

Tidings of Great Joy (Luke 2: 10)

FaithChristmas, Nativity of our Lord, Pastoral Letters

We are celebrating the Feast of the Birth, the Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, one of the greatest and most loved feasts of all Christianity. Yet, many people say they have a vague feeling of emptiness at Christmas. Even though they are doing things that they have looked forward to all year long and are surrounded by family and friends, they still have the feeling that something is missing. But for most people, the real problem with Christmas isn’t that they are spiritually bankrupt or that Christmas is devoid of meaning. It’s simply that they haven’t taken…