The Head of the UGCC to the students: Kolyada is a true folk catechism, expressing deep mysteries with simple but wonderful words

The Head of the UGCC, first of all, thanked students for the fact that they cherished, according to him, one of the greatest treasures of the Christian culture of our people - the Ukrainian carol. "Kolyada is something that unites all of us. Today we have to search for what unites us, which unites different parts of Ukraine, even which unites different Christian denominations. And, of course, this is a carol. Sometimes we do not understand each other and can not pray together, but we can sing carols together, "said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

Even more, the Head of the Church believes, today's holiday shows that the Ukrainian carol goes far beyond Ukraine. "I sincerely congratulate our guests from Belarus, from Gomel. We expect our guests to come from other countries as well. And this student festival, which we call all-Ukrainian, tirelessly moves towards becoming an international one," the Primate suggested.

The Primate noted that the Christian treasure of carols is being cultivated by our students. For in Ukraine, first of all, young people are singing carols. "On the eve of Christmas," said His Beatitude Sviatoslav, "I was surprised by statistics. On one of the TV channels there was a poll: will you sing carols this Christmas? Fifty two percent of respondents answered "yes". And the program leader noted that, compared to last year, this percentage has grown by ten. For this we are grateful to the Ukrainian youth in the first place. Therefore, I want to congratulate you, young Ukrainians, that  you teach Ukraine how to carol and distribute your carol among our people with your art, your zeal and beauty. "

The Head of the Church also thanked the students for mentioning blessed Lubomyr when opening this festival. "Actually, he was the father of this festival. His Beatitude Lubomyr had always been particularly relevant to young people, including students. I remember how in the Opera Theater in Kiev he celebrated his 75th anniversary, with the president, with other respectable people. He said the following words from the scene: "You know, I'm already an elder man, so I have the right to be odd a bit: I would like to celebrate my birthday with young people, not with you. He repeated the same thing when we celebrated his 80th anniversary. Continuing these festivals is the best way we can show gratitude to His Beatitude Lubomyr," said the Head of the Church.

"And God grant that these all-Ukrainian or international festivals of Ukrainian carols may have been named after the name of the Blessed Lubomyr," the Primate wished, and in response, applause was heard.

Finally, His Beatitude Sviatoslav added that when today we sometimes feel that Christmas can turn into a feast without God, when the birthday of Christ is sometimes transformed into a celebration without the newborn Christ, the carol will teach modern Ukrainian youth the meaning of this holiday.

"Kolyada is a true folk catechism, which expresses the deep mysteries of God's work with simple, ordinary, but such wonderful words. Therefore, sing carols! "- called the Head of the UGCC.

Department of Information of the UGCC