We ask Lord to guide us further through our pilgrimage from slavery to freedom, - His Beatitude Sviatoslav on Epiphany

“Today the Church, heaven and earth, the whole visible and invisible world is experiencing a special holiday: the Baptism of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Jordan. We also call it Feast of Epiphany”, - the Head said.

According to him, the Lord is coming to John today, where people have gathered to open their hearts to God, to remedy their unrighteous, sometimes sinful lives and ask for God's mercy. For the first time in human history, the only God is revealed to the world in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Today we hear God the Father himself, pointing to Christ standing in the Jordan, indicating who He is.

In order to delve into the meaning of this event, His Beatitude Sviatoslav invites us to travel with the Holy Fathers through the pages of the Scriptures, to immerse ourselves not only in water but also in the depths of God's word and see what God the Father wants to accomplish through His Son in the Holy Spirit.

According to the Head of the Church, the first prototype of today's event can be considered the moment of creation of the world, in which the Lord creates water as a life-giving force. Another event in which the liberating power of God of Israel was manifested is the deliverance of the people of Israel from Pharaoh's captivity.

“Today, Christ, being baptized in the Jordan, destroys forces of Pharaoh, who holds in his slavery man of our times too, the prince of darkness. Therefore, the baptism of Christ in the Jordan becomes for every person a gift of the holy sacrament of Baptism”.

Therefore, the Head of the Church drew attention to how Epiphany is deeply marked in our recent history.

"It was the Jordanian force with what Ukrainian people defeated during the Revolution of Dignity. These were days when the first victims of the Heavenly Hundred appeared. Together with them we saw the liberating power of God, who shakes the thrones of the tyrants of this world and raises the humble instead”, the preacher said.

“The same today we are asking the Lord to guide us further in our pilgrimage from slavery to freedom. We ask Him to open the sea before our people, which sometimes frightens us with its waves. Today, in difficult, even terrible times, the Lord in His Son through the Holy Spirit says to each of us: “Do not be afraid! You are my beloved son and daughter, with whom I am well pleased”, - the Head of the UGCC added.

The UGCC Department for Information