The Primate of the Church: "The birth of Mary gives the sprout of new life and new hope"

It was said by the Father and the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav on 21 September, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, during the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the chapel of Three Saints Seminary in Kyiv.

Then the Archbishop of the UGCC explained that the entire human race at that time was like a felled tree through the sin of Adam and Eve. However, the birth of Mary begins to "sprout new life and new hope to people".

"In the mystical spiritual life of the Church the Virgin Mary is often called the Mystical Rose”, - continued the Preacher. His Beatitude Sviatoslav told exactly why we use this Virgin’s name. In the city, in the South of Saxony (Germany), there is a thousand-year bush of roses, which appeared due to the events associated with the life of King Louis the Noble. Once this king was lost in the woods, so began to pray to God to find the right path. After all, the king was left by everyone. He took off his chest the cross with the relics and hung it on a roses bush, asking God for help. Monarch fell asleep at night and woke up in the morning and saw that the bush bloomed. "The bush still blooms there, but recent history connects it with one more event" - then He continued. During the Second World War many cities, including in Saxony (Germany), have been destroyed as a result of allies bombing. So the city where this bush of roses grew was razed to the ground. "But 70 years ago from the root of the destroyed bush sprouted a sprout. The residents of the city happily said that there was hope. Later the city was rebuilt and a magnificent cathedral appeared there and a wonderful bush of roses is blooming. It is a sign that the Lord remembers his people and He is our hope"- He said.

According to the Primate of the Church, such a sprout for the Church and the Ukrainian people in particular are Kyiv seminary students. "We hope that the root of the UGCC in Kyiv lands is not dead, it is alive. And the seminary is a sprout of a new page of the Church. A sprout – is neither wood nor fruit. We must work hard to revive the root and make a sprout give fruit. I am convinced that this sprout means you, brothers, changing the face of the UGCC on these lands", - concluded His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

 UGCC Department of Information