Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine shared a reflective message on social media ahead of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, drawing attention to the Gospel reading of Christ’s earthly genealogy and its profound spiritual meaning for humanity today.
As he noted, on the eve of Christmas the Church reminds the faithful, through the Gospel genealogy, that the Messiah born into the world is truly the One foretold by God through prophetic promises. Christ’s lineage confirms that the Savior is not a symbolic or mythical figure, but a real Person who entered human history in fulfillment of God’s plan.
Metropolitan Epifaniy emphasized that every person has a lineage and a place within the chain of generations. Yet in modern times, he observed, many people live without awareness of this reality, increasingly enclosed within individualism and a narrow focus on temporary personal existence. The genealogy of Christ, he explained, reminds each person that while every human being is a unique individual, each is also part of a vast historical fabric, woven together like individual threads into a single tapestry.
“We do not exist in isolation,” the Metropolitan stressed. “We do not live only for the present moment or only for ourselves.” Humanity forms a community whose roots stretch back millennia and whose branches will continue to grow into the future. Each person, after the years of earthly life, is ultimately called to eternity.
Reflecting on the genealogy of the Savior, Metropolitan Epifaniy recalled the many different figures of the Old Testament, both righteous and sinful, each living in their own era. Though diverse, all were united within God’s salvific design. Through their personal histories, God gradually brought humanity closer to the fulfillment of His promises, preparing the coming of the Messiah and the pivotal moment in the history of the world.
He noted that this divine pattern did not end in ancient times. Human will and action continue to shape history, yet God Himself also acts within it, often invisibly. Through His providence, God preserves good, restrains evil, and transforms even suffering into a path toward something greater.
The Metropolitan underlined that although Christ’s genealogy is long and not even fully recorded, its very length reminds believers of a fundamental truth: no matter how long humanity waits for God’s promises to be fulfilled, the appointed moment will surely come. Just as generations passed from Adam and Eve to the Virgin Mary and Joseph before the Savior was born, so too will the Second Coming of Christ, the general resurrection, and the Last Judgment come at the time ordained by God.
While humanity does not know when these events will occur, Metropolitan Epifaniy emphasized that Christians live in faith, just as the righteous of the Old Testament believed firmly in the coming of the Savior.
Turning to the mystery of the Nativity, he stressed that Christmas celebrates the true Incarnation of God. The Son of God did not merely appear in visions or prophetic messages, but truly became man, uniting divine and human natures in His Person. Christ is genuinely the Son of Man, fully united with humanity and inseparably woven into human history, giving it not only temporal meaning but an eternal, providential direction.
The genealogy of Christ, he concluded, reminds believers that Christmas is not a symbolic story, but a real historical event in which Creator and creation, heaven and earth, the temporal and the eternal meet. Through the Incarnation, Christ unites divine life with human lineage, giving new meaning to history as a whole and eternal significance to the life of each person.
Concluding his message, Metropolitan Epifaniy called on the faithful to renew their faith as they prepare for Christmas, to remember God’s providence at work in the world and in their own lives, and to remain steadfast amid the challenges of evil.
“No matter how difficult the path may be,” he wrote, “we are not alone. Through the Nativity of Christ, God is among us and with us.”
