13 December 2025
Dear brothers and sisters!
Today, the Church honours the memory of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. And although this day is connected with his martyr death, it is filled with special light for Kiev and our entire land. We commemorate the apostle as the one who sowed the first seed of the Christian faith on these mountains long before the Baptism of Rus'. His preaching became that dawning ray without which the further spiritual history of our people would be impossible.
Why does the Church call him the 'First-Called'? As a disciple of John the Baptist, a tough ascetic, Andrew knew what repentance and fasting were. But his heart sought something bigger — it was eager for Light. And when he heard, 'Behold the Lamb of God', he left everything behind and followed Christ. Without hesitation. The meeting with the Saviour became a passover from the twilight of expectation to the brightness of the Truth for him. Because faith is always God's response to the desire of a human heart.
The Apostle Andrew is a saint of action. He did not write the Gospel, he did not leave behind theological treatises, like Peter or Paul did. But he did something equally great: he brought his brother Peter to Christ and visited numerous countries with preaching, baptising and establishing first Christian communities and reaching our lands as well.
Here, on the Kievan hills, is where the mystery which determined the future of our people was fulfilled. Andrew did not just plant a cross on the high bank of the Dnieper. He saw future glory in the then deserted quietness: the golden domes of Kiev; he heard the ringing of the bells of the Lavra and prayers of millions of believers. 'The grace of God will shine on these hills', he foretold. This prophecy is the foundation of our canonical dignity. Our Church has an apostolic blessing and succession. We are living fruits of the seed sown by the Apostle Andrew.
And that gives us a firm answer to the challenges of the present most hard times: to wage war against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is to oppose the prophecy of the Holy Apostle Andrew. It is a struggle against the very idea of God about our people. The grace promised by the First-Called cannot be cancelled through decrees or judicial reprisals, prohibited by law, or deafened by propaganda. It has shone here for nearly two thousand years and shines now — even if hidden beneath the ashes of war and persecution for the time being.
Saint Andrew teaches us another great lesson — that of courage, humility, and unity. Although the First-Called, he did not envy his brother Peter, who became the Leader of the Apostles. His path led not to earthly power but to his personal Golgotha. He received a martyr death on a diagonal cross at Patras without renouncing the Truth.
Today, the Church of Christ in Ukraine is again crucified: she is slandered, she is persecuted, there are attempts to ban her. But the cross is always a path to Resurrection.
What should we be afraid of? Saint Andrew shows: not sufferings or human hatred should be feared but only one thing — a betrayal of the faith.
May the Lord give our people the wisdom not to give in to threats and hidden temptations to renounce their roots; the courage to keep Orthodoxy in their hearts and lives, love and faithfulness to Christ and to one another.
Happy feast, dear brothers and sisters!
All related news Today, the Church honours the memory of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. And although this day is connected with his martyr death, it is filled with special light for Kiev and our entire land. We commemorate the apostle as the one who sowed the first seed of the Christian faith on these mountains long before the Baptism of Rus'. His preaching became that dawning ray without which the further spiritual history of our people would be impossible.
Why does the Church call him the 'First-Called'? As a disciple of John the Baptist, a tough ascetic, Andrew knew what repentance and fasting were. But his heart sought something bigger — it was eager for Light. And when he heard, 'Behold the Lamb of God', he left everything behind and followed Christ. Without hesitation. The meeting with the Saviour became a passover from the twilight of expectation to the brightness of the Truth for him. Because faith is always God's response to the desire of a human heart.
The Apostle Andrew is a saint of action. He did not write the Gospel, he did not leave behind theological treatises, like Peter or Paul did. But he did something equally great: he brought his brother Peter to Christ and visited numerous countries with preaching, baptising and establishing first Christian communities and reaching our lands as well.
Here, on the Kievan hills, is where the mystery which determined the future of our people was fulfilled. Andrew did not just plant a cross on the high bank of the Dnieper. He saw future glory in the then deserted quietness: the golden domes of Kiev; he heard the ringing of the bells of the Lavra and prayers of millions of believers. 'The grace of God will shine on these hills', he foretold. This prophecy is the foundation of our canonical dignity. Our Church has an apostolic blessing and succession. We are living fruits of the seed sown by the Apostle Andrew.
And that gives us a firm answer to the challenges of the present most hard times: to wage war against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is to oppose the prophecy of the Holy Apostle Andrew. It is a struggle against the very idea of God about our people. The grace promised by the First-Called cannot be cancelled through decrees or judicial reprisals, prohibited by law, or deafened by propaganda. It has shone here for nearly two thousand years and shines now — even if hidden beneath the ashes of war and persecution for the time being.
Saint Andrew teaches us another great lesson — that of courage, humility, and unity. Although the First-Called, he did not envy his brother Peter, who became the Leader of the Apostles. His path led not to earthly power but to his personal Golgotha. He received a martyr death on a diagonal cross at Patras without renouncing the Truth.
Today, the Church of Christ in Ukraine is again crucified: she is slandered, she is persecuted, there are attempts to ban her. But the cross is always a path to Resurrection.
What should we be afraid of? Saint Andrew shows: not sufferings or human hatred should be feared but only one thing — a betrayal of the faith.
May the Lord give our people the wisdom not to give in to threats and hidden temptations to renounce their roots; the courage to keep Orthodoxy in their hearts and lives, love and faithfulness to Christ and to one another.
Happy feast, dear brothers and sisters!
