Kiev, January 5, 2026
Photo: Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Christ’s genealogy, which is honored on the Sunday before the Nativity, reveals God’s mercy to all people, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church preached yesterday.
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine celebrated the Divine Liturgy with fellow hierarchs and other clergy at the Kiev Caves Lavra’s Church of St. Agapit, reports the Information-Education Department of the UOC.
In his homily for the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, Met. Onuphry reflected on the spiritual meaning of Christ’s genealogy as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (1:1-25).
The primate explained that genealogy held special importance for ancient Jews and was traditionally traced through the male line. However, Christ’s Gospel genealogy unusually includes women, which departed from the customs of that time. Moreover, all these women wouldn’t have been considered exemplary by Old Testament standards.
The Metropolitan emphasized that this unusual situation reflected divine providence, demonstrating that the Lord came into the world not only for the righteous but also for sinners, not only for those who kept the law but also for those who violated it.
Met. Onuphry noted that every person has their own genealogy. People often tend to hide the shortcomings or sins of their ancestors, wanting to maintain a good reputation among others. In contrast, the Lord, taking on human nature, wasn’t ashamed of human weakness.
“The Savior came to accept the dishonor of his ancestors and to glorify us, making us children of God,” the primate said.
The Metropolitan concluded by calling on the faithful to live according to God’s commandments so that “our descendants won’t be ashamed of us, but will remember us with love and dignity, because living according to God’s commandments makes a person noble, bright and capable of receiving eternal blessedness.”
“May the Lord help us live so that our life is bright, good and worthy of eternal joy in Christ Jesus, our Lord,” he said.
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