January
7, 2010
Nativity
Epistles of Patriarch Kyrill, Metropolitan Hilarion, and Bishop Jerome
Nativity Epistle
of His Holiness Kyrill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Beloved in the Lord
archpastors, reverend priests and deacons, God-loving monks and nuns,
dear brothers and sisters!
I sincerely greet
you with this great feast, the glorious day of the Nativity of Christ.
For
two thousand years, Christians around the world have directed their
mind’s eye with joy and hope to the event which has become a turning
point in the history of mankind. The present numbering of the years,
which begins at the Nativity and is a chronology of the Christian era,
in itself testifies to the exceptional importance of the coming of
Christ the Savior.
The cave in
Bethlehem, where the animals took shelter on that cold winter night,
was an image of the world, which had departed from its Creator,
feeling the sorrow and darkness from having abandoned God. However,
the radiant night of the Birth of Christ filled not only the cave that
sheltered the Most Pure Virgin Mary, but also all of creation, because
after the birth of the Son of God, every person who comes into the
world is enlightened with the Light of truth, as the Evangelist John
testifies (John 1:9).
Someone may ask:
What does the Light of truth signify? The answer to this question we
find in the same narrative in the Gospel of John. The Light of truth
is the Lord Himself, the Divine Word, which "became flesh and
dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
Through the
Savior’s birth, mankind received the ability to acquire grace and
truth (John 1:17). Grace is the divine power, given by God to man for
salvation. It is by this power that man conquers sin. Without this
grace one cannot overcome evil, and which means that one cannot
overcome that which darkens our lives. Truth is the fundamental value
of life. If the foundation of life is falsity and delusion, then life
does not exist. Of course, the external life of a deluded person can
appear greatly successful. But this does not mean that the delusion is
harmless: sooner or later it will manifest itself, and will be
numbered among the tragedies of mankind.
The light of truth
is Divine light, it is Divine truth. It is unchanging and eternal and
does not depend on whether we accept it or not. The acceptance by man
of Divine truth determines, first of all, the nature of his
relationship with other people, the ability, in the words of the
Apostle, to "bear one another’s burdens" (Galatians 6:2),
that is, to show solidarity with one’s neighbors, sharing in the
joys and the sorrows of another person. "By this shall all men
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another"
(John 13:35), said the Lord. However, these eternal divine truths,
which alone can transform our lives, today cease to be ideals. They
are persistently forced out of the consciousness of modern man by the
propaganda of moral irresponsibility, selfishness, consumerism, and
the denial of sin as the principal challenge of man’s existence.
It is this
substitution of false values for true values which essentially
explains the significance of the so-called "human factor" in
tragic events that claim hundreds of lives. This also explains the
crises that shake, on a global scale, the economy, politics, the
environment, family life, intergenerational relations, and much more.
The significance of
the celebration of the Birth of Christ is that it brings us closer to
the Savior; it helps to see His face more clearly, to penetrate and
understand His gospel. The Lord again and again is mysteriously born
for us in the depths of our souls, that we might "have life and
have it abundantly" (John 10:10). The event in Bethlehem that
night enters into contemporary life, and helps us to see it from a
different, sometimes unusual and unexpected point of view. What seemed
most significant and consequential suddenly appears insignificant and
transient, giving way to the grandeur and beauty of God's eternal
truth.
And today with
special force are heard the Savior’s words: "I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20). These
words give hope, based on the firm belief that no matter what
temptations may beset us in this life, God will not revoke His
promise.
This past year, the
life of our Church has seen many important events. The Local Council,
convened in Moscow in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior after the
death of His Holiness, Patriarch Alexey II, elected his successor.
Strengthened by the prayer and the support of the bishops, the clergy,
and the large flock, with trust in the will of God, I accepted the lot
which fell to me, the patriarchal office. While performing the divine
services in Moscow, various Russian dioceses, as well as the Ukraine,
Belarus, and Azerbaijan, I had the joy of prayerful communion with our
pious Orthodox people, with the young and the old, people of middle
age and children. Everywhere I could see the bright faces of people,
the sincere expression of deep faith. For me, this was the strongest
spiritual experience and a clear witness of the unity of Holy Russia,
which with the power of the faith of its multinational people
overcomes social, property, age, ethnic, and other boundaries, while
keeping spiritual unity in today’s political realities.
This unity is made
fast by one Church, in which God’s grace overcomes everything
temporal and transient. Here, before human eyes, stands the true
greatness of enduring values. This is why Divine truth must be the
main reference point for all human activity, for development and
progress.
It is gratifying to
see more and more of our people today beginning to realize their
spiritual roots, to appreciate their religious and cultural tradition.
And today, the celebration of the feast day is shared not only by
those believers who are firmly rooted in Orthodoxy, but also by those
who are just on the path to finding the faith of salvation, and
perhaps for the first time are crossing the threshold of the church,
responding with their heart to the call of the Gospel.
I prayerfully wish
you, Your Graces, reverend fathers, dear brothers and sisters,
abundant mercy from the God-child Christ, born in Bethlehem, so that
by the grace of God your joy may abound, your illnesses may be healed
and your sorrows comforted. May the light of the star of Bethlehem be
a guide for each of us, and may the Lord bless our labor in the field
of the improvement of Church life, the countries in which we live, and
our societies, and may He grant us all to remain in the unchanging
Truth of the Gospel.
+ Kyrill, Patriarch
of Moscow and All Russia
Christmas 2009/2010
Moscow
Nativity Epistle of Hilarion, Metropolitan of New York and Eastern
America,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
Archpastors and brethren, most honorable fathers, and all
Orthodox children of the Russian Diaspora, beloved in the Lord!
I
congratulate you with all my heart on the all-glorious and divinely
salvific feast of the Nativity of Christ and the impending New Year!
Each year the feast of the Nativity of Christ enters into
our hearts with ineffable spiritual joy—the joy that came to earth
when the angel of the Lord announced the birth of Christ the Savior to
the simple shepherds of Bethlehem. The feast of the Nativity also
fills us with radiant joy through the profound content of its divine
services, which illumine our souls: the deeply edifying and divinely
inspired hymnody of the Nativity and the readings taken from the
prophecies.
Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky) wrote thus of the
miracle of the birth of the divine Infant: "The heavens
proclaimed the birth of God on earth, yet this proclamation was
magnificent and silent, because the stars were the heavens' mouth.
This event, which the whole Christian world now celebrates, at the
time passed almost completely unnoticed." And this was probably
because everything that is great takes place in stillness and mystery.
In the night of the Nativity, near the city of Bethlehem,
in a humble cave which shepherds used for penning their flocks, was
born Him Whose name has become close to millions of people in our
land. For Jesus, the divine Infant, Who was born of the Virgin Mary,
came to proclaim to us the glad tidings of our salvation—the Gospel
of joy and light, the good news of new life." The Son of God
became man so that man might become the son of God," the Holy
Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyon wrote of Christ the Savior. In the divine
Infant our salvation became visible. In God, Who for our sake became
man, we all sense ourselves beloved and cherished in the eyes of the
creator.
Rejoicing with the angelic hosts that unceasingly glorify
God in the heavens, with them we sing the wondrous hymn of the angels:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among
men!" This joy is transmitted to all men, from age to age, from
generation to generation. During the difficult 20th century this joy
gave to our people the strength to endure persecution at the hands of
their neighbors and kin, wars, invasion by foreign foes,
estrangements.
And today, when things are still unsettled in the world,
when we are threatened by the economic disorders to which the
unrestrained striving for wealth and profits, and the abandonment of
moral principles have brought us, let us not be daunted by the stormy
waves of the sea of life, for we are not alone in this world. In the
hymnody of the Nativity of Christ we sing: "God is with us!
Understand, ye nations, and submit yourselves, for God is with
us!" If with all our mind, all our heart, all our life we will
strive to be with God, then no difficulty or trial will discourage us.
And no one will be able to deprive us of the joy that comes to us from
on high, and which the Gospel tells us no one can take from us (John.
16:22).
This past year there took place in the life of the
reunited Russian Orthodox Church an event long awaited by the faithful
in the homeland: the all-pure Mother of God, in her miraculous
image—the Kursk-Root Icon of the Sign—visited Russia and its
native precincts in the Kursk-Root Hermitage. It was a joyful thing to
behold the faith and zeal of the tens of thousands of believers who
came to venerate the Directress of the Russian Diaspora. One may
rightly say that this event brought them together spiritually and
united them. All of this gives one hope that, with God's help, in the
year 2010 also the good traditions of that spiritual life of prayer,
the beginnings of which were laid by the ever-memorable Patriarch
Alexy and Metropolitan Laurus, will develop further and become the
surety of the spiritual unity of our Holy Church.
The year 2010 will mark the 90th anniversary of the
formation of the Russian Church Abroad. Thus, we would like to thank
the hierarchs and pastors who carry out their tasks with diligence and
zeal, the staff members of the departments of the Synod, the
Church-affiliated social organizations, the parish schools, the
sisterhoods, and all who help strengthen the Church throughout the
Russian Diaspora, and to call upon them to work toward the fulfillment
of the goals which lie before our Church in the field of spiritual,
educational and missionary service.
With "Christ is born! Glorify Him!" the Holy
Church addresses us during these radiant festal days. Let us follow
this summons and glorify Him in our prayers, acts, words and thoughts.
The day of the Nativity of Christ is a feast of peace,
hope and the love of God. Let each of us strive to translate this day
into deeds pleasing to God—let us give alms and help our neighbors,
treat each person with goodness and love, become better and, most
important, closer to God. With all my soul I wish that you will greet
and celebrate the radiant feast of the Nativity of Christ in the joy
of the Lord Who came into the world "for our sake and for our
salvation." Let the joy of the radiant Nativity of Christ enter
into each home, each family, and warm our hearts with the fervor of
divine Love.
May your souls be filled with splendor and joy, like the
cave of Bethlehem, where the divine Infant, the Savior of the world,
was born. May God bless our homes and families with peace, happiness
and prosperity during the coming year and all the days of our life.
May the star of Bethlehem guide you on the path to salvation.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now been born
of the Ever-virgin Mary, remain with all of you.
+Hilarion,
Metropolitan of New York and
Eastern America,
First Hierarch of the
Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
Christmas 2009/2010
New York
The Christmas
Epistle
of Jerome,
Bishop of Manhattan
“Today, God has come down to earth,
and man has gone up to heaven”.
(2nd Litia stichera on Christmas Eve).
Why
should we rejoice on Christmas day? What was the joy that the Angels
proclaimed to the shepherds? Was it the birthday of a great Teacher
who was to be? The end of Roman captivity for Israel? But the teaching
of the Orthodox Church, and the content of this day’s services,
unfold the mystery for us: God is incarnate, and by taken on human
flesh, unites all humanity with Himself physically. Then, by
establishing His Church, He gives us the opportunity to be united to
Him spiritually as well.
That means that we,
who had fallen away from God through our sins and errors, are once
more led up by God’s hand to heaven.
And so, it is not
only Christ who is born, but we ourselves are also reborn for eternal
life and, if only we make use of the help and support of the
outstretched hand of God, can live on earth, as in heaven!
Herein lies our
Christmas joy.
In our Church, we
have, not a human organization, and not only beautiful singing and
inspiring words and images, but direct communion with God. The
spiritual Body of Jesus Christ is in all places and times. Therefore,
all past history, all the promises of the future, all of the departed
who were close to us, all our living relatives and friends, are here
with us, when we take part in the prayer of the true Church.
And at that, very
little is asked of us: we need not journey after the Star, but only
attend God’s church; not subjected to persecution or torture, we
must only pray and take part in worship. Not forced to defend the
freedom of the Church (in our society), we have only to maintain the
building and clergy.
Our congratulations
on the feast, and we wish you many and good years in this life, and
eternal salvation and unending joy with Christ in the life to come!
And we hope you will support the holy Church as best you can.
With love in the
Incarnate Saviour,
Jerome,
Bishop of Manhattan
Christmas 2009/2010
New York
Media
Office of the Eastern American Diocese
