From Diocese of Sourozh

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OF BISHOP ELISEY OF SOUROZH TO THE PASTORS AND ALL FAITHFUL CHILDREN OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUROZH OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

Dearly beloved in the Lord, honourable pastors and God-loving laypeople, dear brothers and sisters! With all my heart I congratulate you on the great feast of the Nativity of Christ! Christ is born, glorify Him! Christ comes from heaven, let us go to meet Him! – so the Church sings as she invites us to share in the celebration of the Incarnation of the Son of God. We respond with joy to these familiar words of the festal hymns of the Church, which are close to the heart of every Orthodox person, for in them we hear the mystical invitation of the angelic powers of heaven to the longed-for meeting with the newly-born Saviour of the world. This year the feast of the Nativity of Christ is accompanied in the Russian Orthodox Church by heartfelt prayer for her first hierarch, the Most Holy Patriarch Alexy, who reposed during the days of the Nativity Fast which has just ended. We pray that, in the heavenly world, his soul may partake of the joy of the Lord made manifest. Patriarch Alexy, addressing all the children of the Russian Orthodox Church in one of his last Christmas epistles, said: “My dear ones! Let us listen attentively to the angelic proclamation: ‘I declare unto a great joy!’ (Lk. 2:10). We often forget about this eternal, incorruptible joy, because we live in a world devastated by sin and death, in which we suffer from diseases and infirmities, in which we sometimes endure separation and sorrow, in which we are faced with violence and cruelty. Our faith, however, teaches us, even in the midst of earthly sorrows, to keep in our hearts and to proclaim to all the joy that has come to us from on high; the joy that, according the Gospel, no-one can take from us (Jn. 16:22).” Faith in Christ the Saviour Who is born into the world helps us to acquire this joy, without which the labour of our life can seem unbearably difficult, without which despondency robs our souls of peace and harmony. “Christ descends to earth, let us go up to heaven!”In response to these words of the Akathist to the Sweetest Saviour, Saint John Chrysostom says: “Hearing this, let us lay aside despondency – beyond all hope and expectation, God has become Man. If this has been accomplished, then everything else will follow in its proper time and order. He would not have humbled Himself, apparently so recklessly and in vain, were it not to raise us up. He was born according to the flesh in order for thee to be born again of the Spirit.” The path to the attainment of spiritual joy can hardly be easy. By His birth in a cave, in a poor manger, Christ the Saviour shows us that it cannot be attained without the spiritual feat of enduring earthly difficulties. In this light, we should understand the consequences of the present economic crisis in contemporary society as a test of our readiness to endure earthly problems with patience. The righteous Saint John of Kronstadt, that great wonderworker and intercessor of the Russian lands, the 100th anniversary of whose death we recently observed in prayerful remembrance, strengthened the faith of the people with these words: “Entrust yourself wholly to the Divine Providence, to the will of God, and do not sorrow when you suffer some loss of things visible; do not rejoice in profit, but let your constant and only joy, your constant and only gain, be the Lord Himself. Rely on Him absolutely: He knows how to lead you safely through the present life and bring you to Himself – to His eternal kingdom.” Dear members of the clergy, beloved brothers and sisters, fellow-countrymen and all Orthodox children of the Russian Orthodox Church living in Great Britain and Ireland! In these bright and festive days of the Nativity of Christ I prayerfully wish all of you joy and spiritual peace! Let those of you who have joy preserve it and share it with those who lack it. Let those who seek joy not fall into despondency, but rather hope in the Lord, and He will not be slow to show His mercy! Let us strive that our whole life should become a hymn of praise to the great mystery of the Incarnation and to the love of God for the human race.

+ ELISEY,

BISHOP OF SOUROZH

The Nativity of Christ 2008/9

London