From Diocese of Sourozh

Christmas Message 2007 of Patriarch Alexy

Dearly beloved in the Lord, Most Reverend Archpastors, all those in the priestly, diaconal and monastic ranks, pious laypeople – all faithful children of our Holy Orthodox Church!

We are now following the wise men of old, guided by the star of Bethlehem, to the manger of the divine Child – Our Lord Jesus Christ. We remember how the Magi ‘rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His Mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh’ (Mt 2, 10-11). As we come to the feast of the Nativity of Christ, we should ask ourselves: what can we bring to the manger which now receives Him Who cannot be contained?

He does not need our pride, neither our glory nor our material achievements. As dust in His sight are vain thoughts, earthly anxieties, all the attempts of people to exalt themselves above others. May our chief gift to the Saviour of the world, born of the Virgin, be strong and sincere faith – the faith, an example of which was given by the most pure Virgin Mary when she said to the Archangel who brought her the good news of the Incarnation: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to Thy word’ (Lk 1, 38). Today many people are accustomed to think that simply by the exercise of their free and independent reason they can achieve happiness and rightly build their own personal lives and that of society as a whole. The Church, however, in the centuries of her existence, has many times seen how those who become proud and distance themselves from God in the end are unhappy and pitiable. On the other hand, the example of the Most Holy Mother of God shows the heights to which the person who gives himself wholly to the will of God can attain. ‘The Virgin Mary’, says St Ephrem the Syrian, ‘is the daughter of the Light, since through her the Light illumined both the world and those dwelling therein’. May we with faith bring to the world the Light which is Our Lord Jesus Christ!

May another gift that we can bring to the manger of Bethlehem be love – warm and active love one for another and for all the people around us. Let us take these words of Christ as a guide for every day of our lives, ‘By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another’ (Jn 13, 35). Let us do works of love and mercy for the sake of those who today are alone and in difficult circumstances, who are suffering, who are in despondency and despair – such people are always with us.

The mutual love of parents and children, strengthened by love for God and their neighbours, has always been the foundation of strong Christian families. The coming year in our Motherland will be the ‘Year of the Family’, and in the many other countries where our Church serves God, concern for the family is likewise of the very greatest importance. It is absolutely necessary for us, as faithful children of the Church of Christ, to show such zealous concern. The whole of society and especially young people have once again to discover this simple and eternal truth: where there is no love, mutual responsibility, readiness to bring one’s whole life as a gift to those whom one loves – there is neither happiness nor fullness of life. Divorces, abortions, striving for wealth and endless amusements, forgetting about one’s own children, who so often are deprived of parental tenderness and a proper upbringing – all this turns the life of the individual and of the whole nation into a joyless existence, filled with the reproaches of conscience. If love were to reign in the family, together with faith, the joy of mutual dedication and support, then there would be many more happy people among us and the destiny of our nations would change for the better.

Dearly beloved, in the past year the Lord has blessed His Church with peace, joy and success in many works undertaken for the salvation of the people of God. On the feast of the Ascension of the Lord the fullness of unity was restored between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church outside of Russia, to which belongs a significant part of our church people, scattered throughout different countries of the world. Now we are once again one Church, strengthened by communion in prayer and Sacrament, bearing witness to Holy Orthodoxy not only in our Motherland, but ‘even unto the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1, 8).

The holy relics of St Luke, the Apostle and Evangelist, were brought to the territory of our Church, as were those of St Spiridon of Tremithus and St John Chrysostom. The relics of the Right-believing Prince, St Alexander Nevsky, were taken from St Petersburg to Moscow, and thence to various towns linked historically to the earthly struggles of the heavenly protector of our Motherland. Very many faithful children of our Church came to our Orthodox churches to venerate these saints, pleasing to God, to receive from them spiritual comfort and blessings and healing of spiritual and physical illnesses.

The 600th anniversary of the repose of our Venerable Father Savvas of Storoyevsk, a disciple of St Sergius, an intercessor for pious Russian leaders and an instructor of monastics, was celebrated with the active participation of the Orthodox people. We prayed before the wonderworking ‘Reigning’ icon of the Mother of God on the 90th anniversary of its appearing, for a better future for Russia and for the correction of its historical path. The 90th anniversary of the restoration of the Patriarchate in our Holy Church was observed prayerfully and with due ceremony. A memorial cross dedicated to the memory of the many hundreds of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, as well as the thousands and thousands of innocent people murdered during the years of the regime that was fighting against God, was brought from the monastery of Solovki to Moscow, to the Butovo range, where thousands of sufferers for faith and truth met a martyr’s death. May God grant that the memory of their struggles may strengthen our people on the path of spiritual renewal!

During the past year, by the mercy of God, I was able frequently to celebrate divine services in the metropolitan city of Moscow and to visit the parishes and monasteries of the Moscow region. I also visited Valaam, where I consecrated a skete in honour of the Smolensk icon of the Mother of God. The Lord enabled me to visit our Church’s dioceses of Vologda, Izhevsk and Korsun, and to witness to spiritual values and the social mission of Orthodoxy before the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. During meetings with State officials and people of different faiths and convictions I spoke about our faith, which enlightens and transfigures the world.

The peoples who are spiritually cared for by the Russian Orthodox Church are advancing steadily on the path of spiritual rebirth. On this path many successes have already been achieved. Life, however, also brings us difficulties, trials and temptations. In the past year there was more than one attempt to divide us on national, political or social lines. The Church, which is always with her people in both their joys and their sorrows, always reminds them of this: only unity makes us strong, free, and able to transform the world. The conciliar unity of the people, from which neither Chuch nor State can separate itself, becomes for our society the foundation of all good action. We pray for this unity and we are trying to strengthen it.

Let us keep holy also the unity of our Church, the ‘unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (Eph. 4, 3). At the present radiant feast we recognise, with all the depths of our hearts and of our understanding, that it is precisely to unity that the Lord Who was born for us at Bethlehem calls us. ‘How much good’, writes St Basil the Great, ‘has the Incarnation of the Saviour brought us; for human nature, divided and scattered into thousands of pieces, according to its strength is again brought into unity, both with itself and with God’.

Most Reverend Archpastors, dear fathers, brothers and sisters, I congratulate all of you with the feast of the Nativity of Christ and with the coming New Year. May the light of the star of Bethlehem always illumine our souls, giving us strength to follow the path of Christ Himself. May He give us health, peace and spiritual strength and lead us on the difficult paths of this life. May the coming year of the grace of Our Lord be for the Holy Church and for the people of our country peaceful, constructive and fruitful.

The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen (1 Th. 5, 28).

The Nativity of Christ
2007/2008
Moscow

+ALEXY
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia