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Πατριαρχείον Ιεροσολύμων
Greek-English
MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLY BEATITUDE THE PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM THEOPHILOS III ON THE OCCASION OF CHRISTMAS 2017
OF HIS HOLY BEATITUDE THE PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM THEOPHILOS III ON THE OCCASION OF CHRISTMAS 2017
“He that was begotten of the Father before the
morning star without a mother, is today on
earth become incarnate of thee without a father;
wherefore, a star announceth the good tidings to the
Magi; and the Angels with shepherds hymn thy seedless
childbirth, O Full of Grace.”
(Kontakion: Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos)
During the joyous and glorious period of the Holy Twelve-days the
Church as much as the whole of humanity celebrate a divine and heavenly
event, an event that is at the same time splendid and marvelous, strange
and paradox. We celebrate the event of God’s peaceful visit and healing
intervention in man’s life. The Church proclaims the event of the
incarnate Epiphany of God in the world. It confesses that God, who has
created man according to His image and likeness, remodeled him by the
Son’s resemblance to man according to the divine beauty given to him
before the fall. In the presence of His Only-Begotten Son and Word, God
became incarnate, He was made flesh, He became human. “And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1.14) Through the Incarnation and
nativity in the flesh of His Son by the Ever-Virgin, during the reign of
Caesar Octavius Augustus in Bethlehem, God revived and pulled man out
of the depths of his fall and corruption and lifted him in the heights
of heaven, making him “partaker of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1.4). For
this offering, grace and unspeakable joy given to humanity, the Church
chants with the hymn writer today: “the Lord hath sent forth redemption
to his people”; with the Evangelist: “a Saviour has been born to us
today, who is Christ”; and with the hymn writer: “Our Saviour from on
high hath visited us” and “Christ is born, give ye glory, Christ is on
earth, be ye exalted”.
Eye-witnesses to this unheard of mystery, namely God’s incarnate
presence in the world, are; the Ever-Virgin, who contributed to this
reality, and conceived by the Holy Spirit, became pregnant and gave
birth in the flesh and swaddled Christ; Joseph the elder, her companion
from Nazareth to Bethlehem for Caesar’s census, from Bethlehem to Egypt
on their escape, and to their return in Nazareth, from which the Lord
was called a Nazarene. Eye-witnesses are also simple farmers, shepherds
watching over their flocks, who drew nigh in order to see and experience
the mystery, after the invitation and the vision of angels, who were
chanting in heaven the angelic hymn: “Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2.14). Moreover,
eye-witnesses were men of science, Magi Kings from Persia, researchers
of the universe. They were called from afar by a star in heaven, to
herald the beginning of the Church of nations, so that from the idolatry
of the stars they would come to the worship of the Sun of
Righteousness. And indeed, in this simple and humble Cave they beheld in
ecstasy “the babe lying in a manger” (Luke 2.16), and recognizing Him
they bowed and worshiped the Incarnate God made man in the flesh by the
Virgin, and offered Him their gifts of reverence “gold, and frankincense
and myrrh” (Matthew 2.11).
In this manner did the wealth of Christ’s Divinity shine upon men, in
the humility of the Cave and the poverty of the swaddling clothes.
Christ took upon Himself the form of a man, humbling Himself, so that in
this form He would sanctify and glorify man. “Though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be
rich” (2 Cor. 8.9). Being true God, strong and mighty, He took on the
feebleness of the human flesh and became God-human, one person in two
natures, “who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed
of the devil; for God was with him” (Acts 10.38).
This philanthropy of God is preached in the Holy Spirit by the
Church, the Body of the Incarnate God, our Lord Jesus Christ who was
Crucified in the flesh and Resurrected from the dead for the salvation
of the world. Christ has bequeathed the Church with the perpetuation of
His peace-making, reconciling, sanctifying and salvific mission in the
world. The Church manifests and preaches His mission to its members, but
also to all those who by their free will do not accept the message of
the Lord of peace, but act remorselessly and inhumanly instead, just
like Herod did to the new-born King and the infants. They neither
sharpen their plows for plowing, nor their sickles for reaping; on the
contrary, they sharpen their swords in order to rend each other to
pieces. They spend the wealth of God’s creation to compatible and
incompatible weapons and wars, they sacrifice hundreds of thousands of
innocent people through atrocious terrorist acts and they dare say this
is done in the name of God. The Church speaks to them in love. It
teaches peace, to those near and afar. It sanctifies the people, tames
their morals and remains an oasis, a paradise and the visible
manifestation of the Kingdom of God on earth. It shares its spiritual
and material goods with the people philanthropically. It tolerates
persecution; being slandered, it forgives and prays. It calls everybody,
saying: “come and see” (John 1.46).
This is done also by the Church of Jerusalem in the Holy Land, which
defends and preserves the Holy Shrines and of course the Basilica of the
Nativity in Bethlehem, built by Constantine and Justine the Emperors.
The Church of Jerusalem prays from the God-receiving Cave for the peace
of the whole world, peace in the Middle East and the Holy Land, for the
progress, prosperity, divine blessing and salvation of the noble
Christmas pilgrims, for the glory of the born-in-flesh Jesus Christ
together with the Father in the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages.
In the Holy Town of Bethlehem, CHRISTMAS 2017
Fervent supplicant for all before God,
THEOPHILOS III
Patriarch of Jerusalem
