Prot. No. 977<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patriarchal Encyclical for Christmas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
+ B A R T H O L O M E W<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By God\u2019s Mercy Archbishop of Constantinople
New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch to All the Plenitude of the Church
Grace, Mercy and Peace from the Savior Christ Born in Bethlehem<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most honorable Brother Hierarchs,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beloved children in the Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having once again been found worthy of reaching the great feast of the Nativity in the flesh of the Son and Word of God, we glorify the \u201cinexpressible and incomprehensible condescension\u201d of the Savior of the human race and Redeemer of all creation from corruption, even as we proclaim with the angels \u201cGlory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill to all people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ was revealed as \u201cEmmanuel,\u201d as \u201cGod with us\u201d and \u201cfor us\u201d, as God beside each of us and \u201ccloser to us than ourselves.\u201d The pre-eternal Word of God, who is \u201cconsubstantial with the Father,\u201d as formulated in doctrine by the First Ecumenical Council, whose 1700th<\/sup> anniversary was appropriately celebrated by the Christian world over this year, \u201cbecomes like His own creature,\u201d being incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary \u201cin order to render human beings into gods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apolytikion (Dismissal Hymn) for Christmas declares that the Nativity of Christ \u201chas shone to the world the Light of knowledge\u201d and revealed \u201cthe transcendent and universal meaning\u201d of life and history, namely the truth that only the Christian faith can fully satisfy the deeper pursuit of the mind and thirst of the heart, that \u201csalvation is found in no one else\u201d but Christ. Thenceforth, the \u201cknowledge\u201d that \u201cpuffs up\u201d is being judged by the words of the Lord, that \u201cYou will come to know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The suprarational event of the Incarnation is experienced and repeated spiritually in the life of the faithful, who love the epiphany of the Savior Christ. As St. Maximus the Confessor writes: \u201cThe Word of God was once born in the flesh, but desires always to be born in the spirit out of love for those who desire it.\u201d In this sense, the Feast of the Nativity, of the divine Incarnation and the deification of humankind by grace, does not direct us to an event of the past, but guides us to the \u201cfuture city,\u201d to the heavenly kingdom of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a world, where the echo of war and noise of weapons prevail, the angelic \u201cpeace in the world\u201d is resounded and the Lord\u2019s voice blesses \u201cthe peacemakers\u201d while His Holy Church prays during the Divine Liturgy \u201cfor the peace from above\u201d and \u201cfor the peace of the whole world.\u201d Genuine faith in the living God strengthens our struggle for peace and righteousness, even when we are faced with humanly insurmountable impediments. As the Message of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church\u2014whose tenth anniversary we shall celebrate next year\u2014inspiringly states: \u201cthe oil of religious experience must be used to heal wounds and not to rekindle the fire of military conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Gospel of peace especially concerns us Christians. We consider it impermissible to remain indifferent before the fragmentation of Christendom, particularly when this attitude is accompanied by fundamentalism and explicit rejection of inter-Christian dialogue that ultimately aims at transcending division and achieving unity. The obligation of striving for Christian unity is non-negotiable. The responsibility to continue the efforts of the pioneers of the Ecumenical Movement along with the justification of their vision and labor rest on the younger generation of Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We belong to Christ, who is \u201cour peace\u201d and \u201cthe fulfilment of joy\u201d in our life, the \u201cgoodwill\u201d that springs from the conviction that \u201cthe truth has arrived\u201d and \u201cthe shadow has passed,\u201d that love is stronger than hatred and life stronger than death, that evil does not have the final word in the life of the world, which is directed by Christ, who is \u201cthe same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.\u201d This faith must shine and be revealed in the way we honor Christmas and the other feasts of the Church. The joyous celebration of the faithful should bear witness to the transformative power of our faith in Christ. It should be a time of goodwill and spiritual delight, the experience of that ineffable \u201cgreat joy\u201d that is \u201csynonymous with the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most honorable Brothers and beloved children,<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2026, the Holy Great Church of Christ will honor the completion of 1400 years since August 7, 626, when the Akathist Hymn was chanted \u201cupstanding\u201d during the Sacred Vigil in the Church of Panagia Vlachernae, as an expression of gratitude to the All-Holy Mother of God, for the safeguarding of the City of Constantinople from the attack of hostile forces. On the occasion of this historic milestone, the 2026 Yearbook of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will be dedicated to the commemoration of this important event for our tradition and identity, which are inseparably and profoundly associated with the honor reserved for our ever-blessed and most pure Mother of God, the defender and protector of our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this spirit, as we bow before Mary who holds the infant Jesus in her arms, and as we worship the Divine Word who assumed our form, we wish upon all of you a blessed Holy Twelvetide, and a fruitful in good deeds and filled with divine gifts new year of the Lord\u2019s favor, to Whom belong all glory, honor and worship, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christmas 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n +Bartholomew of Constantinople<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your fervent supplicant of all before God<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"