|
2 0 0 9
Prot. No. 1237
BARTHOLOMEW
By
God¡¯s Grace
Archbishop
of Constantinople-New Rome
and
Ecumenical Patriarch
To
the Plenitude of the Church
Grace,
peace and mercy from the Savior Christ
Born
in Bethlehem
Beloved concelebrants and blessed children in the Lord,
Heaven
and earth have united
Through
the birth of Christ.
Today,
God has appeared on earth,
And
man has ascended to heaven.
(Christmas
Hymn)
The
distance and separation between God and humanity resulting from sin has been
abolished with the assumption of the entire human nature by the Only-Begotten
Son and Pre-eternal Word of God. It was God¡¯s good will – that is to say, His
initiative and will – that the incarnation of His Son should abolish all such
distance uniting heaven and earth, as well as creation with its Creator.
During
the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos, the Church chanted: ¡°Today is the
beginning of God¡¯s good will and the proclamation of human salvation.¡± During
that feast, through the dedication of the blessed Mary to the temple and her
preparation there to become the bearer of the boundless God, the road was paved
for the incarnate dispensation of God, which foretold our salvation.
During
the feast of the Annunciation, when the divine conception of the Inconceivable
occurred through the Holy Spirit within the womb of the Theotokos and divine
nature began to coexist with human nature in order that – as St. Athanasius the
Great articulated it – ¡°we might become deified,¡± the Church again chanted:
¡°Today is the beginning of our salvation and the revelation of the pre-eternal
mystery; the Son of God becomes the son of the Virgin.¡± Thus, the ¡°divine good
will¡± welcomed at the Entrance, as well as the salvation commenced and revealed
at the Annunciation, are today rendered a tangible reality, as we celebrate the
great and holy day of Christmas. Today, ¡°the Word assumes flesh and dwells
among us¡± (John 1.14), while the Angels celebrate the event, chanting: ¡°Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among humankind.¡± (Luke
2.14)
With
the Incarnation of the Divine Word, the salvation of the human race has already
potentially occurred. For those who believe in Jesus, live in accordance with
this faith, fulfilling His commandments and practicing His teaching, are
thereby elevated to become the friends and participants of God! They become
¡°partakers of divine nature¡± (2 Peter 1.14), gods by grace! This takes place
exclusively within the Church, where we are reborn in Christ and adopted by the
Father through Holy Baptism and through the holy Sacraments, as well as by
cultivation of virtue in order to be filled with divine grace and the Holy
Spirit, growing ¡°to maturity, to the measure o the full stature of Christ¡±
(Eph. 4.13) until we reach the level of saying, like St. Paul: ¡°It is no longer
I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.¡± (Gal. 2.20) Those who acquire
such perfection are not regarded by Christ simply as His friends or brothers,
but are recognized by Him as members of His Body. This is why, from the height
of the Cross, he would say to His Most Holy Mother about the Evangelist John:
¡°Woman, here is your son,¡± and to John: ¡°Here is your mother.¡± (John 19.26-27)
Christmas, therefore, opens wide the door of human ¡°christification¡± and
deification by grace; and for this reason, ¡°the entire creation rejoices in
celebration and the heavens delight with us¡± on this day of significance and
salvation.¡± (Hymn of December 28)
With
these joyful and hopeful realities before us, from the sacred See of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Phanar, we extend to you our fervent festive
congratulations and wholehearted Patriarch wishes on this central feast of the
Christian calendar. We greet all of our beloved faithful throughout the world,
the beloved children of the holy Mother Church – clergy of all levels,
monastics and laity, pastors and parishioners, and especially those suffering,
experiencing sorrow, need or trial. May the pre-eternal Son of God – who was
born in a cave and lay in a manger – who for our sake became Son of Man, render
all of us worthy of his self-emptying love and of His sacred, venerable
incarnate dispensation.
At the
Phanar, Christmas 2009
Bartholomew
of Constantinople
Fervent
supplicant for all before God
St. Paul Orthodox Press www.orthodoxincheon.or.kr
|
|