5 powerful quotes from Patriarch Miron’s first Christmas encyclical (1926)

Patriarch Miron Cristea, the first Patriarch of Romania, wrote his first Christmas pastoral letter in 1926.

In the five selected quotes below, the Patriarch points to wealth and poverty as possible obstacles in fulfilling the Christian’s purpose, the real power of mastery, sacrifice, as well as the conditions in which social well-being can be achieved.

1. The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the celebration of peace and a new formation of human life; it is the elaboration in which the spiritual power dominates and leads, like the first one, the human life in all its manifestations.

2. Today, everyone wants wealth and despises poverty, yet for the Saviour, poverty was not an obstacle to fulfilling His mission.

3. Today, everyone wants to reach as high as possible and to have in their hand as much of the power of dominion and earthly glory as possible. Yet, the Nativity teaches us that mastery and credit based on small interests and passions of ambition is fragile and crumbles quickly and painfully.

4. Today, everyone runs away from the conscious fulfilment of their duty and puts no price on the sacrifice that each one owes to advancing the common good. Yet, the Nativity shows us that only through sacrifice and devotion can the anger of the waves of wickedness be softened, which naturally must fall upon society.

5. Our nation can only be elevated and cleansed from evil deeds by the pure, innocent sacrifice and the unwavering devotion of its best sons and daughters.

Photography courtesy of the Romanian Patriarchate’s files

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