This year’s pastoral letter for Christmas by the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Americas is a message of encouragement in the face of sickness and death.
“At this glorious feast, I too proclaim to you with the angel that God is with us, that God has not forsaken us, that God has not forgotten His creation and does not ignore its suffering, that God sends us a Saviour.”
“The incarnation of the Son of God from the Virgin Mary is the source of the Christian’s hope in the providence of God for every moment of his earthly life as preparation for eternal life.”
Metropolitan Nicolae explains that the proclamation of Christ’s coming in the world ‘is not one of past history, nor is it a pious remembrance of the birth of a wise man, but the proclamation of the presentness of the Nativity of Christ.’
“This birth makes a claim on us now, it requires us to rise up and go and meet the Christ who is from the heavens. Our salvation in Christ is not a passive process, but an active one, with participation, dedication, sacrifice. Salvation is the gift of Christ, but it is accomplished through Christ.”
“For many months the entire world has been overtaken by the fear of sickness and of death, by grave questions regarding the future of each one of us, of the family, of the community, and of the world.”
“The Christian can find the answer to these questions witnessing the faith in the Incarnation of the Son of God for our salvation, and looking to Christ as the endpoint of our living. If we want to find answers that bring peace, we must turn to Christ, we must put our hope in Him, for He is the unchanging guidepost of our existence, He is the same ‘yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8).”
With this exhortation, the Romanian Metropolitan prays that ‘the One born in a manger will grant you health and increase in faith, steadfast hope, and spiritual peace, for He is our Saviour!”
Photography courtesy of Putna Monastery
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