Nativity Epistle of the Most Reverend Georgiy
Bishop of Bolgrad and Belgorod-Dnestrovsk
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Today we celebrate an unimaginable event,
which served as the beginning of a “new birth from on high” for all
mankind. The long-anticipated Messiah,
Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His love of mankind becomes the new Adam to heal
and save the mankind of the fallen ancient Adam. St. Cyril of
And so, dear brothers
and sisters, Jesus, in his humble arrival into the world, as a weak Newborn,
lying in the manger in
The Son of God, who
took on our human nature from the Most Holy Virgin Mary, was born into poverty
and want. At His birth, His first
dwelling was a cave, located outside of the city, a simple manger served as His
cradle, straw for a bed, and swaddling His only clothes. Why was it necessary for God to appear on
earth in such poverty and want? So that by
His birth, He would assume all the fundamental ailments that beset all of
mankind, “fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly
arrogance” (1 John 2:16), and demonstrate that the salvation, virtue, and good
fortune of a person does not depend on luxury, wealth, and status. It depends above all on a humble and meek
heart in which God abides. “…learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) are the words of our
Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
“How dark and gloomy
is that place where there is no light, so when there is no humility, all of our
deeds and actions, which we believe are pleasing to God, are vain and
meaningless” teaches Abbot Hesychios.
With humility, the soul of a faithful Christian acknowledges firstly its
spiritual inadequacy and begins to thirst after Jesus, because it acknowledges that
by itself, by its own strengths, it cannot withstand or do good. That all its noble acts are supported and
informed by the grace of God. In this
way, the person who does good opens his heart to God and the heart is filled
with genuine inner peace. The soul
filled with Him does not worry and is not troubled by any misfortune or
trial. Like Apostle Paul, that person
meets every obstacle in life with the words, “Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35)
The soul of a Christian is struck with wonder, as it realizes that Godly
good deeds are filled with spiritual benevolence and the treasure of heavenly
salvation, since only humility makes us capable to accept God into our hearts.
Brothers and sisters,
let us develop love of one another, leavened with humility, and may the Christ
Child dwell among us. Let us direct all
our deeds to be the fulfillment of God’s life-giving commandments, so that sin
does not stain our hearts and wickedness does not separate us from God.
Let us strengthen
ourselves with the Sacraments of Christ’s Church, so that the
I congratulate you
all from my heart with the Feast day of the Nativity of Christ and wish God’s
peace, joy and God’s blessings. Amen.
+Georgiy
Bishop of Bolgrad and Belgorod-Dnestrovsk
Nativity of Christ 2008