Beloved archpastors, pastors, monks and all faithful sons and daughters of the Belarusian Orthodox Church!
Today our hearts are filled with joy about the born Savior of the world, together with the angels we glorify God, hurry with the shepherds to the Bethlehem cave, follow the wise men to bring our gifts to the God Child.
Our spiritual eyes are turned today to the manger in which the Lamb of God lies, because “all God’s treasures and riches are countless, priceless, which cannot fit anywhere, they are all placed in a cramped manger, all are placed and covered with a handful of hay” (St. Dimitriy Rostovsky )!
On this day, “the great mystery of godliness was fulfilled: God revealed Himself in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3, 16). The obstacle that arose between God and man, between heaven and earth after the Fall, has been destroyed, because in Christ Jesus, according to the words of Saint Dimitry Rostovsky, “God became Man, and man became God, heaven becomes earth, and earth becomes heaven.”
The Incarnation reveals to us a truth never seen before, which the human mind could not comprehend. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3, 16). And this unspeakable love is manifested not only in the sufferings on the Cross and the death of the Savior, not only in His blessings and healings – His very coming to this world testifies to God’s boundless love for man.
And on this day, with deep reverence and trembling of the heart, we perceive the words of the festive service, which reveal to us the meaning of the adoption of human nature by the Son of God: “Seeing that created in the image and likeness, but damaged by the violation of the commandment, Jesus, bending the heavens, came down and dwelt in the maiden’s womb , without changing to renew the damaged Adam in him…” (Minea. Nativity of Christ. Great Supper. Stichira on lithia).
From now on, man is no longer condemned to be in the darkness and shadow of mortals, “for the barrier that separated is destroyed, the flaming sword is rejected, and the Cherubim departs from the tree of life, and I eat the heavenly food, from which I was driven away because of disobedience” (Minea. Nativity of Christ. Great vespers. Poems on “Lord, cry”).
The Holy Fathers point to an important result of the Incarnation: a renewed person does not simply return to the primordial good that Adam possessed, but receives incomparably more, because through Jesus Christ he enters into a union with God that is even deeper than before the Fall.
According to the words of the apostle Paul, “The kingdom of God… joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14, 17). It is the coming into the world of the King and the Lord that is the basis of unceasing spiritual joy, which was unavailable to the Old Testament man. But how do we need to live in order to enter “the joy of our Lord”, so that the Christmas of Christ is not just one of many holidays, but illuminates all the moments of our life with its radiance?
Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself answers this question: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your understanding, and with all your strength – this is the first commandment. And the second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk. 12, 30-31).
It is the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments that is the key to our following Christ and union with Him. Human life is filled with trials and tribulations; there are still many contradictions and discords in our land, but it depends on us, Christians, whether we will fill this world with Christ’s light and joy, whether we will become a spiritual leaven that will change for the better the environment in which each of us lives and is working
Every day of our life gives us an opportunity to work for God and neighbor. And if we look at our life path from the evangelical perspective, then everything in it will be filled with meaning and sanctified by God’s blessing.
Comprehension of the true personal meaning of life, harmony of social relations – all this is achieved through the fulfillment of God’s laws. But many people do not know or simply forget about their existence. And our true Christian life, as well as sincere love for our neighbor, will be a living reminder and confirmation of the goodness and wisdom of those commandments that the Lord Jesus Christ blessed us with.
Dear brothers and sisters, I heartily congratulate you on Christmas and New Year! On these holy days, I wish that the bright joy about the birth of the Godchild will become the source of our spiritual renewal, so that every moment of our life will be a response of gratitude for God’s love for us. We will follow the Gospel commandments, because their fulfillment is the guarantee not only of personal salvation, but also of good social order.
Let our very life testify to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem for the sake of great love for people and is still born in the heart of every believing person. May the Lord give generous gifts to our entire Motherland, working groups, and families, and may He bless our good beginnings in the new year.
Benjamin,
Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavsky,
Patriarch Exarch of All Belarus
Beloved archpastors, shepherds, monastics and all faithful children of the Belarusian Orthodox Church!
Now our hearts are filled with joy about the born Savior of the world, together with the angels we glorify God, we rush with the shepherds to the Bethlehem cave, we follow the wise men to bring our gifts to the Infant God.
Our mental gaze is turned today to the manger in which the Lamb of God lies, since “all of God’s treasures and riches are innumerable, priceless, uncontainable in any place, they are all put into a cramped manger, all contained and covered with a handful of hay” (St. Demetrius of Rostov) !
On this day, “a great mystery of piety was fulfilled – God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). The barrier that arose after the Fall between God and man, between Heaven and earth, was destroyed, for in Christ Jesus, according to the words of St. Demetrius of Rostov, “God became Man, and man God, heaven becomes earth, and earth heaven.”
The Incarnation reveals to us a truth that was unprecedented before and inconceivable by the human mind. “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And this ineffable love is manifested not only in the Savior’s suffering on the Cross and death, not only in His blessings and healings – His very coming into this world testifies to the boundless love of God for man.
And on this day, with reverent heartfelt trembling, we listen to the festive service, which reveals for us the meaning of the Son of God’s acceptance of human nature: “In the image and likeness of Jesus, having been corrupted by transgression, He bowed down the heavens and dwelt in the virgin womb unchangeably, and in it He will renew the decayed Adam…” (Mineaion. Nativity of Christ. Great Vespers. Stichera at litia).
Man is no longer doomed to remain in darkness and the shadow of death, “for the dividing fence is destroyed, the flaming sword departs, and the Cherub retreats from the tree of life, and I eat the food of paradise, from which I was driven away because of disobedience” (Minaea. Nativity of Christ. Great Vespers. Stichera on “Lord, I have cried”).
The Holy Fathers point to an important consequence of the Incarnation: a renewed person not only returns to the primordial good that Adam possessed, but receives incomparably more, since through Jesus Christ he enters into unity with God, even deeper than before the Fall.
According to the words of the Apostle Paul, “The kingdom of God… joy is in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). It is the coming into the world of the King and Lord that is the basis of unceasing spiritual joy, which was inaccessible to Old Testament man. But how should we live in order to enter “into the joy of our Lord”, so that the Nativity of Christ is not just one of many holidays, but sanctifies with its light all the moments of our lives?
Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself answers this question: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength—this is the first commandment! The second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31).
It is the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments that is the key to our following Christ and unity with Him. Human life is fraught with trials and difficulties, there are still many contradictions and discord in our land, but it depends on us, Christians, whether we will fill this world with Christ’s light and joy, whether we will become that spiritual leaven that will change that environment for the good in which each of us lives and works.
Every day of our life gives us the opportunity to work for God and our neighbor. And if we look at our life path from the Gospel perspective, then everything in it will be filled with meaning and sanctified by God’s blessing.
Finding the personal true meaning of life, harmonizing social relations – all this is achieved by observing Divine laws. But many people don’t know or simply forget about their existence. And our genuine Christian life, as well as sincere love for our neighbors, will be a living reminder and confirmation of the goodness and wisdom of those commandments about which our Lord Jesus Christ preached.
Dear brothers and sisters, I cordially congratulate you on Christmas and the New Year! On these holy days, I wish that the bright joy of the born Child of God would become the source of our spiritual renewal, so that every moment of our life would be a grateful response to God’s love for us. Let us follow the Gospel commandments, because it is in their fulfillment that the guarantee of not only personal salvation, but also social well-being.
Let our lives become a living testimony of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the sake of great love for people, was born in Bethlehem and is still born in the heart of every believer. May the Lord give abundant gifts of grace to our entire Fatherland, work teams and families, and may he bless our good endeavors in the coming new year.
Benjamin,
Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavsky,
Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus
