"Every year our Church celebrates Christmas. To remind us that evil is not omnipotent and invincible. Violence does not have the last word in the world, the sufferings, the war, human passions, Death. Man, even in his worst version, has value.
And it does not cease to be an image of God. He must fight against evil. He must not settle for evil. Ούτε να παρασύρεται από την ένταση του κακού και την αναστάτωση πού προκαλεί» αναφέρει στο χριστουγεννιάτικο μήνυμά του -το οποίο αναγνώστηκε σήμερα σε όλους τους ναούς της Αθήνας- ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αθηνών και πάσης Ελλάδος κ. Ιερώνυμος και καλεί όλους «να βλέπουμε στα μάτια τον νεογέννητο Χριστό, πού νίκησε το κακό. Let's take courage. Και να πολεμούμε το κακό με τίς δυνάμεις πού Εκείνος μάς δίνει».
In the morning, the Archbishop celebrated the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in the Holy Metropolitan Church of Athens and the Metropolitan of Laodicea and. Theodoritos, Director of the Representation Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Athens and Bishop Euripou Mr.. Chrysostom.
The Archbishop's message for Christmas was read by the Archbishop of the Archdiocese Archimandrite Varnavas Theoharis, while after the Divine Liturgy the Archbishop wished everyone a happy and blessed birthday.
The Archbishop's full message follows:
My dear brothers and children,
Once more, we have arrived at the great celebration of Christmas. For most of us, the world is in a vortex of tragic events. On a social level : Poverty. Disease. Wars. Corruption. Depreciation and contempt of institutions, due to misguided human actions. In personal level: Loneliness. Disappointment. Boredom. Lack of meaning.
Faced with this situation, many believe that the world has not changed. And that is not going to change.
But things are not like that. Evil has at its core a tendency to expand and dominate. This is done in two ways : The first is the evil act itself. The second is continuous projection, publicity and over-occupation with evil. So, the illusion is created that evil has spread everywhere. Today, technology also helps in this with the easy and quick dissemination of information.
On the other, the good, for us Orthodox, it is by nature humble. It is identified with the face of Christ. Christ works in a constant way, invisible, silent. God opposes the proud. While his grace is with the humble. The birth of Christ, it was done without any glory or splendor, quietly, in a cave.
Every year our Church celebrates Christmas. To remind us that evil is not omnipotent and invincible. Violence does not have the last word in the world, the sufferings, the war, human passions, Death.
Man, even in his worst version, has value. And it does not cease to be an image of God. He must fight against evil. He must not settle for evil. Nor be carried away by the intensity of evil and the disturbance it causes.
We must all look the newborn Christ in the eyes, πού νίκησε το κακό. Let's take courage. And to fight evil with the powers that He gives us.
I wish you happy birthday,
sanctified and full of Grace,
of our Incarnate Christ.
THE ARCHBISHOP OF ATHENS AND ALL GREECE
Photo: Christos Bonis / Church of Greece
