His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew / Peace is not a given and self-evident, but debt, feat, constant concern and ceaseless struggle for its preservation, states Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his Christmas message.
"We continue to emphasize the peace-making role of religions, in an age in which religions are criticized”, emphasizes among others, noting that “religions are the natural allies of all people, who fight for peace, justice and the protection of the building from man-made destruction”.
The following is the full text of the Patriarchal Evidence for Christmas:
Venerable brothers in Christ Hierarchs and beloved children,
Above all, we celebrate this year in psalms and hymns and spiritual odes the birth in the flesh of the eternal Son and Word of God, the manifestation of the mystery of God and man. According to Saint Nikolaon Cavasilan, what is done in the Divine Liturgy is "the mystagogy of the incarnation of the Lord", and the doxological "Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" in its prefaces testifies "that through the incarnation of the Lord, people first understood that God is three persons" [1]. The holy father proclaims that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ "first and only showed the true and perfect man and manners and life and all other things" [2].
The adoption of human nature in the person of the Son and Word of God and the opening of the way of deification by grace to man give him insurmountable value. Forgetting this truth leads to a decrease in respect for the human person. The denial of man's high destiny not only does not free him, but it leads to various contractions and divisions. Unconscious of his divine origin and the hope of eternity, man finds it difficult to remain human, unable to manage the contradictions of the "human condition".
The Christian understanding of human existence offers a solution to the problems, which violence creates, war and injustice in our world. Respect for the human person, peace and justice are a gift of God, however, the establishment of peace won under Christ requires the participation and cooperation of people. The Christian position on the subject of the struggle for peace is formed through the words of Christ the Savior, who preaches peace, greets with "Peace be with you" and exhorts people to love their enemies [3]. The revelation in Christ is characterized as the "gospel of peace" [4]. This means that d’ us Christians, the way to peace is peace, that non-violence, the dialogue, love, forgiveness and settlement take precedence over other forms of dispute resolution. The theology of peace is clearly described in the text of the Ecumenical Patriarchate "”For the world of life”. The social ethos of the Orthodox Church" (2020): "Nothing is more opposed to God's will for His created creatures’ His image and likeness, from the violence exercised against the neighbor… We can rightly claim that violence constitutes the cat’ sin par excellence. It is the perfect contrast between our created nature and our supernatural calling to seek loving union with God and our neighbor… Peace is a true revelation of the deeper reality of creation according to the will of God, and of the form as designed by Him in His eternal counsels"[5].
Peace is not a given and self-evident, but debt, feat, constant concern and ceaseless struggle for its preservation. There are no automations and permanent recipes. Vigilance is required in the face of threats to peace, willingness to solve problems through dialogue. The great heroes of politics are the fighters of peace. We continue to emphasize the peace-making role of religions, in an era in which religions are criticized, because, instead of emerging as forces of peace, solidarity and settlement, they fuel fanaticism and violence "in the name of God: It is about the alienation of religious belief and not about a phenomenon inherent to it. Genuine faith in God is the strictest judge of religious fanaticism. Religions are the natural allies of all people, who fight for peace, justice and the protection of the building from man-made destruction.
This year humanity celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948), which is a summary of fundamental humanitarian ideals and values, "the common ideal, to which all peoples and all nations must strive". Human rights, the central point of reference of which is the protection of human dignity and individuals, social, cultural, its economic and environmental conditions, are understood in their original dynamics, if they are recognized as the foundation and criterion of world peace, which they associate with freedom and justice. In this sense, the future of human rights and peace is also linked to the contribution of religions to the respect and realization of.
With such thoughts and festive feelings, in full certainty that the life of the Church cat’ itself is a resistance to dehumanization, wherever he comes from, inviting all of you to the good fight of building a civilization of peace and settlement, in which man will see in the person of his fellow man the brother and the friend and not the schemer and the enemy, and reminding you all, brothers and children, that Christmas is a time of self-awareness and thanksgiving, revealing the difference between God-man and "man-god", realization of the "great miracle" of freedom in Christ and the healing of the "great trauma" of alienation from God, we reverently bow our knees before Mariam, who holds in her arms the Incarnate Word Theotokos, conveying to you the blessing of the Holy Mother of Christ the Great Church, we wish you happiness, healthy, fruitful, peaceful and cheerful the coming new one of the Lord's usefulness.
Christmas’
† Constantinople
fiery to God wishing you all
1. At the Divine Liturgy, B', PG 150, 392D.
2. About life in Christ, ΣΤ΄, PG 150, 680C.
3. See. Matthew, uh, 44.
4. Eph. at, 15.
5. § 42, 43 and 44.