Christmas 2025

Patriarch Daniel says Christ came to sanctify the world from within in Christmas homily

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said on the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord that Christ came into the world to sanctify creation and to teach humanity, from within it, to give thanks to God for the very existence of the created universe and for human life itself. “Christ comes into the world to sanctify…

Dec 25, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Serafim urges humility over comfort in Christmas message, highlights women’s role in Church and family

In this year’s Christmas pastoral letter, Metropolitan Serafim of Germany invites the faithful to move beyond the material comfort associated with the Nativity feast and to rediscover what he calls “the only new thing under the sun”: the humility of God who becomes Man. In the pastoral message titled “The Christian Woman in the Family,…

Dec 23, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel sends irenic Christmas letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, sent an irenic letter to  His Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch, wishing him good health, peace, and joy on the occasion of the Nativity of the Lord and New Year. Full text: Bucharest, Nativity of the Lord, 2025 His Holiness BARTHOLOMAIOS, Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome,…

Dec 23, 2025Ștefana Totorcea

Patriarch Daniel urges faith, peace and communion in Christmas and New Year 2026 message

In his Christmas video message, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church reflects on the mystery of the Incarnation as God’s saving descent into human history, emphasising that Christmas is fundamentally a celebration of forgiveness, peace, and communion among people. Recalling the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah, the Patriarch of Romania underscores that the birth…

Dec 23, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Christ the Pilgrim comes to us in every person in need, Patriarch Daniel says in his Christmas pastoral letter

In his Christmas Pastoral Letter, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church reflects on the mystery of the Nativity as a living encounter between God and humanity, presenting Christ as the divine “Pilgrim” who continues to come to people through love, humility, and mercy. Drawing on Scripture, patristic teaching, and the spiritual heritage of Romanian…

Dec 22, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop Benedict reflects on ‘theology of the cave’, linking Bethlehem to communist prisons

Bishop Benedict of Sălaj has proposed in his first Christmas Pastoral Letter a reflection on what he calls the “theology of the cave,” drawing a parallel between the humility of the manger in Bethlehem and the “cave” of suffering experienced in communist prisons. He stresses that no human suffering is too dark to be illumined…

Dec 22, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Whoever receives Christ receives the courage to love: Archbishop Atanasie’s first Christmas pastoral letter

“Whoever receives Christ receives the courage to love, to forgive, and to live without fear. In Him, fear is transformed into trust, and loneliness into a sacred encounter,” noted His Eminence Archbishop Atanasie in his first pastoral letter for the feast of the Nativity since his enthronement as shepherd of Orthodox Romanians in Great Britain…

Dec 22, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas urges faithful to sing to God through deeds, not words, in Christmas message

The Christmas exhortation of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Americas, calls on the faithful to sing to the Lord not only with their voices, but above all through their deeds. In his pastoral letter for the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, Metropolitan Nicolae Condrea brings to the fore the…

Dec 19, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox Nativity Fast to span 41 days with weekend fish allowances

The Orthodox Nativity Fast in 2025 will run for 41 days — from November 14 to December 24 — during which believers observe dietary discipline, with fish permitted on Saturdays and Sundays except in the first and final week. By contrast, in Orthodox communities that follow the unrevised Julian (Old) Calendar, the Nativity Fast starts…

Nov 5, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu