Christmas encyclical

Metropolitan Petru urges kindness, aid, and prayer for the needy in his Christmas encyclical

“Let us offer those in need a kind word, material aid, or a prayer, fulfilling the words of the Savior: ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me,’” urged Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia in his pastoral letter for the celebration of the Nativity of…

Jan 2, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

The Nativity of the Lord shows humility is a path that leads to things above: Metropolitan Nicolae’s Pastoral Letter

“God the Creator, God Almighty, did not remain in His majesty, did not look down indifferently on His creation, nor did He wait for the creature to humble itself and return, but He came Himself, emptying Himself of glory, clothing Himself in humility so that He might save lost mankind,” His Eminence Nicolae writes in…

Dec 26, 2022Ștefana Totorcea

Romanian Bishop of Australia and New Zealand urges faithful to welcome the New Year with persistent prayer

In his Christmas pastoral letter, His Grace Mihail, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Australia and New Zealand, urges the faithful to greet the New Year with persistent prayer. “We can say that through Christ’s coming into the world, the Kingdom of God was opened to the world,” the bishop wrote. “It is important to emphasise…

Dec 24, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: Christmas is the time for self-knowledge

“Christmas is the time for self-knowledge, for understanding the difference between “God becoming man” and “man acting as god.” It is the time for awareness of the Christian teaching that “we do not speak of man becoming divine, but of God becoming human,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew wrote in this year’s Patriarchal Encyclical for the feast…

Dec 24, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Without Christ, we can do nothing for our profit or the peace of the world: Metropolitan Teofan says in his Christmas encyclical

“Without Christ, we can do nothing for our profit or the peace of the world,” Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bukovina stressed in this year’s Christmas pastoral letter. The Metropolitan lamented the oppressive atmosphere created by the war in the neighbouring country. “The awareness that we share the suffering of those affected by war, that…

Dec 23, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel’s Christmas Encyclical 2022: Christ’s Nativity unites heaven and earth

“Christ’s Nativity unites heaven and earth” is the title of this year’s Christmas encyclical of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania. In his pastoral letter addressed to the plenitude of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Daniel stresses that “the Son of God, Jesus Christ, descends into the world to be born, to grow and to…

Dec 22, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Bessarabia Metropolitan Petru urges respect for all born and unborn children in his Christmas encyclical

“The Church defends the unborn life because it looks with love to every woman who must give birth to children,” Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia notes in his Christmas encyclical. “God’s sign is the child,” His Eminence explains referring to the sign promised by God to the Prophet Isiah and by the angels to the shepherds.…

Jan 7, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

5 encouraging quotes from Patriarch Teoctist’s first Christmas encyclical (1986)

In his first Christmas encyclical in 1986, Romania’s former Patriarch Teoctist Arapasu noted that the Nativity shows how much God loves us and how much the price of human life is before God. 1. What can give wings to the mind towards the deep and mysterious meaning of life; what can inflame the heart towards…

Dec 24, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

5 motivational quotes from Patriarch Iustin’s first Christmas encyclical (1977)

In his first pastoral encyclical on the Nativity of the Lord in 1977, Romania’s fourth Patriarch Iustin Moisescu stressed the joyful way Christians need to welcome the Baby Jesus in their lives. 1. Listening to Christmas hymns, let us all now bow our heads before the icon of the Nativity, thanking God for the saving…

Dec 24, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

5 key quotes from Patriarch Justinian’s first Christmas encyclical (1948)

In his first Christmas encyclical in 1948, Romania’s third Patriarch Justinian Marina emphasized that the news of the Nativity did not resonate in marble palaces, but in the pure hearts of the poor, of those who worked without rest. 1. As we prepare to honour, according to tradition, the great feast of the Incarnation of…

Dec 24, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

5 inspiring quotes from Patriarch Nicodim’s first Christmas encyclical (1939)

In his first pastoral letter on the Nativity of the Lord in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War, Romania’s second Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu urged the faithful to remember the cave in Bethlehem in times of unrest and insecurity, because only through the One born in it they would find escape, tranquillity, and…

Dec 24, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu