« CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OF ARCHBISHOP ELISEY OF SOUROZH »
06-01-2013 
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OF
E L I S E Y
ARCHBISHOP OF SOUROZH
TO THE PASTORS AND ALL FAITHFUL CHILDREN
OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUROZH
OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
Dearly beloved in the Lord, honourable pastors
and God-loving laypeople, dear brothers and sisters!
I cordially greet you with the great feast of the Nativity of Christ!
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
The Holy Church now glorifies the new-born Saviour and praises Him together with the shepherds and wise men of the Gospel story. An angel proclaims the great joy, which is to all people: for today is born in the city of David a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord (Lk 2: 10-11).
The birth of a new life is always a joy, but the birth of the Son of God is a joy beyond measure, for it is the appearance of the very source of life. It is that for which man is ever searching. It is that source to which all our expectations and hopes are directed: My soul thirsts for the mighty and living God (Ps. 41:3).
The thirst for life is as natural to us as breathing, as the beating of our heart. O, how man wants to live! We devote all our powers to preserving life, to the contemplation of the flowering of the world and to the establishment of harmony in all its diversity. We are drawn to that love that unites us across space and time. Overcoming enmity, we seek peace. Mindful of the wisdom of the ancients, we raise new generations in love.
No matter how wonderful our earthly life may be, it is, however, of value only inasmuch as it bears within itself the reflection of eternal life, life pure and radiant, filled with inexhaustible love and joy.
The prayerful exultation of the Church now unites us in this joy: the life of heaven has touched us here on earth through the newborn Christ, the Son of God. God became man, a weak and helpless infant. His child’s crying and laughter are so familiar to us, He is so close to the world. The world itself is renewed and sanctified by His life, which is revealed in the depths, in the very foundations of human nature. In the Child lying in the manger in the cattleshed we see the Son of God and worship Him as the King and God Who is enthroned in the heavens. Having the image of the Christ Child before us, we find in our world of poverty and weakness the greatest riches and strength of spirit.
The Almighty God Who reveals Himself to the world in the form of a defenceless infant also grants us, those weak and spiritually impoverished people who have received Him, who believe in His Name, power to become children of God (Jn. 1:12). We become partakers of the eternal divine life, thirsting no longer for earthly prosperity, but rather for eternal life, which will be revealed in its fullness at the end of the age.
According to the word of the Apostle, the whole creation groans and travails in pain together (Rom. 8:22), and we on our earthly journey endure many labours in our spiritual growth. We accept these sufferings as a mother is racked with pain in giving birth to her child. We are all being born into a new life, eternal life, in which there are no sinful cares, but in everything grace and truth.
My very dear fathers, brothers and sisters! We rejoice now, glorifying the Nativity in the flesh of Christ our God! May the divine Child and Saviour illumine our hearts with the radiance of divine mercy and truth.
+ ELISEY
ARCHISHOP OF SOUROZH
The Nativity of Christ 2012/13
London