« Nativity Message of Metropolitan Mark of Ryazan and Mikhailovsk, Interim Administrator of the Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe »
06-01-2026 
Nativity Message of Metropolitan Mark of Ryazan and Mikhailovsk, Inherim Administrator of the Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe.
Dear brothers and sisters!
I cordially greet you all on the feast of the Nativity of Christ!
The Lord came into this world to transform and to save it. When we speak of our Saviour, we usually quote the Gospel, recalling the divine wisdom of the Lord and His teaching. Yet the very fact that Christ was born on earth is already a message to the world – so eloquent that, without a single word, it forever changed the course of human history.
The Lord comes to earth in obscurity, in a poor and humble cave, surrounded by speechless animals. By the circumstances of His birth Christ devalues everything people are accustomed to regarding as important – glory, riches, high status. Instead, He reveals to the world quite different ideals: humility and voluntary poverty. And, above all, through His Incarnation God shows boundless love for our sinful world. He is born in order to die for the whole human race, for each one of us.
Let us, too, dear brothers and sisters, as we walk our earthly path, strive to embrace the ideals of Christ and to embody them in our lives as far as we are able. And, most importantly, inspired by the power of God’s limitless love, let us seek to respond in kind: let us love God and our neighbour.
May this love be our witness to the world – when we, without extra words, by our example and our good deeds, proclaim the tidings of the Divine Child who came into this world for us and for our salvation. Glorifying Jesus Christ, let us echo the words of the heavenly host: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”
Happy Christmas!
+MARK
Metropolitan of Ryazan and Mikhailovsk,
Interim Administrator of the Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe
7th January 2026