A Nativity Epistle of Bishop Vladimir
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Dear beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, venerable fathers, brothers and sisters, I am greeting all of you, with the great holiday of Birth of God-Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, using the words of St. Apostle and Evangelist Luke, who announced this joyful event: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2, 10, 11).
The heaven was rejoicing the birth of the Son of God, and angels were glorifying His coming, proclaiming peace among men, the birth of the Messiah, Who came for assuming upon Himself sins of the world. This angelic song for over two thousand years is joyfully announcing the coming of Christ the Savior into the world.
Many of us today, observing Church problems and world calamities, may say: What is there to be happy about, where is that promised peace, where is the goodwill in men? But man himself is causing the evil to overcome the world quicker and quicker.
We are witnessing how the Nativity of our Lord has been transformed into a "season" holiday, completely obliterating Him, in Whose honor this Holiday was established. Christmas without Christ and the world without Christ?! Is this possible? Is this the Christian understanding of Christ coming into the world? Christ's peace and peace that we hear about ever-louder all around us are totally opposite concepts. Christ's peace is peace with God, peace of our conscience, it is real peace that fills man's souls with indescribable beatitude that cannot be compared to anything earthly.
Modern man, who does not want to know Christ and His veritable Church, artfully hails "peace on Earth" and the loudest with this message are those who are the prime violators of peace, all modern godless and those who are fighting God, false teachers and teaching schismatics, regardless which images they assume or which respected names they are using, which titles they are using to disguise themselves. This is only to blunt people's spiritual vigilance, so that they can easier enslave and place them under their power. And, by doing this, to crush any possible resistance for the time for the rule of their god-antichrist comes.
True peace is possible only in Christ, when it is founded upon God's Truth and the joy of Holy Spirit. A Christian must always be uncompromisingly opposed to evil, regardless in what deceitful and attractive likeness it might appear. We cannot be at peace with a lie and, consequently, with Satan and his servants. It is not in vain that the Christ's Church on Earth is called militant and Christians are — Christ's warriors. A warrior does not sit idly, but fights an enemy. A Christian must not lay down his weapons of Truth when faced with diabolic evil and surrender, hypocritically citing fictitious love and false peace. Peace, peace! Yet there is no peace — this is how God's prophet was exposing false prophets. And this is exactly what is happening today: Everyone is crying about peace, but there is no peace and there'll be no peace, because without Christ, without following Christ's path, without obeying His commandments — there will be no true peace.
All the talk about peace is utterly suspect, when there is no peace in the hearts of men; this is highly important since deeds good and evil come from a man's heart. And today there are so many peace lovers who are calling for peace with Satan using plausible pretexts.
Orthodox Christians, dear brothers and sisters, regardless of difficulties of earthly life, in the midst of falsehood and persecution, let us remember and cherish that peace that was brought to Earth our Savior.
Together with angels and the Three Wise Men, let us thank our Lord and glorify the universal day of Nativity of Christ.
The pious Wise Men, guided by God's beckoning and the Bethlehem Star, reached Bethlehem where they worshipped the Christ Child. For Him they brought gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh; gold to signify the Newborn as King, incense — to profess the Newborn as God, and myrrh — to profess Him as a mortal man.
To find in our hearts the King of Glory and God-Man our Lord Jesus Christ and to achieve the spiritual Bethlehem, let us bring to our Savior three gifts: Instead of gold — our hearts cleansed from all evil wishes and sinful thoughts; instead of fragrant incense — our prayer fragrant with humility and filled with love to God and our neighbors, instead of myrrh — repentance in our sins and sincere and resolved intention to mortify our passions and sinful customs.
Hoping for God's help and mercy, and intercession of the Holy God's Mother and Virgin Mary, let us get away from our previous path of committing sin, leading us to eternal death. Instead, let us choose a different path that will revive us to the life eternal, endless joy in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
+Bishop Vladimir
Nativity of Christ, 2002