Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
Archdiocese of Orthodox Parishes
of Russian Tradition in Western Europe
Episcopal Vicariate of Great Britain and Ireland
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OF BISHOP BASIL OF AMPHIPOLIS
'Let there be light’ (Genesis 1: 3)
‘The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim,
by the way of the sea,
beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
the people which sat in darkness saw great light;
and to them which sat in the region
and shadow of death light is sprung up.’
(Matthew 4:15f., quoting Isaiah 9:1f.)
‘Made flesh of the Holy Spirit and made man
of the ever-Virgin Mary,
Thou hast enlightened us by Thy coming. Light of Light, Brightness of the Father,
Thou hast made the whole creation shine with joy.’
(Vespers of the Nativity, on ‘Lord, I have cried’)
When Christ says ‘I am come a light into the world’ (John 12:46) he is speaking to the whole of mankind. Indeed, as the hymn quoted above makes clear, he is speaking to the whole of creation. And yet at the same time he is speaking to each one of us, for each of us, in one way or another, is sitting in darkness.
This darkness may be personal, an inner darkness. It may be the darkness of personal relations in which we have a part. It may be the darkness to be found in society, in which we also are implicated. It may even be a darkness in the Church, the Body of Christ, of which we are all members. And in this case it can only touch us deeply.
The light of Christ, however, which ‘shines upon all’, cannot be extinguished. The darkness that surrounds us and sometimes penetrates us can never put it out. This is because we have been ‘enlightened’ once and for all in our Baptism and Chrismation. The seed of Truth is in us, and is constantly seeking to grow and expand. The Truth is Light, and it is Truth that saves and makes us free and brings us to Life.
No matter how much we may feel oppressed by the darkness, when we turn to the Light that is Christ, when we identify ourselves with his path, which is not the path of power and lordship over others, but the path of service and openness to our neighbour, then we too overcome the darkness in our own way. And we do this in and with Christ.
May the coming of the light this Christmas bring with it inner peace, the peace that is also strength and a gift of Christ to the world.
BISHOP OF AMPHIPOLIS
24 December 2007
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