CHRISTMAS GREETING of HIS GRACE IOV,
Bishop of Kashira, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada

I sincerely greet you, dear Reverend Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, on this most wonderful winter Holy Day – with the Nativity of the Divine Infant!
At this great Celebration of His Birth – the very Holy Moment of our meeting with God and Our Lord – Jesus Christ – the Church once again exults the presence of the True King among His subjects – the King, Who came “for our sake and for our salvation,” in order to be with us forever “for all days until the end of time!”
In the Old Testament, long before the Almighty God incarnates into men’s flesh, a great Prophet King David, pleaded Our Heavenly Father: “Bow Thy heavens, O Lord, and come down!” (Psalm 143, 5). In another part of the same Great Book of psalms or song-prayers King David begged Our Lord in repentance only for one thing that he believed to be the most important: “Create in me a clean heart, O God!” (Psalm 50, 10). And the Holy Omnipotent Trinity fulfills this requests. Remaining God, Jesus comes down to Earth and becomes a sinless man. Even more, Christ is born into a poor man’s family, in a most simple place – a barn cave, and right after His Birth He is laid into a manger – so that even the poorest man can see and feel that God is attainable and is waiting for us all. We approach God without fear, for by the act of Incarnation He hid the spiritual fire of His Divinity under the nature of mankind.
Later on in His Earthly Life He steps further to the extremity of Self-Sacrifice and gives off Himself and His life, so that every one of us can become a new person… If we accept Christ as our Savior and with faith ask Him to cure us of sin, then He becomes our spiritual “donor”. Jesus Christ gives us His Body and Blood in Communion, similar to someone who, as a donor, donates His blood to another person in need. When we receive Christ into our heart, it again becomes alive with life-giving currents of God’s grace and begins to live an eternal life.
I prayerfully wish that all of you meet the Infant Christ in spiritual joy, that all of you spend the Holy Days of Christmas and Epiphany in peace with God and others, and that all of you begin the New Year in spiritual communion with God and in good health! May the beauty of the Christmas services help us to transform and improve our inner imperfect personality according to His Holy teaching, in order to become the true children of God – the spiritual sons and daughters of Our Savior and God –the Redeemer – Jesus Christ!
On these Holy Days allow me to greet all of you with the Holy Christmas Greeting: Christ is born! Христос Рождається! – Let us glorify Him! Славімо Його!
With love in Christ,
+Iov
Bishop of Kashira
Administrator of Patriarchal Parishes in Canada