Merry Christmas, Christ is born

Merry Christmas, Christ is born

Along with Easter, Christmas is one of the two greatest Christian holidays.

It is the day when the Christian world celebrates the birth of Christ and when, according to the belief, the spirit of Jesus is omnipresent among people, bringing them peace and forgiveness.

In addition to the Serbian Orthodox Church, Christmas is also celebrated on January 7 in Russia, Georgia and Macedonia, as well as by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Copts.

SPC: Let's preserve our health and protect others

Serbian Orthodox Church wished a happy holiday with the traditional greeting, "Peace from God - Christ is born".

"May this Christmas bring peace, love, harmony, joy and blessing to all our spiritual children at home and abroad and give repentance and readiness for forgiveness", it is said in the Epistle of the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church and all archbishops on the occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ, one of the two happiest Christian holidays.

The words of consolation of the Synod and the archbishop were addressed to all the unfortunates who were wronged, but also to all those who were left without their loved ones in these difficult days due to the consequences of a vicious disease.

In these days of great temptations, an invitation was sent to the citizens to thank the doctors and medical staff who selflessly try to help every person, often at the cost of their own lives.

That love and sacrifice oblige us to preserve our health and our lives in these difficult days for the entire human race, as well as to protect others in the way that is recommended.

"And if, perhaps, sorrow has been pressing on our hearts all year long, let joy be born in it today, because we celebrate the Birth of the greatest Joy, the Birth of the Son of God Jesus Christ! If hatred, pride and malice have poisoned our hearts all year, let's get the poison out of our hearts today, because we celebrate the Birth of Heavenly Love, embodied in human nature ", they point out in the Epistle, published on the SPC website.

The birth of the Son of God, it is emphasized, obliges us to build peace all around us - the peace of God and to spread love as a way of life.

Illuminated by that love and this Christmas, the Church is, as it is stated, with brothers and sisters in Kosovo and Metohija, in the cradle of the Serbian people.

"Their ruined homes are our homes, their burned hearths are our hearths, the centuries-old temples that were destroyed are our temples," it is said in the message of the Synod and all the archbishops in the year of repose, among others, of two leaders - Patriarch Irinej and Metropolitan Amfilohije.

The Synod and the archbishops called on Serbs around the world to preserve their faith, their language and Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, wherever they lived, because, as they point out, "we are an ancient Christian people who through baptism, Cyril and Methodius heritage and Saint Sava enlightenment became part of culture of the holy Christian world".

With the wishes for the happy New Year 2021 and with the traditional Christmas greeting "Peace of God, Christ is born", the Synod and the archbishops say that Christmas is the beginning of our education for virtues, and there are many of them and they depend on each specific person and historical moment.

"Nevertheless, all of them are based on a triad of timeless and essential virtues, and those are: faith, hope and love...", it is stated in the Epistle.