Christmas Message 2024

from His Beatitude Patriarch John X

You can find below the Christmas Message 2024 from His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the Orthodox Family.

By the mercy of God Almighty,

His Beatitude Patriarch John X,

Patriarch of Antioch and All the East,

To

My brethren, shepherds of the holy Church of Antioch,

and my beloved sons and daughters, wherever you may be in the bounds of this Apostolic See:

"The peoples were enrolled by the decree of Caesar, but we, the faithful, have been inscribed in the name of Your divinity."

With these words, penned by the hymnographer Kassiani, the Holy Church invites us to reflect on the Nativity of Christ. It calls us to contemplate the condescension of God the Word during those days when a census of the whole world was ordered. This event, placed before us by the Church, becomes an invitation to enroll ourselves—heart and soul—in the name of Christ. It invites us to belong to Him alone, to be witnesses to His love, witnesses to the greatness of His condescension, witnesses to His Gospel, witnesses to His divinity—a divinity that did not disdain to descend and address a creation that It loved, a humanity fallen in its pride and cast from its glory, only to be met by a Savior who restores it to its former glory.

In the quiet town of Bethlehem, amidst the melodies of the shepherds, the ever-watchful God descended from the heights of His glory. He came to us through a Virgin Mother, clothed in modesty and meekness. He came gentle, addressing a humanity slumbering in the caves of its heart, yearning for the light of the Resurrection and the abundance of hope.

From a humble cave in the depths of the earth, the Most High, the Lord of glory, chose to appear to a humanity, shrouded in weakness and veiled in pride. He came as a child to speak to the children of humanity, reclining in the Virgin’s womb, which became the womb of every human mind. He came bearing the good news of salvation to a humanity wandering in the deserts of arrogance and vanity. In humility, He came to a humanity exalted in false pride. He entered in power to break down its walls, even as it fortified itself with the ramparts of tyranny and false might.

Each year, humanity commemorates the nativity of that Child amidst the clamor of wars and unending conflicts. Today, we remember Him in the midst of wars and fiery struggles. Today, we remember Him, and in this memory, there is a plea to the Lord of peace. We remember Him through the eyes of every child longing for His peace. We remember Him in the land where He was born, and from the East that nurtured His disciples and launched His Gospel to the whole world. Humanity remembers Him, yet laments the absence of His presence in the angels’ hymn: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” It remembers Him today as it wrestles with the infernal wars that reap lives and steal the joy of humanity. It remembers Him as it stumbles in the mire of politics and the depths of interests that trample human dignity and commodify it in the marketplace of this age’s great powers.

Despite these trials, we hold onto the hope emanating from the eyes of the Divine Child, the eyes of the Child of the manger, to whom we plead today for mercy upon His world. We also plead for this humanity, staggering under the bitterness of its wars, longing for the fragrance of His peace. We implore Him to extinguish the fires of war with the sweetness of His peace and to sow in human hearts a measure of His gentleness.

Be with us, O Jesus, and touch our hearts with the sweetness of Your heart. Be with us, as You always are, and grant our lands the spirit of Your peace. Tend to this East, where You were born, with Your divine care, and preserve it with the abundance of Your mercy. Be with Your suffering humanity, as You always are, enduring the afflictions of war—death, terror, hunger, destruction, displacement, and abduction. Calm the turmoil of this world and subdue it with the might of Your silence. Grant rest to the souls of those who have departed to behold Your holy face.

May God return these blessed days to all of you, our children at home and abroad, and to all people. May these days be filled with goodness, prosperity, and blessings from the Child of the manger, the Lord of mercy and the God of all consolation. Amen."

Damascus, December 20, 2024.

This Message was published on the Facebook Page of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.

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Christmas Message 2024 from His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II

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