In Kytheri on 1 December 2023
Original No: 297
P R O M O T E R A T I O N O F T H E E C O M M U N I C A T I O N
(No 231/2023)
To
The Holy Clergy and the Christ-fearing People of the Catholic Metropolis of Kythera and Antikythera
«... the Virgin, behold, she ticketh God in the flesh,
Bethlehem in a city, within the cave; the building
...all of them were drowned, wild and dancing...
with the slaves, all of them
»the Master intervened..."
(Preliminary Hymn of the Feast of Christmas)
My dear brothers and fellow ministers,
My Christian brothers, my beloved children in the Lord,
We are, by the grace of Christ, in the holy and solemn period of the
The Holy Teshuva of Christmas, being in the midst of it.
The prelude hymns of this great feast of the Feast of Christ
Birth prepare us for the reception of this great and great event.
cosmos-saving event of the divine incarnation. A great event,
world-historical and world-harmonious!
«... The Virgin was supernaturally begotten of God in the flesh in the
The city of Bethlehem, in the humble cave. The building, the creation of the
God all enjoyed spiritual riches, the spiritual riches of the
Divine Donations and Blessings. And danced with spiritual tremors
of joy and gladness. The Saviour of all is come in and is come to earth.
us as a humble man to fellowship with His servants...»
asserted the Holy Hymnographer of our Holy Church.
The emptiness and poverty of the Lord and God, who is good to all, and
Our Saviour Jesus teaches and inspires us and should teach us and inspire us
to educate and train us.
The Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians
notes that: our Lord Jesus Christ «through us he became rich in wealth,
»We shall be rich in his poverty’ (2 Cor. 8, 9).
rich, because of the infinite majesty of His divinity, has become for you
poor. And he put on the poor human nature and became a man in order to
you become spiritually rich through his poverty.
And the meandering river of wisdom, Saint John Chrysostom,
says the following very important things for the embroidery of our Divine Redeemer:
«He was once destined to become a man by using all the
Vile evidence. And this in order to stamp on human pride» (H.P.E. 6,
16-18). «Christ has poured out His glory, so that you may be rich not by the
His riches, but in His poverty. If you don't believe that poverty is the cause
of enrichment, think on the Lord and you will not doubt it at all. For if He
If thou wilt not be poor, thou shalt not be rich according to God. This is the
amazing, that poverty has brought wealth» (H.P.E. 19, 454).
«Hearing that Jesus Christ hath glorified Himself, think not that
It is a change, or a transubstantiation, or annihilation, but this is the same.
who was (God), became that which was not (man). And while he became flesh
remained God the Word, who always was» (H.P.E. 19, 264).
«If he, who is God, and Lord, and Son of God, did not refuse to
take the form of a slave, much more must we do everything, even
even if they are humble» (H.P.E. 19, 264).
My dear brothers,
You have heard what the divine Apostle Paul and St. Chrysostom say.
For the absence of the emptiness and poverty of the God-man our Lord and God.
To imitate and copy the divine example and model of
of our Lord Jesus Christ. This God, who is mighty and unconfined.
He divested Himself of the divine glory and suffered as He was
supernatural birth He took on human nature and became humble and humbled
man, that we may be enriched with His poverty, as He told us.
the Divine Grace of sanctification and the spiritual gifts and our
gives the divine gift of our adoption in the Holy Spirit.
We obtain, therefore, the divine enrichment in Divine Grace and Divine
Gifts by the divine embroidery in the cross of our Lord, and we are called
and we to empty ourselves of the old man's fleshly passions
Man, whom we bring within us, the hatred, the wickedness, the evil, the
misogyny, injustice, malice and every kind of evil, and instead of
Of these things we must strive so that he may be enthroned in the inner man.
our divine love and glory to our fellow men and women, even to our
to our enemies, love and brotherhood.
In this way we shall imitate and copy the divine
emptying, which took place by the Sacrament of the Divine Incarnation. And when
there is enthroned in our hearts the divine love and the godly love for our neighbour.
love then we shall be everywhere beneficial to our fellow men
us. Both morally and spiritually, but also materially, we will support the
the pain, problems, anxieties and living issues of the sufferer
our brother.
My brothers,
In this spirit and with these godly motives let us go on to
the rest of the stadium of the Holy Lenten season of
Christmas. Struggle for purification and illumination and loving God
reaching out to our fellow human beings.
Blessed would be the work to help the strong spiritually
Our brethren in Christ. Blessed be the Lord and God incarnate.
is to assist those in need of material assistance and
of the necessities of life, enhancing them from our surplus or reserve.
Also this year our Holy Metropolis, as it is aware of the needs and
problems of our poor, economically weak, and indomitable brothers and sisters,
will hold a Love Gathering in our parishes next week (6, 7, 8,
9 and 10 December 2023). We ask you to respond in kind.
to this call of our Local Church.
Happy Holy Week and a blessed Christmas!
With blessings and love
The Metropolitan
†Seraphim of Kythera & Antikythera
