NATIVITY ENCYCLICAL, 2023
His Eminence Gregory, Metropolitan of Boston
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Beloved Orthodox Christians,
One of the deepest aspects of our life as Orthodox Christians is the lifelong bond of love with the Saints of God. This friendship with them grows by means of prayer to them and fasting in their honour, by reading their lives and celebrating their Feasts, by following their precepts and being inspired by their example. It is a life that is alive with genuine interaction with the senior members of our common Church, our older brothers and sisters who have already attained to the Kingdom of our God and now they are cheering us on so that we too, in God’s time, may join them there. Such an intense interaction with our beloved holy men and women means that not only are they constantly interceding for us — answering our prayers, guiding our lives and healing our bodily and spiritual weaknesses — but, unworthy though we be, they even show us their solicitude in minute aspects of our lives.
Such an instance of a Saint’s intervention happened during the composition of the present Encyclical. Let me explain. As I was pondering on the topic for this year’s Nativity Encyclical, I had one thing clear, that I had to explore in the writings of the Holy Fathers the connection between our Saviour’s birth in the flesh and His resurrection from the dead, because, as you are aware, this year is one of those special years when the Feast of Nativity falls on a Sunday, the day of the Lord’s resurrection. As I was deliberating on the matter, I was, at the same time, moving a tall stack of books in my cell. From among approximately a dozen books, one small booklet fell down to the ground very conspicuously. It was the Homilies of Saint Sophronius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, which I had purchased some months ago, and whose contents I had not yet had the time to examine in detail. I felt this was the right time to do so. I opened the book with the hope that maybe Saint Sophronius had written a Homily for the Nativity of Christ, which had survived to our days. I was not disappointed. Out of the seven surviving Homilies of the Saint, there was a Homily for the Nativity of Christ. But great was my amazement when I discovered that the year that this Homily was delivered (AD 634), the Feast of Nativity also fell on a Sunday, and a big part of the Homily was dedicated precisely to the theological exploration of the parallels between the Nativity and the Resurrection, i.e. exactly the kind of material I was looking for. It is as if Saint Sophronius was saying, “Here, brother, I already talked about this topic in 634. Why don’t you use what I said then for your Encyclical in 2023”. I knew at that moment that the Saint had made a visitation. So I lit a candle, a charcoal and burnt incense, in thankfulness for his help. (1)
And how relevant Saint Sophronius’ Homily is for our times! Let alone the beautifully explained theological interconnection between Nativity and the Resurrection (which I am going to copy below), the historical reality in which he and his congregation found themselves in the 634 is eerily familiar to us today. In what regard? Saint Sophronius makes mention in his Homily that he was not able to make the traditional procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to visit the cave of the Nativity, to venerate the manger, and celebrate there the Nativity of Christ, because the Saracens, that is, Musim Arabs, had recently conquered Bethlehem from the Romans. In his own words:
We are kept from looking upon the manger and the cave, those truly sublime and heavenly entities, and upon the King of heaven and earth in them, being unworthy of the sight; in this we are pitiable imitators of Adam, our veritable first ancestor and forefather, when he was expelled from Paradise; what we have suffered on account of the sins and errors which we have committed because of our wicked will is very similar to or even worse and more sorrowful than his plight. Now Adam, exiled from the pleasure in Paradise and removed from such great enjoyment, while he was able to see it with his eyes — his abode was facing it — was not allowed to reenter Paradise, having within his view the fiery and turning sword guarding the entrance and keeping him apart from the object of great desire, as a result of the transgression he had boldly perpetrated. And we today are in a similar state. We are very close to God-receiving Bethlehem, but are restrained from going there; it is not a burning and turning sword that we see, but a Saracen one, wild, barbarous and full of truly diabolical savagery, which with frightening flash and murderous flame makes us exiles from that blessed sight, decrees that we stay at home, and forbids us to advance toward it. (2)
Just as in the times of Saint Sophronius, today too, many of our faithful are prevented from visiting the various shrines and even our own churches because of wars in diverse places. Not so long ago, almost everyone was hindered from visiting churches on account of the pandemic and the lockdowns. Following the admonition of the Saint, in such situations we should, first and foremost, search for the causes within us. It is “on account of the sins and errors which we have committed because of our wicked will” that such things befall us, Saint Sophronius is telling us. And the solution to this sorry state should also be sought inside us, as the Saint continues to explain:
But this sword, like the one guarding Paradise, may be turned and changed, if we so wish, and may become tame and peaceful, just as it was until recently, if we ourselves turn and change and seek out the newborn God through good deeds; its fire will be quenched, if we as well by means of repentance put out the flame of sin and serve God who has gone through a birth like ours on our behalf, by demonstrating a change in those actions of ours that are wont to cause Him grief. For how will we approach Him without bringing with us purity of soul and possessing holiness of body? Or how will we come close to Him without that fragrance of good deeds that is able to afford him pleasure and happiness, since the thing most hateful to Him is the stench of foul deeds? (3)
In other words for us, the Orthodox Christians, the action plan in circumstances of great trials and calamities is not to plunge ourselves into looking solely for worldly solutions, but primarily to seek out the spiritual ones. Prayer, fasting, almsgiving, self-examination of the soul, repentance from the heart, reforming of our ways, and every other means of godly change that the Church offers us, that is how we respond when calamity strikes. This is the age-old teaching of the Saints on where to look for the sources of calamity (in our sins), and how to overcome it (repentance of our sins). Saint Sophronius distilled this wisdom for us in just a few passages of his Homily on the Nativity, and his words are true for our circumstances just as they were for his own times.
The same goes for Saint Sophronius’s description of the deep theological connection between the two greatest events in the history of our salvation, the Nativity according to the flesh of our Saviour and His Resurrection from the dead. Whatever parallels and ties can be drawn between these two Great Feasts, Saint Sophronius expounds them for us in his usually deep and beautiful way. Let us listen to him then, speaking to us on Sunday of the Nativity 2023, as he was to his own congregation on Sunday of the Nativity 634:
I see this sparkling and brilliant day shining down on us with a double beauty, and lighting us with twofold illumination and brightness, not dawning twice for us on account of two suns and in that way dazzling us with twofold blessings, but bringing us the single sun of righteousness, rising twice for us on earth, producing a double radiance and likewise bringing to life in us two times the spiritual joy — on the one hand, being born from the virgin womb and giving freely a godly joy to those on earth, and on the other, rising from the recesses of Hades after eliminating gloomy Death, depriving him of all his dead, and providing for us mortals life eternal and undying.
For the two of them came together at the same time, according to what is sung in the Psalms, “Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth is sprung up out of the earth, and righteousness hath looked down from heaven. Yea, for the Lord will give goodness, and our land shall yield her fruit.” Indeed, Christ’s birth and resurrection occurred on the same day. And this day is regarded as the lord of days, being the day on which the Lord himself arose from the dead, and through his birth this day of the Nativity is enriched. It is not possible to witness anything more brilliant or for the mind’s eye to contemplate anything brighter than these events. For what could be more radiant and splendid than the most divine birth of God? Or what could one think of and declare that is more shining and luminous than the divine resurrection of God from the dead? For He is true light from true light, born eternally and undivided, doubly dawning for us at birth and at resurrection, and giving us the gift of twofold saving lights; for each of these events is filled with saving joy, so that joyful and festive voices adorn both occasions for us here today and doubly incite the faithful to celebrate.
In the one event, the Nativity, the Virgin with child is informed by the angel who addresses her most rightfully with these words, “Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee,” since the curse imposed on Eve has been terminated. As well as this, the shepherds in the fields at that time, who were keeping night watch, heard an angel announcing the following to them, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” It is through him that we too have been saved and, having put off the yoke of slavery, we have received the gift of sonship. In the other event, the Resurrection, those most illustrious women, the followers of the Savior Christ, hear Christ himself, the cause of joy for everyone, calling out “Hail and rejoice!” because death has cowered and met his end — death, the awful punishment of our condemnation; and because the curse of the Law has been broken and the penalty of Eve has been cancelled; and because the power of death has been rendered useless and the resurrection of the dead has blossomed, having left the corruption of death to suffer its own decay.
In the one, the curse that “in pain you shall bring forth children” has been completely wiped out, since it was the universal joy that? brought about the birth, while in the other, the curse that “dust art thou, and to dust shalt thou return” has been deprived of all effect, since the Life has declared resurrection from the dead. The penalty for Eve, on the one hand, was to bring forth children in pain, while the sentence of Adam was to sink into the earth and perish on account of the transgression committed by both in Paradise. But through the nativity and resurrection there came and appeared to us the most powerful liberator and redeemer from these punishments. Indeed nothing could be more powerful than God, for, as scripture says, “the Lord kills and brings to life; He brings down to Hades and raises up”; and nothing could withstand his almighty powers, for his hands strike down on account of sins, but they heal again because of his great goodness.
What am I to do, or what can I say that is worthy of these spectacles? The truth is that I am at a loss for words and lack both tongue and mouth capable of proclaiming the wonders of these two God-given feasts. So, finding myself in very great difficulty, I borrow the song of praise of the angels and this I shout out with strong voice and proclaim loudly to God, born by human birth and risen this day from the tomb and from the dead: “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” Amen!
Beloved Faithful,
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Your fervent supplicant unto the Lord,
+ Gregory, Metropolitan of Boston
Nativity of Christ, 2023
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(1) Saint Sophronius governed the Church of Jerusalem in the seventh century. Before becoming the Archbishop he was the travelling companion of John Moschos, with whom he authored the famous Spiritual Meadow containing the lives and sayings of the contemporary Desert Fathers. He is also the author of the much beloved Life of Saint Mary of Egypt. During his Archbishopric of the Holy City he was a zealous defender of the Orthodox Faith against the rising Monothelite heresy. After his death in 638, his disciple Saint Maximus the Confessor continued the struggle against Monothelitism.
(2) The quotes are from a slightly edited version of On the Divine Birthday of the Savior Falling on a Holy Sunday and on the Disorder and Destructive Insurrection of the Saracens, Sophronius of Jerusalem, Homilies, John M. Duffy, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2020.
(3) Lest anyone assume incorrectly that by mentioning the Saracen conquest of Bethlehem I am implicitly advocating for taking sides in today’s bloody conflict in the Holy Land, I shall state emphatically that this is not the case. Rather, the “Saracens” mentioned by Saint Sophronius should be understood not only as a particular historic invader of his time, but also as anyone who lives by the sword and sheds the blood of the innocents, no matter whether they are related to those historic Saracens or not. Further down in the Homily, Saint Sophronius refers to the Philistines and Jews in the same vein as to the Saracens.
