Bishop Andrei’s Nativity Epistle

“Christ is born, give ye glory! Christ cometh from heaven, meet ye Him! Christ is on earth, be ye exalted! O all the earth, sing ye unto the Lord.”

Dear Fathers, brothers and concelebrants, mothers and sisters,

Salvation that has been sent to mankind is the most astonishing and unfathomable Mystery. This is what Apostle articulates on this Mystery: “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16).

Incomprehensible, invisible, uncircumscribable Son of God: One of the Holy Trinity, became Man and dwelt among men on earth. He assumed our human nature and became God-Man. He united two natures in His Divine Person – divine and human.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Christ the Saviour, being a perfect God is also a perfect Man. As a man, Christ was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born of Her. He gradually “grew and became strong in spirit” (Luke 2:40). As a man, He was baptised by John in the Jordan; He travelled through towns and villages preaching good tidings. As a man, He experienced hunger and thirst, felt the need to rest and sleep, experienced pain and suffering.

In His human nature, the Saviour engaged the devil in battle and won the victory, and therefore His victory over the devil is also our victory. This invincible power Christ granted to every faithful that believes in Him: “And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 John 5:4).

This is how the Christian martyrs defeated their persecutors since ancient times to the present day.

In his sermon at the glorification of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (1981), Saint Philaret of New York said: “We have to keep praying to them all the time, so that they will strengthen our weakness and lack of faith should we come face to face with evil, just like they had done”.    

And now, 40 years later, this moment has arrived when we had to meet evil – face to face. While antichrist has not yet appeared, the actions of the world’s rulers have a completely antichrist character: deceitful, coercive, insidious, unlawful, cruel and inhumane. Events are developing exceptionally fast. Many thousands of antichrist’s servants are acting forcefully, in agreement and very successfully.

The task at hand is – under the guise of medical treatment – to inject certain substances into the body of every human being on earth. We can only guess for what purpose this is being done, but we can clearly see that it is a devilish evil and a lie.

We don’t judge those who don’t share our viewpoint on what is happening in the world; we sympathise with those who didn’t withstand and succumbed to the coercion. But we are amazed at the fortitude of those who chose the difficult path of deprivation, and we acclaim their determination to endure to the end. You have chosen a good path, and the Lord will place you equal with martyrs and confessors.

Some could argue that accepting the vaccine is not a denial of Christ. So be it.  However, this entire global agenda is nothing but Satanism in its pure form. Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks of the devil: “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). Never in the history of mankind has Satan showed his deceitful and murderous essence more clearly than in this so-called “vaccination”.

It is not befitting for Christians to go against their consciences and put up with violence for the sake of earthly comforts. No: we must fearlessly – with faith and hope, resist this devilish plan.   

Among the martyrs that have been glorified by the Church, there are quite a few who didn’t suffer directly for their faith, because their torturers didn’t demand that they reject Christ. As an example, there are martyrs that suffered because they refused to violate the fast, like the martyrs of Vilnius: Anthony, John and Eustathius. 

There are women martyrs who preferred death rather than have the purity of their body violated: Saints Thomais, Rhipsime, princess Juliana of Vyazma and others. You emulate these women martyrs when you don’t consent to these demeaning enforced acts over your body.

The time has come to confess our faith and expose this Satanic deception.

“Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6: 2). The time has arrived that is expedient for salvation: a time when it’s possible to acquire a great spiritual wealth. Let us not miss this time without spiritual benefit. Let us hasten to take this opportunity – some, patiently enduring difficulties, while others giving generous assistance to those in need.  Let us open our hearts to care for our neighbours. Let our homes become guest houses where those in need can find shelter.

May Christ, Who impoverished Himself for our sake so that we might become rich through His poverty (2 Cor. 8:9), fill our hearts with the joy of this Feast.   

I congratulate all of you on the great Feast of Christ’s Nativity!

Amen.

Bishop Andrei

Nativity 2021/2022