Etichetă: PFP Teofil al III-lea al Ierusalimului

Pastorala pascală a PFP Teofilos al III-lea al Ierusalimului [2016]

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In the Holy City of Jerusalem, Easter 2016

Theophilos III,

by the grace of God Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine of all the congregation of the Church, grace and mercy and peace from the Holy Sepulchre of the Resurrected Christ!

  “Hail, O Holy Sion, mother of Churches,
dwelling of God; For you were the first to receive
the absolution of sins through the Resurrection”

(Vesper’s sticheron of the Resurrection, tone d).

There was, in the early matutinal hours, darkness engulfing the tomb where the Crucified Jesus Christ the Nazarene, king of the Jews, had been buried. Abounding darkness too in the minds of Mary and the other women who had gone with her to the monument. Added to the sorrow of the Cross was the bewilderment before the view of the stone taken away, perplexity at the sight of the empty tomb, and despair because „They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they had put him!” (Jn 20, 2).

But God was faithfully „administering salvation on earth”. God, who had wanted to save mankind through the incarnation and crucifixion of His Son the Monogenes, did not leave Him in the tomb to waste away. Christ, crucified and buried, was resurrected by the power of the Father and His divine competence. He vanquished the forces of the darkness and Hades, the devil, and rose from the dead, encountering Adam and his genus.

This hopeful message „by a pair of light-bringing Angels” inside the tomb was proclaimed to Mary Magdalene and her accompanying women, transforming their sorrow to joy. This joy was infinitely augmented by the view of Jesus Himself, with the wounds of the nails upon His palms, resurrected, bright and glorified, telling them „Greetings”, upon which „they took hold of His feet and worshipped Him” (Matthew 18,9).  

Eye witnesses of this supernatural fact of the resurrection of the Crucified Jesus Christ from the dead were not only the Myrrhbearers but also the Disciples, who had rushed to the tomb and they too saw „the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself” (Jn 20, 7).

To confirm His Resurrection to the apostles „whom the Lord had chosen, He gave many convictions that He was alive” (Acts 1, 2-3), as in the gallery „on the evening of that first day of the week” (Jn 20, 19), on the way to Emmaus, when „He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24, 27), and when „He blessed the bread” (Luke 24, 30) on the Tiberian Sea, when He asked them for „something to eat” and on His instruction „they hauled in the net full of fish” (Jn 21 5-6) and „He took the bread and gave it to them and He did the same with the fish” (John 21, 13) and when „He led them out to Bethany” (Luke 24, 50) and „before the eyes of the disciples, He was taken up to heavens” (Acts 1, 9) and sat on the right of the Father and sanctified, glorified and deified our human nature.  

Then, fulfilling His promise, the Lord sent from the Father another Paraclete that illuminated their intellect „in tongues of fire and they spoke in other languages” (Acts 2, 3) of the greatness of God, first in Jerusalem and from there to the ends of the earth, entrancing the world and attracting with their preaching several peoples aboard the ship of the Church.

The Church, the Holy Body of Christ, acquired by His honest blood, springing by Him on earth and sealed by the Holy Spirit, has been assigned to perform His redeeming work across the world.

The Church preaches dialogue, reconciliation and peace; it heals man’s wounds, it sanctifies and saves him, consoles him spiritually and relieves him materially, shares its bread with the poor and the needy and offers tangible support to castaways, refugees and victims of violence and terrorism.

The Church of Jerusalem, the Holy Sion, the first to receive absolution of sins through the Resurrection, guardian of the Holy Lands as silent witnesses to the appearance of Christ on earth, extends wishes from the Most Holy and Life-giving Sepulchre, to its flock and to pious pilgrims: health, peace, stability, prosperity and a joyful festive period, proclaiming in unspoken joy „Christ Has Risen”!

With paternal and patriarchal blessings, ardently blesser in the Lord,

Theophilos III,

Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Mesajul la Nașterea Domnului al Patriarhului Ierusalimului și al întâistătătorilor cultelor din Ierusalim [2013]

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“In Him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1. 4, 5).

We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, share with you the joy of this Christmas season of the Incarnation.

Our physical closeness to the town of Bethlehem where this took place is a constant reminder to us of its wonderful reality.  We praise God for the Word made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ from the pure blood of the Blessed Virgin Mary and for her willingness to co-operate with his divine plan.

We praise God for the Shepherds in the fields below Bethlehem – ordinary people of no rank or status who were chosen to be the first to hear the Good News of our Saviour’s birth.

We praise God for the Angels with their message of glory to God and peace to men and women.

We praise God for the Wise Men, kings from the East, through whom God’s Theophany was revealed to the nations.

It is sometimes easy to forget that the first Christmas took place in a context of considerable political instability.

The occupying Roman Empire was a powerful reality and here in the Land of the Holy One there was a wide range of groups with competing claims and differing loyalties.  The story of Herod’s retaliation against the children of Bethlehem reminds us that violence was common.

The world into which Jesus came was not altogether different from the current situation here in the Middle East where we find ourselves today.  Violence is seen as the only way to impose order and achieve security by some or as the only way to resist oppression and injustice by others.

We firmly believe that violence is not the way and that the Jesus as the Prince of Peace came to show us not only how to be reconciled to God, but how to be reconciled to one another.

Peace has to begin in the human heart as we recognize the common humanity which we share with every single person who has been created in God’s image.

In the first months of his life the child Jesus had to be taken by Mary and Joseph to Egypt as a refugee seeking a place of safety.

This brings to our minds the many hundreds of thousands of people in this region who have felt compelled to make similar journeys as refugees, leaving behind their homes and all that is familiar to them in search of a more secure future.

We invite you at this Christmas season to pray especially for them, for all the agencies of support which are sustaining them and for the leaders of our world as they seek to bring about a situation where the seeking of refuge will not be necessary.

In the midst of these sobering realities we rejoice that the light of Christ still shines – even in the very darkest places.

As the divine Word became flesh in the child of Bethlehem, so we pray that God’s word of love, joy and peace will continue to become flesh today as we open our hearts and lives to his divine presence among us.

From the heartland of the Christian faith we wish you a joyful Christmas in the name of the +Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

+Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate

+Patriarch Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarchate

+Patriarch Norhan Manougian, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Patriarchate

+Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, ofm, Custos of the Holy Land

+Archbishop Anba Abraham, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem

+Archbishop Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate

+Archbishop Aba Daniel, Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarchate

+Archbishop Joseph-Jules Zerey, Greek-Melkite-Catholic Patriarchate

+Archbishop Mosa El-Hage, Maronite Patriarchal Exarchate

+Bishop Suheil Dawani, Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East

+Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

+Bishop Pierre Malki, Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate

+Msgr. Joseph Antoine Kelekian, Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate

(Christmas 2013)

Pastorala pascală a PFP Teofilos al III-lea al Ierusalimului [2013]

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ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΣ  Γ’

Ἐλέῳ Θεοῦ Πατριάρχης τῆς Ἁγίας Πόλεως Ἱερουσαλήμ

καί πάσης Παλαιστίνης

παντί τῷ πληρώματι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, χάριν καί ἔλεος καί εἰρήνην

ἀπό τοῦ Παναγίου καί Ζωoδόχου Τάφου

τοῦ Ἀναστάντος Χριστοῦ.

«Κυκλώσατε  λαοί Σιών, καί περιλάβετε αὐτήν, καί δότε δόξαν ἐν αὐτῇ,

τῷ ἀναστάντι ἐκ νεκρῶν, ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν, ὁ λυτρωσάμενος ἡμᾶς,

ἐκ τῶν ἀνομιῶν ἡμῶν».

(Ἀναστάσιμον Στιχηρόν, Ἑσπερινοῦ, ἤχου α’).

 

Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος συνήγαγεν ἡμᾶς, ὡς τέκνα πιστά τῆς ἀνά τόν κόσμον Ὀρθοδόξου Ἐκκλησίας, ἐκ διαφόρων χωρῶν καί ἐθνῶν, ἐκ δυσμῶν καί βορρᾶ, καί θαλάσσης καί ἑῴας, εἰς τήν ἀθρόαν ταύτην, σεμνήν καί σεπτήν ὁλονύκτιον λειτουργικήν, εὐχαριστιακήν σύναξιν, εἰς ἕν σύστημα, μίαν κοινότητα, μίαν ἑνότητα, ἕν σῶμα Χριστοῦ, τήν Ἐκκλησίαν. Ἡ σύναξις ἡμῶν πληροῖ τόν τόπον τοῦτον τόν ἅγιον, τόν εὑρισκόμενον ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς, ἐν ᾧ ὁ Θεός τήν σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν ἀπειργάσατο.

Τήν σωτηρίαν ταύτην ὁ Θεός Πατήρ ἀπειργάσατο ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ Αὐτοῦ τῷ Μονογενεῖ, τῷ ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καί Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου ἐνανθρωπήσαντι, σταυρωθέντι καί ἀναστάντι Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

Οὗτος, ὁ Υἱός τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Υἱός τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὁ Θεάνθρωπος, Ἰησοῦς Χριστός ὁ Ναζωραῖος, σταυρωθείς σαρκί ὑπέρ ἡμῶν, θανών καί ταφείς, εἰς τόν τάφον οὐκ ἔμεινεν. Ὁ θάνατος, ὁ ἰσχύων ἐπί τῶν ἀνθρώπων, Αὐτόν οὐκ ἐκράτησεν, ἀλλά ἐξέμεσεν. Οὗτος ὡς ἐκ παστάδος βασιλικῆς τοῦ τάφου ἐξῆλθεν, διαρρήξας τάς σφραγίδας αὐτοῦ. Ἀνέστη, μετά τοῦ ἀχράντου Αὐτοῦ σώματος, τό ὁποῖον ἐν τῇ ἐνανθρωπήσει Αὐτοῦ προσέλαβε.

Τοῦτο τό σῶμα, πληγέν καί παθέν ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ, ἐν τῷ τάφῳ διαφθοράν οὐκ οἶδε, ἀλλά δεδοξασμένον καί λελαμπρυσμένον ἐξήλθε τοῦ τάφου ἐν ἑτέρᾳ μορφῇ. Ἐν τῇ μορφῇ, ταύτῃ ἐθεάσαντο Αὐτό αἱ τά μύρα συμπαθῶς τοῖς δάκρυσι κιρνῶσαι μυροφόροι γυναῖκες, οἱ εἰς τό μνημεῖον ταχέως δραμόντες ἀπόστολοι, οἱ συνηγμένοι εἰς τό ὑπερῷον τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων, οἱ πορευόμενοι εἰς Ἐμμαούς, καί οἱ ἐπί τῆς γῆς τῆς Τιβεριάδος θαλάσσης παρά τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ Ἀναστάντος Χριστοῦ λαβόντες καί φαγόντες τόν ἄρτον καί τό ὀψάριον ὁμοίως.

Συναναστήσας ἡμᾶς Ἑαυτῷ ὁ Κύριος τῆς ζωῆς καί τοῦ θανάτου, ὑπέδειξεν ἡμῖν πολιτείαν ἐπί γῆς ἀναστημένην καί ἀναγεγενημένην, πολιτείαν θεανθρωπίνην, τελουμένην καί τελειουμένην ἐν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, ἔργοις δημιουργίας, φιλανθρωπίας, κοινωνικῆς εὐποιΐας, πολιτείαν μεταβάλλουσαν τόν πλανήτην ἡμῶν, τήν οἰκουμένην ὅλην εἰς παράδεισον τρυφῆς καί ἀναψυχῆς καί οὐχί εἰς πεδίον συμπλοκῆς δυνάμεων ἐχθρικῶν, πυρηνικῶν πειραματισμῶν καί διαστημικῶν ἐξερευνήσεων.

Τήν ὑπό τοῦ Κυρίου ἐγκαινιασθεῖσαν πολιτείαν ταύτην βιοῖ καί συνεχίζει ἡ Ἐκκλησία, ἡ ὁποία εἷναι ὁ Χριστός παρατεινόμενος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας. Αὕτη συνεχίζει τό ἔργον Αὐτοῦ τό ἁγιαστικόν ἐπί τῆς γῆς, διδάσκει καί ἐξαγιάζει τούς πιστούς αὐτῆς διά τῶν μυστηρίων, φροντίζει τούς πτωχούς, ἐκτρέφει τούς πεινῶντας καί παραμυθεῖ «τούς ἀποψύχοντας ἀνθρώπους ἀπό φόβου καί προσδοκίας τῶν ἐπερχομένων τῇ οἰκουμένῃ» (Λουκ. 21, 26), τά θύματα τῆς βίας καί τῆς τρομοκρατίας, τῆς οἰκονομικῆς κρίσεως καί ποικίλης ἐκμεταλλεύσεως.

Τό ἔργον τοῦτο, τό ἁγιαστικόν καί φιλάνθρωπον, ἐπιτελεῖ ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησία, ὅπου γῆς, ἡ δέ Ἐκκλησία τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων, ἡ δεχθεῖσα πρώτη ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν διά τῆς ἀναστάσεως, ἐπιτελεῖ τοῦτο εἰς τούς Ἁγίους Τόπους. Αὕτη διακονεῖ τούς Ἁγίους Τόπους καί τούς διαβιοῦντας εἰς αὐτούς πιστούς, ἐπιμελεῖται τούτων καί διαφυλάττει τήν ἐπ’ αὐτῶν κληρονομίαν τῶν Ρωμαίων Ὀρθοδόξων.

Κηρύττει διά λόγων καί ἔργων ὅτι Χριστός ἀνέστη. Ἐπιτελεῖ ἔργον σωτηρίας τῶν πιστῶν αὐτῆς καί ἔργον συμφιλιώσεως, συνδιαλλαγῆς καί εἰρήνης μεταξύ τῶν λαῶν τῆς Ἁγίας Γῆς καί τῆς Μέσης Ἀνατολῆς.

Ἡ Σιωνῖτις Μήτηρ τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν θεωρεῖ ὡς ποίμνιον αὐτῆς κατά τάς ἡμέρας τῆς προσκυνήσεως ὑμῶν καί ὑμᾶς τούς εὐλαβεῖς προσκυνητάς, τούς ἐκ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς προσελθόντας εἰς τούς κόλπους αὐτῆς καί δέεται ὑπέρ ὑγιείας ὑμῶν τῶν προσκυνητῶν, ἐπιτρόπων τε καί συνδρομητῶν, σωτηρίας καί εὐημερίας πάντοτε μέν, ἰδίᾳ δέ εἰς τήν Θείαν Λειτουργίαν ταύτην, τήν τελουμένην ἐπί τοῦ Παναγίου καί Ζωοδόχου Τάφου, ἐξ οὗ Χριστός ἀνέστη καί ὁ ἄνθρωπος συνανέστη, ἠλευθερώθη, ἐλυτρώθη καί ἐσώθη.

Ἀπό τοῦ Παναγίου καί Ζωοδόχου Τάφου χαιρετίζομεν ὑμᾶς διά τοῦ πασχαλίου χαιρετισμοῦ, Χριστός Ἀνέστη καί ἐπιδαψιλεύομεν ὑμᾶς διά τῶν Πατριαρχικῶν Ἡμῶν εὐχῶν καί εὐλογιῶν.

Ἐν  τῇ  Ἁγίᾳ  Πόλει  Ἱερουσαλήμ,   ΠΑΣΧΑ   2013.

Διάπυρος πρός Κύριον Εὐχέτης,

 ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΣ Γ’ 

Πατριάρχης Ἱεροσολύμων

Scrisoarea pastorală a PFP Teofil al III-lea al Ierusalimului la Nașterea Domnului [2012]

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Ἐν τῇ Ἁγίᾳ Πόλει Βηθλεέμ,

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ 2012.

“Ἡ ἀνά τά πέρατα τοῦ κόσμου Ἀνατολική Ὀρθόδοξος Ἐκκλησία ἑορτάζει κατ’ αὐτάς καί πάλιν τάς πανευφροσύνους, πανεκλάμπρους καί πανενδόξους ἑορτάς τῶν Χριστουγέννων.

Ἐν τῇ τελέσει τῶν ἑορτῶν τούτων ἡ Ἐκκλησία ἀναμιμνῄσκεται μετά χαρᾶς, εὐχαριστίας καί δοξολογίας τήν ἀνείκαστον φιλανθρωπίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ.

Ἡ φιλανθρωπία αὕτη ἐξεδηλώθη ἐν τῇ δημιουργίᾳ τοῦ κόσμου καί τῇ πλάσει τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πάλαι κατ’ ἀρχάς καί τῇ ἀενάῳ καί ἀκαταπαύστῳ Αὐτοῦ σοφῇ προνοίᾳ καί κυβερνήσει εἰς τό διηνεκές, Αὕτη ὅμως ὑπερέβη πᾶν μέτρον καί ὅριον, πάντα νοῦν καί πᾶσαν ἔννοιαν, ὅτε ὁ Θεός ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν χρόνων ηὐδόκησε νά ἐπισκεφθῇ τόν ἄνθρωπον ἐν τῇ πτώσει αὐτοῦ καί ταπεινώσει, ἐν τῇ ταλαιπωρίᾳ αὐτοῦ καί ἐξουθενώσει ὑπό τῆς δουλείας τοῦ διαβόλου.

Ὅτε κατά τόν θεοφόρον Πατέρα Ἅγιον Γρηγόριον τόν Παλαμᾶν Ἀρχιεπίσκοπον Θεσσαλονίκης «ὁ ἀρχηγός τῆς ζωῆς ὑπερβολῇ φιλανθρωπίας καί ἀγαθότητος ὑπέρ ἡμῶν ἐκινήθη, ἠράσθη τῆς σωτηρίας τοῦ πλαστουργήματος Αὐτοῦ» καί ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τόν κόσμον τόν Υἱόν Αὐτοῦ τόν Μονογενῆ «γενόμενον ὑπό γυναικός, γενόμενον ὑπό νόμoν, ἵνα τούς ὑπό νόμον ἐξαγοράσῃ,  ἵνα τήν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάβωμεν» (Γαλ. 4, 4-5).

Τοῦτο τό μυστήριον τῆς προσλήψεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔλαβε χώραν εἰς τό ἱστορικόν γίγνεσθαι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἐν τόπῳ καί χρόνῳ, ἐπί Καίσαρος Ὀκταβιανοῦ Αὐγούστου καί ἐν Βηθλεέμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας.

Εἰς Βηθλεέμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἐγεννήθη κατά σάρκα ὁ εἰς  Ναζαρέτ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καί Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου συλληφθείς, σαρκωθείς καί ἐνανθρωπήσας Υἱός καί Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, ὁ Σωτήρ ἡμῶν καί Λυτρωτής τοῦ κόσμου.

Κατά τόν θεηγόρον Πατέρα Ἅγιον Κύριλλον Ἀλεξανδρείας «ὁ Μονογενῆς Υἱός τοῦ Θεοῦ μένων φύσει Θεός, καθ’ ἡμᾶς γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, συνῆψεν ἡμᾶς δι’ Ἑαυτοῦ τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί, ἀμνησικάκως ἀπήλλαξε τῆς διϊστώσης ἡμᾶς ἁμαρτίας καί ἐδικαίωσε τῇ πίστει καί γάρ Αὐτός ἐστι ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν».

 Τοῦτο τό ξένον καί παράδοξον μυστήριον ἡ γῆ τοῦ Σπηλαίου τούτου καί ἡ ἐν αὐτῷ φάτνη τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων ὑπεδέχθη. Ποιμένες ἀγραυλοῦντες εἰς τήν πλησιόχωρον αὐτῶν κώμην τῶν ποιμένων, προτραπέντες ὑπό τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἐνταῦθα προσῆλθον καί ἔκθαμβοι εἶδον «βρέφος κείμενον ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ» (Λουκ. 2, 16-17).

Μάγοι ἐξ Ἀνατολῶν ὑπό ἀστέρος ὁδηγούμενοι, ἀφίχθησαν ἐνταῦθα καί «προσήνεγκον τά δῶρα αὐτῶν, χρυσόν καί λίβανον καί σμύρναν εἰς τόν τεχθέντα Βασιλέα» (Ματθ. 2,11). Ἄγγελοι ἔψαλαν εἰς τόνοὐρανόν τόν ἀγγελικόν ὕμνον: «Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ καί ἐπί γῆς εἰρήνη, ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία»  (Λουκ. 2, 14).

Τό μήνυμα τοῦτο τῆς εἰρήνης καί συνδιαλλαγῆς βιοῖ καί διαλαλεῖ ἡ Ἐκκλησία σήμερον ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς. Ἰδιαιτέρως δέ ἡ τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων Ἐκκλησία, ἡ Ἐκκλησία τῶν Ἁγίων Τόπων καί ἡ ἐν αὐτῇ Ἁγιοταφιτική Ἀδελφότης μετά τοῦ εὐσεβοῦς ποιμνίου αὐτῆς, ἑορτάζει τό μυστήριον τοῦτο κατά τήν ἀρχαίαν αὐτῆς τάξιν εἰς τό Θεοδέγμον Σπήλαιον καί τήν ἐπ’ αὐτοῦ ἔνδοξον Κωνσταντίνειον Βασιλικήν, τήν ὑπερβαίνουσαν τήν δύναμιν τοῦ χρόνου καί τάς ἀνθρωπίνους ἱστορικάς πολιτικάς μεταλλαγάς καί ἱσταμένην εἰς ἀψευδές μαρτύριον καταβάσεως τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πρός τήν γῆν καί συγκαταβάσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ πρός τόν ἄνθρωπον.

Ἀπό τοῦ Ἁγίου Τόπου τούτου ἡ Ἐκκλησία τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων διαλαλεῖ σήμερον καί πάλιν πρός ὅλα τά πέρατα τοῦ κόσμου ὅτι ὁ Χριστός ἐτέχθη καί ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἠλευθερώθη. Χριστός ἐταπεινώθη καί ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἕως οὐρανοῦ ἀνυψώθη. Χριστός ἐφανερώθη καί αἱ δυνάμεις τοῦ κακοῦ ἀπηλάθησαν.

Χριστός διέφυγε καί διεσώθη ἀπό τῆς σφαγῆς εἰς Αἴγυπτον καί Ἡρώδης ὁ θηριώδης ἔμεινε ληρώδης. Τά νήπια ἐθανατώθησαν ὡς πρῶτοι μάρτυρες τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐνανθρωπήσεως, κατά σάρκα γεννήσεως καί ἐπί γῆς εὐεργετικῆς παρουσίας Αὐτοῦ, ἀκολουθηθέντα ὑπό ἑκατομμυρίων μαρτύρων εἰς τήν ζωήν καί ἱστορίαν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας πρός δόξαν Αὐτοῦ.

Ἐν ταὐτῷ συμπάσχουσα ἡ Ἐκκλησία Ἱεροσολύμων προσεύχεται ὑπέρ τῶν θυμάτων τῆς παγκοσμίου οἰκονομικῆς κρίσεως, τῆς βίας τῆς τρομοκρατίας καί τοῦ πολέμου, τῶν προσφύγων, ἰδιαιτέρως δέ τῶν ἐκ τῆς Συρίας καί λοιπῶν θυμάτων τῆς ἐν αὐτῇ μαινομένης συρράξεως καί τῆς δικαίας ἐπιλύσεως τοῦ θρησκευτικοῦ καί πολιτικοῦ προβλήματος τῆς Μέσης Ἀνατολῆς.

Ἀπό τοῦ θεοδέγμονος Σπηλαίου τούτου ἀπευθύνομεν τάς Πατριαρχικάς καί Πατρικάς ἡμῶν εὐχάς καί εὐλογίας παντί τῷ εὐσεβεῖ Ἡμῶν ποιμνίῳ, τῷ διαβιοῦντι εἰς Γῆν τήν Ἁγίαν, τήν κληρωθεῖσαν ὑπό Οἰκουμενικῶν Συνόδων τῷ Ἱεροσολυμιτικῷ Θρόνῳ, καί ὁπουδήποτε γῆς ἐν τῇ ξένῃ καί εἰς πάντας τούς εὐλαβεῖς προσκυνητάς τούς ἐπισκεπτομένους αὐτήν κατά τά ἁγίας ταύτας ἑορτάς τοῦ Δωδεκαημέρου ὑπέρ ὑγιείας αὐτῶν, εἰρήνης καί σωτηρίας”.

Διάπυρος πρός Κύριον Εὐχέτης,

  ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΣ  Γ’

  Πατριάρχης Ἱεροσολύμων.