Friday, December 24
09.30 Great Office Hours
hours 17.30 Celebration of Vespers of Christmas and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great
22.30 Celebration of Matins of Christmas
24.00 Divine Liturgy of Christmas
Saturday, December 25
Nativity in the flesh of the Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
07.30 am Divine Liturgy
10.30 am Divine Liturgy
at 18.00 Celebration of Vespers
Cathedral I wish you all the Faithful
Merry Christmas
%5B2%5D.gif "Gif animate Natale (15)")
+ BARTHOLOMEW BY THE GRACE OF GOD
Archbishop of Constantinople - New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
TO THE PLENITUDE
CHURCH OF GRACE, PEACE AND MERCY FROM CHRIST SAVIOR BORN IN BETHLEHEM
Concelebrants Dear brothers and sons blessed in the Lord,
In the middle of the dark atmosphere that ultimately prevails in the world, with a varied latent economic crisis, social, moral, and spiritual, which in humans causes a lot of frustration, a lot of bitterness, much confusion and great concern, much anguish, disappointment and a lot of great fear for the future, hear the sweet voice of the Church: "Come, faithful, eleviamoci divinely, to behold the divine descent from Bethlehem, to us visibly. "(Sixth Time Idiomelo of Christmas).
Unshakable faith of Christians is that God does not look with indifference from the path of man created by him personally, in his own image and likeness. That is also the incarnation of His only begotten Son and Word was from the beginning a "benevolence", his original intention, his "desire pre-eternal. " To take himself as the ultimate act of love, human nature that had created and make it "participant in the divine nature" (2Pet. 1.4). And that's before the fall of Adam and Eve and even before their creation.
After the fall of Adam and Eve, "will pre-eternal" of the Incarnation, he understood the Cross, the Immaculate Passion, Death, life-giving, the Descent to Hades, Resurrection after three days so that the sin that creeps that poisons everything, and death, stowaways of life, have purpose and are permanently banned and rejoice, because the man entirely of Paternal inheritance of 'eternity.
But the divine condescension of Christmas is not only limited to things related to eternity. It also includes our earthly journey. Christ came into the world to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven and to enter into it, but also came to save and heal the evil of humanity. Several times he miraculously
satisfied the company of those who listened to his word, he healed the lepers, he lifted the lame, gave light to the blind, the deaf hear, the word to the dumb, released by the possessed unclean spirits, has resurrected the dead. He supported the right of the oppressed and the forgotten. He condemned the illegal wealth, lack of charity to the poor, hypocrisy el "hubris" - Excess in human relations, gave himself up as an example of voluntary sacrifice and emptying the benefit of others. So during this holiday season should pay extra attention to this dimension of the message of divine incarnation.
Many of our coreligionists and feel like a terrible temptation of the latent crisis. There are countless armies of unemployed, the new poor, the homeless, young people with "broken dreams". But Bethlehem is interpreted as "House of Bread." We are indebted, therefore, the faithful, to all the brothers in the test, not only of the "Bread Over-essential", that is the Christ, that is, wrapped in swaddling clothes, in the humble manger in Bethlehem, but also the daily bread of survival equipment and all "necessary for the body" (Jas. 2.16).
It 'time for the practical implementation of the Gospel, with a high sense of responsibility. The time in which you feel more intensely and more pressing the apostolic exhortation, "Show me your faith by your works" (James, 2, 18). The moment, that is, the chance to "rise with divine inspiration," the height of the royal virtues of love that makes us close to God
Announcing these things out of the holy martyr and chair of the Church of the Poor of Christ, children of Ecumenical Patriarchate, anywhere in the world, we call on all the divine condescension, the infinite mercy, peace and grace-begotten Son and Word of God incarnate for us in the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, to whom be the glory, power, honor and worship, together with the Father and the Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
Since the Fanar, Christmas 2010
+ Bartholomew of Constantinople
fervent intercessor before God for all of you
