ΙΕΡΑ ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΗ

ΓΝΗΣΙΩΝ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΩΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΩΝ ΑΥΣΤΡΑΛΙΑΣ

HOLY ARCHDIOCESE OF GENUINE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS OF AUSTRALIA
40 Kenyon Rd Bexley, Sydney NSW 2207 Tel. (02) - 95539030 - 95887143

Christmas 2018
Ref. num. 8065
CHRISTMAS ENCYCLICAL
TO
The pious Orthodox Christians
of the Holy Archdiocese G.O.C. Australia

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ and Spiritual children in

the Lord.
“Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ
the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11) said the Angel to the shepherds which were keeping
watch that night in which Christ was born, in Bethlehem of Judea. Be not
afraid, I came to announce to you good news, great joy for you and for all the
people. And the great joy is this, that today is born for you the Saviour who
is your Christ and Lord.
This joyful event of the Nativity of the Saviour Jesus Christ which the
Angel announced as good news to the shepherds of Bethlehem, we celebrate,
beloved Brothers and Sisters, yet one more time in our life. And the angel’s
message regarding this great feast we too announce as good news yet again.
The Nativity of the God-Man is a feast of joy and hope for man. It is a feast
of giving glory on thanks to the Man-befriending God and Father for the great
condescension in His Son and Word being born as man. It is a feast of coming
together between man and his God.
God, as the Man-befriending Father, decided that the time had come to
offer man the ability to reacquire that primordial beauty and happiness
which He, as the All-wise Creator, had bestowed on man when He first
created him. And this work of the philanthropic economy of God took place
with the incarnation of God’s Word, which is the birth of Jesus Christ in the
flesh, the event which we celebrate today.
Great is God’s work of philanthropy and love for man. It is a father’s
sacrifice for his son’s salvation. A priceless offering. An inexhaustible love.
A never-ending joy. A living hope. A cheerful change. An eternal destination.
A meeting with royalty. These are the things offered by the Nativity
according to the flesh of the Saviour Christ, which we have announced to us
as good news yet again in our life by the Angel of God.
 I repeat the words spoken by the Angel to the shepherds: “I bring you
good tidings”, for today’s man needs the good news of the Nativity of the
Saviour Christ brought to him again. Man will hear the Angel’s
announcement of good news, if he satisfies the same preconditions of the
shepherds of Bethlehem. These preconditions God found fulfilled in the hearts
of the shepherds, thus He sent them the Angel to announce to them the good
news of Christ’s Nativity.
And what did God find in the soul of those men? First, He found
vigilance, namely that they were watchful to the needs of their flock. Second,
He found simplicity of heart, with which they accepted and believed the
words of the Angel. Third, He found obedience to God’s commandment, that’s
why they immediately said, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this
thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” (Luke
2:15). These are the things God is asking of us: vigilance of soul, simplicity of
heart, and obedience to His Holy will.
Firstly, vigilance of soul is the foundation for man becoming an acceptor
of God’s announcements of good news. He whose senses of the soul are not in
a vigilant and functioning state can neither understand the gospel of Christ,
nor recognise Him or believe in Him even if Christ was to pass by next to
him. Secondly, simplicity of heart is necessary because only so can a man
accept and consent to God’s messages directly or indirectly. Otherwise he will
be calculating and measuring using his own measuring stick, if consenting to
God’s message matches his own interests and what will be the gain therein.
Thirdly, obedience to the will of God is humility and the keeping of God’s
commandments put into practice. If we possess these things, then we too will
experience the joy and blessing of our coming together with our Lord and
God. Then we too will be counted worthy of hearing that angelic hymn heard
by the shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
among men.” (Luke 2:14).
Therefore, Beloved Brothers and Sisters and blessed children of the
incarnate Saviour Christ, let us be preparing our souls and hearts in a manner
conforming to God’s will, with the vigilance, simplicity and obedience of the
shepherds of Bethlehem, and let us be going towards our incarnate Lord and
Saviour, because He alone is the Saviour of our souls.
With many blessings to everyone, my brothers and sisters in Christ and
spiritual children, towards the incarnate Saviour Christ.
Fervent intercessor toward the Lord Jesus Christ who became man

†Bishop Efstathios
Metropolitan of Patra and
Acting Bishop of the Holy Archdiocese of G.O.C. of Australia.