Tara (a town in the Omsk region in Western Siberia, Russia), January 3, 2015
“We celebrate Christmas and do not realize that the very possibility of its celebration is due to the ineffable mercy and gift of God. Thus, looking at the peaceful sky, we do not think that bombs and shells might fall on our heads instead of snowflakes,” reads the Nativity message of Bishop Sabbatius (Savvaty) of Tara and Tyukalinsk. An extract from this message follows below.
“When the Apostle Andrew was imprisoned during his sufferings before being crucified, the whole city rose up against the ruler in order to free the holy man. But the holy apostle kept them from doing this, saying: Do not turn the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ into a diabolical revolt, for our Lord, being put to death, showed all patience, and His voice was not heard in the streets, so do not you worry either. Do not try to prevent my martyrdom; and yourselves, as good zealots and warriors of Christ, be prepared to endure various tortures and wounds to your bodies. And if you need to be afraid of sufferings, then be afraid of those that will never cease. But temporary sufferings, if they are minor, will be borne easily; and if they are great, they will end soon, removing the soul from the body. So be prepared through temporary sorrows to depart for eternal joy, where you will rejoice, always prosper and always reign with Christ.”
When the servants wanted to take him down from the cross, St. Andrew exclaimed in a loud voice: “Lord Jesus Christ! Do not permit me to be taken down from the cross on which I have been hung for Thy Name’s sake”.
Such was the first baptizer of Russia granted by God. This is the spirit sown in the soul of our nation. The next mass baptism took place under Princes Askold and Dir (in the late 9th century) and then under Princess Olga (c. 955). But in its fullness the Christian faith was embraced by our people under the Holy Prince Vladimir, the 1000th anniversary of whose repose we celebrate this year. Having bowed to the Infant God, Russia was wounded by the love of Christ, lost the taste for passing truth, whereas earlier it had shed the blood of its brothers who had struggled for it. In order to gain temporary well-being people shed the blood of their brothers. To gain eternal well-being we lay down our lives.
Talking to refugees from the Ukraine, I have learned what Russia’s main wealth is. “I do not wish to leave Russia, it is so good here,” said a guest in the Siberian taiga who was from faraway Novorossiya. “What is special here?” I ask and hear the usual, but still so unexpected answer: “It is quiet here”.
Having cleansed the mind, grief makes it capable of understanding the mysteries of being that are inaccessible to philistines. We consider that silence is a mere absence of words. But the holy fathers said that silence is a sacrament of the age to come and the word is an instrument of this world. The Lord says: “Whom will I look upon: only upon those who are meek, quiet and who submit to my words”.
We celebrate Christmas and do not realize that the very possibility of its celebration is due to the ineffable mercy and gift of God. Thus, looking at the peaceful sky, we do not think that bombs and shells might fall on our heads instead of snowflakes. In parts of Europe which calls itself “civilized” the celebration of Christmas has been abolished. Elsewhere in the world people are condemned to death solely for pronouncing the word “Christmas”.
Once again I address you with the words of St. Gregory the Theologian: “Thus, let us celebrate not pompously but Divinely, not in a worldly way but in a way that is above this world. The feast is not ours, but belongs to Him Who became ours, or rather, it is the feast of our Master and Lord. Let us not surpass each other in our lack of abstinence, especially when our neighbors, created from the same dust and earth as ourselves, are hungry and in need.” In these days of trial for Russia let us take special care of the needy in the Ukraine and Russia and everyone through whom the Lord will visit us”.
