In his Christmas Encyclical, Archbishop Chrysostomos said that the birth of Christ on earth is not just one of the great events of the world but the greatest event that defined and shaped history and gave meaning to the past and created the most hopeful future of man for his eternal salvation.
This year, he said, "is the 47th year that we celebrate Christmas with our homeland divided and a third of the people uprooted from their ancestral homes as persons are still missing."
He notes that the fact that Christ came to earth to protect the unjust and to help those who struggle for justice does not allow us to lose hope but requires us to continue our struggle with our eyes fixed on Christ and with an unwavering faith in the irresistible power of our righteous to continue our struggle.
His Beatitude calls on everyone "not to allow illusions to relax our fighting spirit", noting that the behaviour of the invader to date does not allow us any complacency whatsoever. We must, he said, remain united and immovable in the assertion of our rights, rigid and unyielding in our demand for the removal of the occupation troops, the return of the refugees to their ancestral homes and at the same time ready defensively for any possibility of a dynamic confrontation, "since no matter how much we appeal for such a confrontation, the bulimia and the expansionist plans of the invader will not hesitate to impose it on us".
With unswerving faith in God, who came to earth for our salvation and the prevalence of justice, and with confidence in the final vindication of our righteousness, we express, he said, our feelings of love on this great feast of Christianity.
"Let us also enrich the souls of our suffering brethren with the joy that the feeling of love gives. Thus we shall be able to offer our souls as a lodging to Christ and share in the joy of His divine Incarnation," he concluded.
Source: CNA
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