Peace is not a given and self-evident, but a debt, an achievement, a constant concern and an unceasing struggle for its preservation, says the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his message for Christmas.

“We continue to emphasize the pacifying role of religions, in an era in which religions are criticized”, he emphasizes, among other things, noting that “religions are the natural allies of all people, who struggle for peace, justice and the protection of the building from man-made destruction”.

The full text of the Patriarchal Evidence on Christmas:

“Venerable brothers in Christ Hierarchs and beloved children,

Above all, we celebrate this year in psalms and hymns and spiritual odes the birth in the flesh of the eternal Son and Word of God, the manifestation of the mystery of God and man. According to St. Nikolaos Kavasila, what is done in the Divine Liturgy is “the mystagogy of the Lord’s incarnation”, and in its prefaces the doxological “Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” testifies “that through of the Lord’s incarnation, people first realized that God was three persons”. The holy father proclaims that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ “first and only showed the true man and perfect and manners and life and the other ten everything”.

The adoption of human nature in the person of the Son and Word of God and the opening of the way of deification by grace to man give him insurmountable value. Forgetting this truth leads to a decrease in respect for the human person. The denial of man’s high destiny not only does not free him, but leads to various contractions and divisions. Without the consciousness of his divine origin and the hope of eternity, man finds it difficult to remain human, unable to manage the contradictions of the “human condition”.

The Christian understanding of human existence offers a solution to the problems created by violence, war and injustice in our world. Respect for the human person, peace and justice are a gift from God, but the establishment of peace won under Christ requires the participation and cooperation of people. The Christian position on the subject of the struggle for peace is formed through the words of Christ the Savior, who preaches peace, greets with “Peace be with you” and urges people to love their enemies. The revelation in Christ is characterized as the “gospel of peace”. This means that for us Christians, the way to peace is peacethat non-violence, dialogue, love, forgiveness and reconciliation take precedence over other forms of dispute resolution.

The theology of peace is clearly described in the text of the Ecumenical Patriarchate “”For the life of the world”. The social ethos of the Orthodox Church” (2020): “Nothing is more opposed to God’s will for His creatures created in His image and likeness than violence against one’s neighbor… We can rightly claim that violence is the ultimate sin. It is the perfect contrast between our creative nature and our supernatural calling to seek loving union with God and our neighbor…Peace is a true revelation of the deeper reality of creation according to God’s will, and of form as He designed it in His eternal counsels”.

Peace is not a given and self-evident, but a debt, an achievement, a constant concern and a ceaseless struggle to maintain it. There are no automations and permanent recipes. Faced with the threats to peace, alertness and the will to solve the problems through dialogue are required. The great heroes of politics are the fighters of peace. We continue to emphasize the peace-making role of religions, at a time when religions are criticized because, instead of emerging as forces of peace, solidarity and subjugation, they fuel fanaticism and violence “in the name of God: It is an alienation of of religious belief and not about a phenomenon inherent to it. Genuine faith in God is the strictest judge of religious fanaticism. Religions are the natural allies of all people, who fight for peace, justice and the protection of creation from man-made destruction.

Humanity celebrates its 75th anniversary this year Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 10, 1948), which is a summary of fundamental humanitarian ideals and values, “the common ideal to which all peoples and all nations must strive”. Human rights, whose central point of reference is the protection of human dignity and its individual, social, cultural, economic and environmental conditions, are understood in their original dynamics, if they are recognized as the foundation and criterion of world peace, the which they associate with freedom and justice. In this sense, the future of human rights and peace is also linked to the contribution of religions to the issue of their respect and realization.

With such thoughts and solemn feelings, in complete certainty that the life of the Church itself is a resistance to dehumanization, wherever it comes from, inviting you all to the good fight of building a civilization of peace and settlement, in which the man will see in the face of his fellow man the brother and the friend and not the schemer and the enemy, and reminding you all, brothers and children, that Christmas is a time of self-awareness and thanksgivingrevealing the difference between God-man and “man-god”, realizing the “great miracle” of freedom in Christ and the healing of the “great wound” of alienation from God, we reverently bow our knees before the one who holds in her arms the incarnate I speak Theodoros Mariam, conveying to you the blessing of the Holy Mother of Christ the Great Church, we wish you a happy, healthy, fruitful, peaceful and joyful new year of the Lord’s usefulness”.