Nativity Encyclical 2025/2026 Diocese of Western Europe RTOC
On the Nativity of Christ and the Sanctification of Time
Beloved children in the Lord,
In a world that turns endlessly upon itself, bound by cycles of unrest, division, and spiritual weariness, the saving Nativity of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ is revealed as the divine intervention that bestows meaning and direction upon time itself. For fallen mankind, time had become a repetition without healing—birth followed by decay, hope overshadowed by disappointment, life darkened by death. Yet in the ineffable counsel of God, “when the fullness of time had come” (Gal. 4:4), the eternal Word entered history, not to abolish time, but to sanctify it from within.
As Saint Athanasius the Great proclaims, “He became man that we might be made divine.” By His birth of the Virgin, Christ restores not only human nature, but the very rhythm of human existence. The Nativity is not merely an event within time; it is the moment in which time itself is healed, receiving purpose and orientation toward the Kingdom of God. In the cave of Bethlehem, eternity and temporality meet: the Uncreated enters creation, and the endless cycle of corruption is transfigured into a path leading toward life everlasting.
Holy Church, in her maternal wisdom, leads us each year once more to Bethlehem, proclaiming not “Christ was born,” but “Christ is born.” This sacred recurrence is not a barren repetition, but a living ascent. As Saint Gregory the Theologian exhorts, “Christ is born—give ye glory; Christ comes from heaven—go ye forth to meet Him.” The liturgical cycle thus becomes a school of salvation, calling each generation—and each soul—to renewal, repentance, and deeper communion with God.
The humility of the Nativity reveals the true manner of divine action. God does not enter the world through force or spectacle, but through silence, poverty, and obedience. Saint Maximus the Confessor teaches that after the Fall, creation experiences its motion as fragmentation and dispersion; yet in Christ, the Logos gathers all things to Himself, restoring harmony and guiding creation toward its true end. Thus, the movement of the world is no longer a turning without rest, but an ascent toward communion with God.
The Child laid in the manger already bears within Himself the mystery of the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection. He who is born in time is the Lord of the ages; He who lies in swaddling clothes shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. Therefore, the cycles of the Church’s life do not turn aimlessly, but advance steadily toward their fulfillment in the Kingdom which has no end.
May He who deigned to be born in a cave be born also in our hearts, sanctifying our days, enlightening our paths, and leading us from glory unto glory, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
+ Philaretos
Bishop of Pallini and Western Europe
By the Grace of God
On the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ
2025
