Bp. Irinej Urges Faith, Courage, and Joy in Nativity Message

Bsp. Irinej celebrates the patronal feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Photo: Diocese of Eastern America of the SOC/Facebook

NEW YORK — For the upcoming Old Calendar Feast of the Nativity, Bp. Irinej of Washington-New York and Eastern America offered an archpastoral message to the faithful of the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The bishop celebrated the Nativity of Christ as “a great and wonderous mystery,” noting that “The Virgin gives birth and remains a Virgin! The Word is made flesh without leaving His Father!” He reflected on the humility of the Incarnation, with the King of Glory wrapped in swaddling clothes and the Creator of Life lying in a manger, and urged believers to emulate the Theotokos by embracing God’s will with courage and faith.

Bp. Irinej emphasized that the Nativity is not merely historical but the beginning of salvation, calling the faithful to welcome Christ into their hearts through “faith, repentance, and love.” He encouraged reflection in a world dominated by noise and information, invoking St. Athanasius: “God became man, so that man might become god.” The bishop concluded with blessings for families and communities, exclaiming, “GOD’S PEACE – CHRIST IS BORN! INDEED, HE IS BORN!”

Previously, the UOJ reported that a new Serbian Orthodox parish was established in Idaho. 

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