Met. Tikhon Calls Faithful to Live Holy Tradition During Nativity Fast
OCA primate urges believers to follow the example of St. Paisius Velichkovsky through prayer, humility, and renewal.
NOV. 12, 2025 — As Orthodox Christians soon enter the Nativity Fast, His Beatitude Met. Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) has called the clergy, monastics, and faithful to deepen their spiritual lives by living out the Church’s Holy Tradition rather than merely professing it.
“‘Orthodox’ is not a shiny label that we proudly apply to ourselves; it is our path to living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Met. Tikhon wrote in his archpastoral message marking the beginning of the fasting season.
The Primate noted that the first day of the fast coincides with the commemoration of St. Paisius Velichkovsky, “one of the great transmitters and exponents of the Byzantine hesychastic tradition,” and encouraged the faithful to follow the saint’s example of prayer, study, and service.
“Without making Holy Tradition our own through practice, it is in vain that we celebrate St. Paisius and other teachers of Orthodoxy,” he said. “We study the fathers in order to forget them — in other words, so that their faith and their teachings become our very way of life.”
Met. Tikhon likened the process of spiritual growth to learning a skill such as swimming or driving:
“Abstract knowledge is put into practice until discursive thought disappears, and the task becomes second nature.”
Calling the faithful to humility and watchfulness, he described the Nativity Fast as a sacred time of “waiting” — a posture of faith that recalls the world’s longing before Christ’s birth and anticipates His Second Coming.
“I pray that, through the intercessions of St. Paisius Velichkovsky, this time of the fast may be a time of renewal for us all,” he concluded, offering his primatial blessing “for these holy days of anticipation.”
The Nativity Fast begins on Nov. 15, 2025, and lasts through Dec. 24, 2025. For those on the New Calendar, it begins this Saturday.
Previously, UOJ reported that Met. Gregory of Nyssa of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America has issued a heartfelt appeal to the clergy and faithful of his diocese, calling for renewed prayer, repentance, and spiritual discipline in a world “spinning out of control.”
