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# Metr. Tikhon Issues Message for Beginning of Nativity Fast
- URL: https://uoj.news/news/metr-tikhon-issues-message-for-beginning-of-nativity-fast/
- Published: 2026-11-14T14:21:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-14T14:21:40.000Z
- Description: Metr. Tikhon encouraged the faithful to welcome the Nativity Fast as a time of spiritual renewal, hope, and fellowship.
- Author: Tobias Straney
- Tags: #Category: News, Met. Tikhon Mollard, OCA, Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Pastoral Epistle

**WASHINGTON, D.C. —** Metr. Tikhon of All America and Canada has issued his [2026 message](https://www.oca.org/holy-synod/statements/his-beatitude-metropolitan-tikhon/beginning-nativity-fast-2026) marking the beginning of the Nativity Fast, encouraging the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) to prepare for Christ’s coming through spiritual discipline, acts of kindness, and renewed fellowship.

Reflecting on the growing darkness of the season, the hierarch acknowledges the loneliness, strained relationships, and sense of loss that can accompany the holidays. He offers a message of hope, declaring, “My beloved children in the Lord, the darkness is not destined to remain, and the light is just on the horizon!”

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Metr. Tikhon describes fasting, prayer, and almsgiving as gifts of the Church that help believers redirect their appetites, focus their minds on God, and loosen their attachment to material possessions. These practices, he explains, are not meant to overwhelm the faithful with additional obligations, but to help them “embrace and rest in the light of God.”

The hierarch also urges the faithful to renew friendships and strengthen their relationships through simple acts of generosity: helping a neighbor, listening attentively to a loved one, making Christmas gifts by hand, praying for the departed, and preparing meals for those in need.

“In Christ we find ourselves truly seen and loved by God in all of our complexities and struggles,” he writes. “This is the sweet taste of grace and the victory of truth.”

Metr. Tikhon concludes by praying that God will fill the faithful with eager expectation for the coming of Christ at His Nativity.

Previously, the [UOJ reported](https://uoj.news/news/metr-tikhon-celebrates-feast-of-st-olga-of-alaska/) that Metr. Tikhon celebrated the feast of St. Olga of Alaska.