Encyclical on Christmas
Of His Eminence Metropolitan Job of Pisidia,
Hypertimos and Exarch of Side and Antalya
Unto the Reverend Clergy and the Pious Faithful of the Holy Metropolis of Pisidia.
Beloved Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The Lord has made us worthy once again to celebrate a historic event that forever transformed not only the course of human history but also the world: the nativity according to the flesh of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, of the Son and Word of God. An event that the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian admirably summarizes in one sentence: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14).
An event that many struggle to grasp, since it defies understanding. How, indeed, can the Transcendent become immanent; how can the Eternal become mortal; how can the Creator become a creature? And yet, quite rightly, the Church sings on this day: “Today the Virgin gives birth to Him who is above all being, and the earth offers the Cave to Him whom no one can approach; Angels with Shepherds give glory, and Magi journey with a star; for us there has been born a little Child: God before the ages.” (Kondakion of the feast)
Indeed, since time immemorial, humankind, consciously or unconsciously, has been searching through religion or philosophy for the origin of that tiny spark within it: the origin of the divine image and likeness in which it was created (Gen. 1:26). Alas, the limitations of nature prevented it from transcending them and encountering God the Creator. Indeed, being itself created, humanity could not transcend the limits of creation.
And for this reason, it is God himself who comes to meet humanity, who becomes man through the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit, and dwells among us. “A strange and wonderful mystery I see, the Cave is heaven, the Virgin the Cherubim throne, the Manger the Place in which Christ, the God whom nothing can contain, is laid. Him we praise and magnify” (Hirmos, Ode 9). This great “mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints” (Col. 1:26) grants humanity not only the possibility of knowing God, but also of participating in divine life, and thus, of acquiring the fullness of life, of inheriting eternal life. As Saint John the Theologian writes, “to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God” (Jn. 1:12).
Thus, we are certainly celebrating an event from the past, but one that already introduces us to the future, to the coming Kingdom of God. Indeed, the Kingdom of God awaited in the future comes to us in the person of the Son and Word of God, born today of the Virgin in Bethlehem. Through this cosmic event, Christianity certainly distinguishes itself from all other religions, and in a certain sense, ceases to be a religion, because no religion has ever witnessed the incarnation of God, nor can any claim to provide access to the divinization of the human being.
All of this was made possible by the nativity according to the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and subsequently, through the Passion and Resurrection in the flesh of the Son and Word of God, who inaugurated a new stage in human history and granted humanity the possibility of entering from now the Kingdom of God. This is accomplished through our union with Christ at our baptism and chrismation, and through communion with His Body and Blood in the mystery of the Eucharist, which sustains our life in Christ.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
With these thoughts, I cordially congratulate you with the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and encourage you not to neglect this great gift we have been given: the ability to participate in divine life. Let us hasten and drink from this fountain of immortality! Let us not neglect the opportunity given to us to participate in the liturgical services and sacraments of the Church and to receive Holy Communion regularly, to deepen our knowledge of God through the study of Holy Scripture, and to bear witness to our new life in Christ through our love, our sharing, and our solidarity with each of our fellow brothers and sisters. May He who for our salvation was born in Bethlehem bless the crown the new year with His goodness (Ps. 64:12)!
Antalya, Christmas 2025
+ Job of Pisidia
