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Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, sent greetings with the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria, His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, His Holiness and Beatitude Catholics Patriarch Iliya II of All Georgia, His Holiness Patriarch Irenej of Serbia, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania, His Holiness Patriarch Neofit of Bulgaria, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus, His Beatitude Archbishop Hieronymus II of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania, His Beatitude Metropolitan Sava of Warsaw and All Poland, His Beatitude Metropolitan Rostislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada. The text is given below:

I respectfully congratulate you on the great feast of the Nativity of Christ.

‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’ (Lk 2:14) sang the angels who appeared to the shepherds in the field near Bethlehem. Since then the whole Christian world has not tired of repeating these words which contain the mystery of our salvation. St. Paul testifies that ‘God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory’ (1 Tim 3:16). Christ’s Nativity became a turning point in world history, and through it the way to the kingdom of heaven is revealed to the human race. ‘Christ is born – glorify him!’, the Holy Church sings, and we praise the Saviour of the world who has shown us ‘the true light’ (Jn 1:9).

From the depths of my heart I wish You grace in abundance from Christ the Saviour who has been born into the world and his almighty aid in your lofty ministry.

With reverential love in the Lord,

+ Hilarion

Metropolitan of Volokolamsk

Chairman

Department for External Church Relations

Moscow Patriarchate