Greece, the Revolution of 1821and Us ENCYCLICAL FOR MARCH 25TH By Metropolitan Sotirios

Τhe Iliad and the Odyssey were written at least 1,000 years before Christ. Nothing has yet been written to outshine and surpass them.

My professor of Philosophy at the University of Alberta in 1963 always repeated the following in class: “Philosophy has not progressed even a step beyond Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.”

The ideal form of government that is respected by every civilized country today is democracy, which is also an invention of ancient Greece .

Carter Clark, an American General in the Korean War, says: “At West Point Academy, there is a class taught every year to the Cadets of the military tactics that were used in battle by Alexander the Great.”

The Olympic Games is the greatest sporting event in the world today and the most watched event on television around the globe. We owe these games to Ancient Greece as well.

No empire in the history of the world has survived for more than one thousand years, as the Byzantine Empire did. It is a matter of historical research, but it seems that the opulence and indulgence of the people living in the Byzantine Empire was one of the main cause of its demise in 1453. They became lazy. They lost their values. They lost their Empire to the Ottomans. Above all, they lost their freedom and they became slaves to the victor.

For 400 years, they lived as slaves in their own land. They were almost exterminated. The inhumane Ottoman Empire wrote them off.

They were also written off by most other nations as well. Only God did not write them off or forget them. The Greeks themselves never gave up on themselves. Just like a spark hidden in the ashes, hidden inside every Greek was the memory of past glories and grandeur. But as a slave, he was impoverished. Abandoned. Every door of those who were powerful was also closed. These barriers were not easily overcome. Eventually, “he came to himself.”

The Greek thought to himself and said: “It is better not to live at all, than to live as a slave.” “Either I live in freedom, and if I cannot, I would rather die.” He made the decision and cried out: “Freedom or death.” He defied every possible obstacle in his quest for freedom. He applied to his life the slogan “Freedom or death” and thereby created the miracle of the Revolution of 1821. He was rewarded with his own freedom and the acquisition of a free and independent homeland. He was able to proudly see the Greek flag waving from the top of the Acropolis, this miracle of Greek architecture. Wherever he may live today, every Greek around the world celebrates the miracle of the Revolution of 1821 and lives the gift of freedom that was given to him from the spoils of this victory.

God never abandoned the Greeks. This is because the Greeks did not abandon God. The crafty wiles and policies of the Ottoman Empire were unable to convert the majority of Greeks to Islam. This is because the Greeks fought their War of Independence in 1821 “for the holy Faith of Christ and for the freedom of the Motherland.”

On that day, they were celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation to the Blessed and Ever-Virgin Mary. The Most Holy Mother always accompanied and protected the Greeks in their hour of need, and She always prayed to God for them:

       “Dear God, look down upon the Christians who suffer upon the earth,

       As they celebrate my Holy Feast today in Holy Worship.

       See how much they are oppressed as slaves and help them!”

This Prayer of the Immaculate Mother of Christ -- who is the true God, the true Messiah, and the only Saviour and Redeemer of the world -- was heard by God. He helped the Greeks so that they could regain their freedom and their homeland, and live and practice their Orthodox Christian faith in freedom.

In the newly liberated Greek state, freedom and democracy had its ups-and-downs. It passed through many crises, such as: the First World War; the Asia Minor catastrophe; the Second World War; the Civil war; dictatorships; and financial crises. The achievements of the Greek army in the Second World War showed the world how great the Greeks were through their victories on the battle-field. The glory of Greece was again at its greatest summit.

Celebrating today the glory of the Revolution of 1821, all Greeks should be thinking about all these past events. They should think about Greece, and what it means to them personally. Who is she and what has she accomplished? What is her legacy to the world? What is the current situation she is now in? What is her future? What is your duty towards her at this moment in her history? These are the things that every Greek should be thinking about, and should work towards assisting Greece to attain her rightful place in the world today. And we Greeks in Canada can do no less. I invite all of you to celebrate the Anniversary of March 25th, 1821 with a Doxology of Thanksgiving and offering thanks to God. Celebrate with parades and other commemorative events and festivities. Let us take pride in knowing our past history and who we are, so that we can understand where we have to go. Let us apply to ourselves the rule that we must always become better each day. Let us always remember that if God had not signed and supported the Freedom of Greece, we would not be free today. The Greeks fought in 1821 “for the holy faith of Christ and for the freedom of the Motherland.” Therefore, let us celebrate the Anniversary of March 25th, 1821 by honouring the sacrifices of our ancestors. Let us always live in freedom. Let us strive to live and apply our Orthodox faith. Above all, let us strive to keep our soul and our heart Greek, Orthodox and pure.

With fatherly love and fervent prayers,

+ Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios of Toronto (Canada)

ΕΤΗΣΙΟ ΓΕΥΜΑ ΚΑΘΟΛΙΚΩΝ – ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΩΝ ΑΡΧΙΕΡΕΩΝ ΤΟΡΟΝΤΟ

From Left: Fr. Damian Macpherson, Bishop Vincent Nguyen, Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick, Bishop John Boissonneau; His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, o His Eminence Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios; His Grace Bishop Georgije, His Grace Bishop Chrisophoros, His Grace Bishop Andriy and Fr. Peter Avgeropoulos.

His Eminence Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios hosted a Luncheon on Thursday February 27^th 2014 at the Headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (Canada) for His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins;  his three Auxilliary Bishops, the Most Reverend John Boissonneau;  the Most Reverend Wayne Kirkpatrick;  and the Most Reverend Vincent Nguyen.  Also invited were three Bishops of the Canadian Conference of Orthodox Bishops:  His Grace Bishop Georgije of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada;  His Grace  Bishop Christoforos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Canada;  and His Grace Bishop Andriy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.  Present also was Fr. Damian Macpherson, the Ecumenical Officer of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, and Protopresbyter Fr. Peter Avgeropoulos, the Director of Interchurch Relations of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto.

Each year, His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios hosts a Luncheon for the Catholic Bishops, and His Eminence Cardinal Collins hosts the Orthodox Hierarchs at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto. 

The atmosphere was very friendly and cordial.  Many topics were discussed, among them being the grave situation in Ukraine.  Both Cardinal Collins and Metropolitan Sotirios stated that they would give directives to their Clergy for special prayers for the people of Ukraine so that the will of God may be done and that peace and tranquility may prevail.  

From the Office of the Holy Metropolis

February 27, 2014

 

Christmas Lunch for Clergy and Family at our Holy Metropolis in Toronto

In the photo are clergy with their families, the staff of our Holy Metropolis, some of the volunteers, the President of the Philoptochos in Canada, Mrs. E. Coutsougeras, Bishop Christoforos, Consul General Azemopoulos and Metropolitan Sotirios.

Each year, our Holy Metropolis organizes a Christmas – New Year’s luncheon for the clergy and family of the Greater Toronto Area, as well as for Metropolis staff and volunteers. Similar events are organized in Montreal and Vancouver for the clergy of those cities.

            The luncheon was held on Thursday, January 2, 2014; eighty-three individuals attended, with Christmas gifts distributed to each of the children. The Consul General of Greece in Toronto, Mr. D. Azemopoulos, spoke with the theme, “The value of the Orthodox Faith for the Diaspora.” In addition, the Hon. Madam Justice E. Ria Tzimas – Volonakis (Ontario Superior Court of Justice) also spoke. The remarks concluded with Metropolitan Sotirios who discussed the importance of duty and volunteerism; he also expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude towards all participants and, above all, to our Holy Triune God.

            Together, all individuals chanted Christmas hymns and carols, with everyone enjoying the beautiful companionship and nice meal but especially the children.

            The Montreal clergy and family Christmas – New Year’s luncheon feast will take place on Thursday, January 23, 2014.

 

From the Office of Greek Orthodox Metropolis Toronto (Canada)

January 2, 2014

GREEK ORTHODOX EDUCATION: The Life Preserver of our Communities and the Omogenia By Metropolitan Sotirios

Although under  bitter and difficult slavery for over four hundred years, the oppressor could not make the Greek nation disappear. The Ottoman Empire used the most abominable methods and means to convert Greeks to Islam. Burdensome taxes were levied. Ethnic cleansing and religious persecutions were government policy, but the most lethal was the satanic plan of the induction of children into the Janissary corps. The Ottomans would enter a town and steal children from the protective and loving embrace of their mothers in order to take them away forever, raising them as fanatic Muslims, trained to oppress their own people. They would teach them to hate their former Christian Orthodox Faith.  They were taught that their own parents and siblings were faithless heretics, and therefore liable to death and destruction. Even with these evil means, the mighty Ottoman Empire could not manage to make the Greek people and nation to disappear. 

The life preserver of Hellenism against this dark and difficult four-hundred-year period of slavery was the Greek Orthodox faith. The Church. The Clergyman who taught and educated his down-trodden people. The "underground school" run by Churches and Monasteries. It is this same life preserver that must be used today so that our Communities and the Omogenia can be saved.  

Life in Canada is obviously not on par with the slavery endured under the Ottoman Empire. Canada is one of the most enlightened  democracies and the most civilized country in the world.  It does not ask minorities to be put in a melting pot to be "Canadianized". The domestic policy of multiculturalism and religious tolerance helps our Communities and the Omogenia to be maintained. Furthermore, financial aid is also given in some provinces to preserve and support our Greek Schools. 

   With this support and Canadian domestic policy being as it is, why is Greek Orthodox education the life preserver of our Communities and the Omogenia?

   Yes, it is true that there is no slavery or compulsion in Canada, nor any type of pressure. There are, however, other problems. There are other "songs of the sirens" that bring people to a state of lethargy and indifference.  The way of life in Canada can sometimes brain-wash some of our people to forget their roots. They forget who they are and what are the more important objectives in their lives. These "sirens" are the absolute freedom we are privileged to enjoy, as well as the opulent life-style that almost everyone seeks to enjoy. We should never forget that everyone loves opulence; however, the greatest empires breathed their last breath while lying on the bed of opulence.

    We must be careful. We said the life preserver is Greek Orthodox education here in Canada.. We did not say "Greek Education" nor the simple teaching of "the Greek language". In Canada, Greek Education on its own and the teaching of the Greek language without any reference to the Greek Orthodox faith cannot progress very far. The Orthodox faith, in connection with education, can be the means to save our Communities and the Omogenia here in Canada. Greek Orthodox education is the root that supports the tree of the Omogenia. It gives it nourishment and life so that it may flourish and grow. 

    Many mistakes have happened in the past. In some of the Greek schools, there were certain teachers who were atheists, or who espoused the teachings of the "twelve gods of Olympus", thereby disparaging and ridiculing the Orthodox Christian faith. This should not  come as a surprise to anyone.   A Greek school teacher once gave his students an assignment, asking them to write sentences in Greek using the word "good". One child wrote:  "The good Priest".  The teacher mocked and laughed at the child, saying that "there are no good Priests".  Admire this "educator", indeed!

   Education in Canada is under provincial jurisdiction, not under the federal government. In the four Atlantic provinces of Canada, there is not enough of a Greek population to have Greek Orthodox Day Schools. In the other six provinces, though, there is enough of a Greek population to have Greek Orthodox Day Schools. With the exception of the Province of Ontario, Greek Education is subsidized by the Provincial Governments as much as 50% to 60%. 

   We have Greek Orthodox Day Schools in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario. We do not have any in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Everywhere and always, I urge all our Communities to organize Greek Orthodox Day Schools, for they are the life preserver of our Communities and the Omogenia.

   Once again this year, we will celebrate the feast day of the Three Hierarchs and the Week of "Greek Education".   This will be done with celebrations. With poems. With recitations.  With dances. However, the best way to celebrate "Greek Education" would be to organize even one more Greek Orthodox Day School in 2014. While I fully support the Greek Orthodox afternoon and Saturday schools, the ideal solution are the establishment of Greek Orthodox Day Schools across Canada. In these schools, students will be taught the basic curriculum of any other school, while they are also taught the essentials of our Greek Orthodox Faith, the Greek language and our Greek culture and civilization.

    I thank our Communities who support our Greek Orthodox schools, be they Day Schools, Afternoon or Saturday Schools. I thank all the dedicated and mindful teachers. I thank all the parents and the volunteers who help our Greek Orthodox Schools. I thank God that I am not the only one who cries out in support for Greek Orthodox education. I hope that everyone comes to understand that Greek Orthodox education is the life preserver of our Communities and the Omogenia, and that they help this cause with all their hearts. For this cause, I urge each and every one of us to assist this important cause with every means at our diasposa, pouring our hearts and souls into it as the saying goes, "Because I put my heart and soul into this cause, this is why it has succeeded."

With fatherly love and fervent prayers for all,

Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios of Toronto

Approaching 2014 NEW YEAR’S ENCYCLICAL by Metropolitan Sotirios

As we approach 2014, both you and I should sit back and contemplate what we will face and confront. If it pleases you, we should ask the question a bit more clear. What do we want to face and what do we not want to confront in 2014?

Neither you nor I are clairvoyant or prophets. Moreover, we can see and determine certain things we will confront.

The events of 2014 depend on God, on the world and on every one of us. Without God, we cannot go too far. "If the Lord does not set the foundation, the labourers labor in vain."

People can act in a positive or negative way, causing us to be benefited from their actions, or to harm us. We are not, however, responsible for the actions of others.

The most responsible for the events of 2014 and the effect they will have on the world is each and every one of us. No matter how small and insignificant that we might seem, our role is basic and essential.

Of utmost importance is how we prepare and face every problem. The Prophet-King David says, "I am prepared and I am not afraid". Every single one of us should prepare for the events of 2014 which are dependent on us and those events which we have no control over.

As we approach the new year, we should clean up the garbage of the past - that is, clean up our souls and our sins. We should plan out 2014 with a pure heart and sober thoughts. If you plan correctly and stick to your plan fervently, you will find yourself closer to God. Nothing greater can happen. It will bring one's conscious at ease. It will calm the spirit. One can face events and the world around them in general without becoming agitated. You cannot dictate what will happen in the future when it comes to those around you. You can, however, dictate what will happen in your future and - with confidence in yourself - help in what happens to others. This can be done on a personal level.

The same needs to be done by every family. Every organization. Every nation. If every person, family, organization and nation acts correctly, the future will be bright, progressing with great results for every person.

A bit more specific: For us, the Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, what must we do and what must we confront?

We must be honourable, helping every person who is in a position of authority and power to succeed - and not to preach war against them so they may fail. The success of every leader is the success of the whole.

We must live as a true family. We must see those around us as true children or brothers and sisters. Every type of offering to the community must be generous. Open-hearted. Unstingy. Filled with joy.

In this way, we will progress in 2014 and surely we will know and rejoice in our advancement. Progress as individuals, as families, as communities.

We should not keep to ourselves. We should look a bit further. To the people who are suffering, both in Canada and all over the world. We should especially pay attention to those who suffer in our nation of Greece and our beloved Cyprus. To the Christians of the Middle East who undergo such hardships. To the sick and the elderly. To every single brother and sister who suffers. Everyone - without any exception - is a child of God. Living icons of the God-Man Christ.

From the depths of my heart, I hope and pray to wish you and yours that the Incarnate God reign in your hearts and souls. To bring them peace. Serenity. Joy. I hope that all of us, with the Grace of Christ, become vehicles of love, peace and reconciliation. I pray the New Year be blessed by God. May all of humanity become acquainted and meet the True God. May He live in the hearts and souls of all, guiding the world from success to success, glory to glory.

With fatherly love and warm wishes,
Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios of Toronto (Canada)

PATRIARCHAL AND SYNODAL ENCYCLICAL ON THE 1700th ANNIVERSARY SINCE THE EDICT OF MILAN

+ BARTHOLOMEW
By the Mercy of God Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome
and Ecumenical Patriarch
To the Plentitude of the Church: Grace and Peace from God

 “Blessed is our God, who so deemed” and orders all things for all people, who has led us to “this day of the Resurrection” when “all has been filled with light, heaven and earth alike.” This year marks the 1700th anniversary since the issue of the Edict of Milan about religious freedom. Therefore, we are communicating to the Church in all places and times in order to address a message of hope, love, peace and optimism from the most holy Apostolic and Patriarchal Ecumenical Throne in as much as the Church is the continual presence of God. “Whoever has seen the Son has seen the Father” (John 4:9), and whoever has seen the institution of the Church has seen the divine-human Lord and the Holy Spirit, who are with us. The Church is precisely such an institution in freedom. “Such is Christianity: it grants freedom to those in slavery.” (St. John Chrysostom, Homily IX on 1 Corinthians 193). As a result of the Edict of Milan, the persecutions against Church and religion, previously licit, ceased; and for the first time in human form, freedom of religious conscience was instituted in the world. However, the freedom that Christ granted us (see Gal. 5:1) is not mere “form” and “letter”. It is genuine freedom, which we are always seeking in order that all things may become “new.” Otherwise, how can we possibly expect a new heaven and a new earth? Until the time of Constantine the Great, the history of the world, namely the period of “Old Israel” before Christ, and after the divinely incarnate presence of the “New Israel,” the free expression of conscious faith is replete with problems and persecutions to the point of martyrdom by blood for the sake of truth. History recounts the persecution of individuals who shared a different perspective and faith about God from that proclaimed by the worldly authorities or the society, which they inhabited. The Old Testament refers to the world leader, King Nebuchadnezzar and the creation of a large image of his person, which he demanded that all of his subjects should worship by bowing down before it. “The three holy children” were cast into the fiery pit because they refused to worship the idle of Nebuchadnezzar. They refused to render the status of divinity to a secular ruler, which he claimed for himself. St. Solomone and the Seven Maccabean children were persecuted with martyrdom alongside their teacher Eleazar. The fiery pit publicly rejected the authority of Nebuchadnezzar and foreshadowed the mystery of our all-holy Theotokos, by rejuvenating and preserving the three children unharmed, just as the fire of divinity preserved the Virgin Theotokos. The captive children, who refused to worship the irrational and arrogant human ruler claiming the features of God, cried out aloud in the pit: “let all God’s works praise the Lord.” In so doing, they prefigured the freedom brought by the Lord, “who became as one under the law so that he might win those under the law.” (see 1 Cor. 9:20) In ancient Athens, the Philosopher Socrates was condemned to death on the charge that he accepted the gods worshipped by the city. Similarly, there are many individual persecutions recorded by the classical Greek authors about those who supported different beliefs, such as the example of the persecution of Anaxagoras of Clazomene, who claimed that the sun is a fiery rock, or Diagoras of Milos, who criticized the ancient idolatrous mysteries and discouraged citizens in these. There is not doubt that physical or ideological persecutions through the centuries, which sometimes led and continued to lead to death by martyrdom, nevertheless did not abolish religious tolerance among people, as this was formally proclaimed in the Edict of Milan. The Roman emperors had an absolutist mentality, rendering themselves leaders even of religion. Indeed, they reached the point of demanding recognition for their divine status, which required equivalent honor. The rejection of Christians of such imperial demands provoked anger in as much as it questioned imperial authority. The result anthropocentric worldview was the well-known merciless persecutions, which filled many shrines with martyrs who “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.” (Rev. 7:14) Ultimately, the persecutions against religion affirmed the words of St. John Chrysostom: “One who fights against God can never destroy good to the end; instead, such a person may perhaps not feel that he is doing something terrible at the outset of his daring act. However, if he persists in his madness he can never lay a warring hand on God, because he will never avoid the hand of the invincible God.” (To those Opposed to the Monastic Life 1, PG 47.319) Emperors Constantine the Great in the East and Licinius in the West accepted the fact that, after three centuries of harsh persecution against the Christians, religious hatred and constant oppression resulted in no benefit for the empire. Therefore, they decided to allow Christians the freedom to practice their faith and worship of God. The content of the ever-relevant Edict of Milan in the 313 AD, which reflects the will of Constantine the Great, “who understood the craft of bitter warfare,” constituted the basis of the freedom of religious conscience that was recognized many centuries later. The Edict of Milan contains advanced positions on religious freedom, expressed in thirteen sections. It institutes principles which are foreign for that period of the fourth century but which still remain principles and signposts, even if some claim that these principles can also be fully applied in a world that lies in evil and in justice, where darkness prevails instead of righteousness and light. The Edict confesses and declares: respect for the thought and will of every person to care for the divine affairs as he wills; regard and respect for the divine and freedom of choice in religious matters to Christians and all people without discrimination; the return without delay to the community of Christians, the Church and the Synod of places of worship and other assets which were seized and taken from them; and all these things in order that “the divine care, which protects us and which we have already experienced in many situations, may remain securely with us forever.” This Edict and the consequent reformations of Constantine the Great introduced to the world the concept of human rights. For the first time the above-mentioned values were established: respect of religious tolerance, freedom of expression of religious conscience – values of human life – and all such values, which comprise the basis of the relevant legislation that is valid today and the various contents of occasional declarations by international organizations and state bodies. Constantine the Great, who received his vocation from above, embraced all people, citizens and faithful, believers and unbelievers, thereby becoming a servant of the peaceful welfare and the salvation of all humanity. From his time onward, the Church of Christ transfigures institutions and regenerates the world, precisely as the burning bush on Mt. Sinai that was not consumed, the Womb that contained the uncontainable, namely Life in order that we may have life. (see John 10:10) If we carefully observe the history of the world since that time, especially today, after 1700 years from the declaration of the Edict of Milan by Constantine the Great, we sadly ascertain that the various regulations about religious freedom have unfortunately been violated on numerous occasions in the past, not only against Christians, but sometimes even by Christians themselves against their fellow Christians and against the adherence of other religions. Regretfully, when Christians became the majority within society, there were some instances of overzealous tendencies. One of the more contemptible instances of such spiteful conduct among Christians was the great schism and division of the One Church, which ignored in later generations that “Christ is not divided” (1 Cor. 1:13) and that we humans are “earth and ashes.” (Sir. 10:9) We overlooked and continue to overlook the aguish of the division of the seamless garment of the Lord, the Church, both locally and in every parish as One, Catholic, and Apostolic. Thus, as another “furnace of evil” (Prov. 16:30), we no longer enjoy love, peace, and tolerance; nor do we ask ourselves and one another the crucial question: “shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just” (Gen. 18:25) for us as well? Last century, the Orthodox Church in particular was persecuted relentlessly by the atheist regime and other states, which depended on this regime ideologically, especially in the countries of Eastern Europe. In some countries, Christians are still, to this day, treated with great disfavor, despite the fact that many international treaties have now been universally recognize the right to religious freedom. The relevant reports on religious oppressions by the appropriate international organizations are replete with specific examples of religious oppression against Christian religious minorities in particular as well as individual Christians. To this very day, unfortunately, we must emphasize that religious tolerance and freedom of worship are an achievement of civilization. There are vast regions of the world that are inhabited by people, who do not tolerate a different religious faith from theirs. Religious persecutions continue to exist, even if they do not assume the same form as persecutions of the early Christians. Various unfavorable discriminations against adherents of several religious faiths still persist and are sometimes intensely oppressive. In many cases, religious fanaticism and fundamentalism prevail, so that the Edict of Milan is still relevant in our times and addresses those people, who, despite the passing of 1700 years since its declaration, have yet to apply it completely. As we observe the journey of humanity from this sacred Center of Orthodoxy, we can freely admit that, despite the rapid progress of science and human discoveries, unfortunately the world has as a whole has not yet reached the noble concept and perception of religious freedom and that we still need a collaborative effort to achieve this goal. Nonetheless, contemporary religious persecutions against Christians once again reveal the power of faith and the grace of sanctity. Fathers, Brothers, and Children in the Risen Lord, The anniversary that we celebrate is a crucial sign. It signifies that, when man loses his unity with the Church, whose constitution lies in the Trinitarian unity, he also loses his freedom. For one loses oneself when one loses all others. Everything in the Church is illumined by the Trinitarian unity, particularly the Eucharistic sacrament, which comprises the very heart of the Church as a gift from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. If man preserves the Trinitarian unity, man is preserved as person and communion. If we preserve and experience this unity, the divine – human unity, then we preserve the unconfused and undivided unity of the two natures in Christ, which are extended to us as a blessing in the unity of truth and life, institution and grace, law and freedom. Those things that appear antithetical in fact interpenetrate without change and without alteration in accordance with the model of the Theotokos, who brought the opposites into the same. At the same time, this interpenetration reveals the constant presence at all times and in all places of Christ, divine and human, who continues to journey in the field of history with another form. He journeys with every person who struggles searches and despairs not in order to grant “magical solutions” as some sensory narcotic but in order to open his eyes, grant new senses and lift him toward heaven, while bringing down to earth the Holy Spirit which enters our earthly knead as a Trinitarian leaven. No human institution, even if labeled ecclesiastical, can contain, tolerate, and satisfy the man, who breathe God within and desires what lies beyond, namely ongoing perfection in Christ. Nor is it possible for such a man to be satisfied with any promise or worldly perspective when he thirsts for the inconceivable and humanly inaccessible. All human existence cries “No!” to every secular institution, which supposedly claims that it leads to the mystery of life and salvation. Every mechanical and seemingly “good” spiritual institution is “only” ready is frail, dissolved and non-existent. Therefore, the Lord, who knows all things and guides human hearts, came to shatter these “prisons” so he was persecuted and continues to be persecuted. However, in the end He was victorious in His Resurrection. He destroyed deceit. He overthrew the bankers’ tables and the merchants’ benches, namely those who had converted God’s temple into “a house of commerce.” (John 2:17) He liberated humanity from the “curse” of the law. (Gal. 3:13) Through His descent into hades, “chains were broken, gates were shattered, tombs were open, and the dead were brought to life.” (Aposticha, Great Vespers, Holy Friday) Thus, all those who were “dead” from love, freedom, human rights, faith, hope, expectation, light, righteousness, truth, life, passed over into light: “and none was left dead and buried.” (Catechetical Homily of St. John Chrysostom) And thus was constituted the holy Church, which through the ages, the martyrs, the ascetics and the righteous, despite persecutions and human temptations, is no “prison,” but freedom and, like death, powerful love. As the herald of this truth through the centuries, the Church is the continuation and consequence of the womb of another Mother, “wider than the heavens,” which gives birth to freedom. Thanks to the Church, all of us are children of the free woman (Gal. 4:31), children of freedom, which is acquired through obedience to the divine truth and love. If human institutions are afraid of human freedom, either dispelling, or disregarding, or even abolishing it, the institution of the Church, generates free persons in the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit constitutes the entire institution of the Church in as much as it “breathes where it wills but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) The indefinable nature of freedom is the rock of our faith. The Wisdom of God, the Lady Theotokos our Pammakaristos and Conciliation, St. Demetrios Kanavis, St. George the Trophy-bearer of the Phanar, and all the saints of our Church are not keepers of the law but legislators according to St. Symeon the New Theologian. The institution of the Church is charismatic, and the charismata of the saints function as institutional signposts for the faithful of the Church. One can truly and experientially say that charismatics do not exist but in fact become and are continually born for charisma is not granted as a static quality, but as a blessing, which is granted perpetually. Charismatics are those who are truly free because they are aware of the ultimate weakness of humanity and goodness of God. Such is the teaching that has trickled down to us from the Edict of Saint Constantine. Those who see everyone else good and pure, regarding themselves as being “beneath all creation,” possess the grace of compunction and humility. They recognize the gifts of inner rest and illumination, they regard nothing as their own achievement, nor do they exploit any opportunity to expand their “authority” by “undermining” others, namely by limiting the freedom of others. The saints marvel at God’s ineffable love and spontaneously return this love directly to the Giver of al gifts. This is precisely what renders the saints worthy of continually receiving gifts that are new, greater, spotless, spiritual, a blessing for all creation, general achievements. In turn, they continue to reserve to have no high regard for themselves. Their highest regard is God. As soon as they become aware that the world honors them, the saints are surprised, worry, and withdraw. They retire behind the curtain of feigned foolishness or ignorance, which in fact is true freedom. They are comfortable because they live, follow, and contribute to the flow of divine blood and grace within the body of the Church community. Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, Human rights and the freedom of religious conscience are gifts which were “once given to the saints” (Jude 1:3), but which are constantly acquired along the journey of life. They are acquired through the experience of communion in Christ within the harmonious cosmic liturgy. We have been talking for 1700 years about the freedom of human conscience. However, the Orthodox Church always – and particularly in the recent years of global changes within the last tragic century – foresees and discerns in its entirety the “prevalence in the world of peace, righteousness, freedom, fraternity and love among all peoples, and the elimination of all racial and other distinctions,” as would be decided by the coming Holy and Great Synod. These sacred gifts are experienced through grace in the Divine Liturgy, where the creation of the world is revealed. It is humanly impossible to comprehend the magnitude of our freedom because we do not respect human beings as the image of God. And if we do not love our neighbor, we do not truly love God. In this world, people naively imagine that “all things are fluid and nothing is permanent and it is not possible to cross the same river twice” (Heraclitus), namely that all things come and go and are forgotten, while human stones and graves cover them. The Lord granted us the mystery of memory in freedom, when he proclaimed that “nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered” (Luke 12:2) and that all things culminate in the truth of freedom in Him and in the sense of doxological gratitude “for all that we know and do not know.”
Therefore, beyond external differences and distances, beyond worldly changes and exchanges, beyond the “rational” West and East, from the creation of the world we have seen God’s love, which dispels the falsehood of deceit like an irruption in silence, granting us the truth of life as a blessing of freedom and unity, as a journey of surprises leading to the endless journey toward Pascha, which is Jesus Christ Himself. “It was no messenger or angel but His presence that saved” (Is. 63:9) us in freedom and for freedom. He is with us after His ascension, “neither separated nor distant from us.” (Kontakion of the Feast of the Ascension) He stands beside us even when it appears that He abandoned us. Finally, He grants us the assurance that He is always present manifesting His glory in love and kenosis, depicted in icons as the king of glory in His resurrection, delivering Adam and Eve from hell, even while hanging peacefully on the wood of the Cross in ultimate humiliation. “Great are you, O Lord, and wondrous are your works, and no word suffices to Hymn your wonders.” In any case, “every hymn is inadequate, hastening to describe the multitude of Christ’s great compassion.” Our Modesty, together with our brothers in the Holy Spirit and concelebrants in the Lord, stand before the “empty tomb” with the myrrh-bearing women and behold that “the stone has been moved.” We witness in ecstasy and awe the Risen Lord, who trampled down death by death, liberating us from the bonds of flesh and consuming hades, while granting us life. Thus, on the occasion of our commemoration of the granting to Christians of the right to freedom of faith and worship, from this sacred Center of Orthodoxy, which has served in captivity the true freedom of humanity in Christ and of the ecclesiastical body, we express our intense concern, anxiety and protest for the ongoing persecutions throughout the world. In particular, today we fervently pray for the Christian populations of the geographical regions of the Middle East, who experience frequent murders, kidnappings, persecutions and threats, which have culminated in the kidnapping of two brother Hierarchs, whose whereabouts are still unknown, namely the distinguished and most reverend Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo, well-known for his spirituality and significant ecclesiastical, social and educational ministry, as well as the Syrian Jacobite Metropolitan Yohanna Ibrahim of Aleppo. We wholeheartedly share in the pain, sorrow and challenges faced by Christians in the Middle East and Egypt, and especially in the ancient and senior Patriarchate of Antioch. Beyond any political stance, we categorically condemn once again the use of all forms of violence, appealing to the rulers of this world to respect the fundamental human rights of life, honor, dignity and property, recognizing and praising the peaceful lifestyle of Christians as well as their constant effort to remain far from turmoil and trouble. We express our concern as the Church of Constantinople that, 1700 years after the issue of the Edict of Milan, people continue to be persecuted for their faith, religion and conscientious choices. The Ecumenical Patriarchate will never cease, through all the spiritual means and truth at its disposal, to support the efforts for peaceful dialogue among the various religions, the peaceful solution to every difference, and a prevailing atmosphere of toleration, reconciliation and cooperation among all people irrespective of religion and grace. In condemning every form of violence as contrary to religion, we proclaim from the Ecumenical Patriarchate that truly great is “the mystery of our religion; God was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among gentiles, believed in the world, taken up in glory” (1 Tim. 3:16), governs the world and the affairs of the world in accordance with His incomprehensible will and judgment, and will come again in glory as the righteous judge of the entire world. To Him be glory, might, power, honor, worship, and the kingdom to the endless ages of ages. Amen. In the year of the Lord 2013, May 19.
Your fervent supplicant to God, + Bartholomew of Constantinople
+ Athanasios of Chalcedon, co-supplicant
+ Apostolos of Derkoi, co-supplicant
+ Evangelos of Perghe, co-supplicant
+ Germanos of Theodoroupolis, co-supplicant
+ Irenaios of Myriophyton and Peristasis, co-supplicant
+ Chrysostomos of Myra, co-supplicant
+ Gennadios of Sassima, co-supplicant
+ Evangelos of New Jersey, co-supplicant
+ Kyrillos of Rhodes, co-supplicant
+ Damaskinos of Kydonia and Apokoronos, co-supplicant
+ Constantine of Singapore, co-supplicant
+ Arsenios of Austria, co-supplicant

ENCYCLICAL LETTER CARITAS IN VERITATE OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS PRIESTS AND DEACONS MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS THE LAY FAITHFUL AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL ON INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN CHARITY AND TRUTH

CONCLUSION

78. Without God man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is. In the face of the enormous problems surrounding the development of peoples, which almost make us yield to discouragement, we find solace in the sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ, who teaches us: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5) and then encourages us: “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20). As we contemplate the vast amount of work to be done, we are sustained by our faith that God is present alongside those who come together in his name to work for justice. Paul VI recalled in Populorum Progressio that man cannot bring about his own progress unaided, because by himself he cannot establish an authentic humanism. Only if we are aware of our calling, as individuals and as a community, to be part of God's family as his sons and daughters, will we be able to generate a new vision and muster new energy in the service of a truly integral humanism. The greatest service to development, then, is a Christian humanism[157] that enkindles charity and takes its lead from truth, accepting both as a lasting gift from God. Openness to God makes us open towards our brothers and sisters and towards an understanding of life as a joyful task to be accomplished in a spirit of solidarity. On the other hand, ideological rejection of God and an atheism of indifference, oblivious to the Creator and at risk of becoming equally oblivious to human values, constitute some of the chief obstacles to development today. A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism. Only a humanism open to the Absolute can guide us in the promotion and building of forms of social and civic life — structures, institutions, culture and ethos — without exposing us to the risk of becoming ensnared by the fashions of the moment. Awareness of God's undying love sustains us in our laborious and stimulating work for justice and the development of peoples, amid successes and failures, in the ceaseless pursuit of a just ordering of human affairs. God's love calls us to move beyond the limited and the ephemeral, it gives us the courage to continue seeking and working for the benefit of all, even if this cannot be achieved immediately and if what we are able to achieve, alongside political authorities and those working in the field of economics, is always less than we might wish[158]. God gives us the strength to fight and to suffer for love of the common good, because he is our All, our greatest hope.

79. Development needs Christians with their arms raised towards God in prayer, Christians moved by the knowledge that truth-filled love, caritas in veritate, from which authentic development proceeds, is not produced by us, but given to us. For this reason, even in the most difficult and complex times, besides recognizing what is happening, we must above all else turn to God's love. Development requires attention to the spiritual life, a serious consideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in Christ, reliance upon God's providence and mercy, love and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace. All this is essential if “hearts of stone” are to be transformed into “hearts of flesh” (Ezek 36:26), rendering life on earth “divine” and thus more worthy of humanity. All this is of man, because man is the subject of his own existence; and at the same time it is of God, because God is at the beginning and end of all that is good, all that leads to salvation: “the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's” (1 Cor 3:22-23). Christians long for the entire human family to call upon God as “Our Father!” In union with the only-begotten Son, may all people learn to pray to the Father and to ask him, in the words that Jesus himself taught us, for the grace to glorify him by living according to his will, to receive the daily bread that we need, to be understanding and generous towards our debtors, not to be tempted beyond our limits, and to be delivered from evil (cf. Mt 6:9-13).

At the conclusion of the Pauline Year, I gladly express this hope in the Apostle's own words, taken from the Letter to the Romans: “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honour” (Rom 12:9-10). May the Virgin Mary — proclaimed Mater Ecclesiae by Paul VI and honoured by Christians as Speculum Iustitiae and Regina Pacis — protect us and obtain for us, through her heavenly intercession, the strength, hope and joy necessary to continue to dedicate ourselves with generosity to the task of bringing about the “development of the whole man and of all men”[159].

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 29 June, the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in the year 2009, the fifth of my Pontificate.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI