Metropolitan Emmanuel of France officiated the Divine Liturgy at the Metropolitan Church of St. Stephen in Paris on Sunday, December 6.
In his sermon, the Metropolitan spoke about the aspects of Christian love in the Orthodox Church, a love that transcends the limits of formal laws, as is observed in religions and religious teachings. “This is because Christ came to set us free from religion and to establish the Church. However, the hypocrisy we see in today’s pericope has no place in the Church because the Church is the Body of Christ, a divine-human organism, a communion of God and men, a meeting of Heaven and earth, as Saint Ioannis Chrysostomos writes,” stressed the Metropolitan.
The Metropolitan of France emphasized that Christ came to complete the law and not to abolish it. “He came out of infinite love for the fallen man and through his sacrifice he redeemed the humankind. The Church is, therefore, not a dead body but a way of salvation. All the saints, including St. Nicholas we celebrate today, lived as living and active members of the church community. They worked hard for the good of the Church. Something we all have to do as imitators of the saints. This, after all, is the way we honor the Saints, imitating their life and faith,” said the Metropolitan.
Finally, the Metropolitan of France wished that this period of Lent be for each of us a period of change and preparation for the reception of the Savior Christ in our hearts.