Archbishop Eugenios of Crete has issued his Encyclical for Christmas 2025, addressing a paternal message of hope, faith, and responsibility to the fullness of the Church.
At the outset of his message, the Archbishop notes that “once again today, my beloved children, Christmas is celebrated in our Holy Church, in Her God-receiving Cave, and in the hearts of us all,” where the faithful experience “the miracle of the Divine Incarnation” and the possibility of becoming “heirs of eternal life.” Christ, he emphasizes, “is born and rises for the world as the light of knowledge.”
Quoting Saint Justin Popović, Archbishop Eugenios underlines that Christ “was born on earth as a man in order to explain to us our own birth,” for “God became man so that man might become god.” Through the Nativity of the Savior, “the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily within our human world,” enabling humanity to fulfill the ultimate purpose of its existence.
The Incarnation of Christ, the Archbishop explains, granted human beings the opportunity to return “to the paternal home of God the Father,” from which they had departed “through their own fault,” thus falling into “merciless loneliness and orphanhood.”
Christmas, he continues, offers “hope and strength” for the daily struggle of life, through which humanity journeys “from corruptible and limited time toward eternity.” The Incarnation of Christ “gives value to time,” transforming it into preparation for eternal life, which is already “foretasted in this earthly existence.”
Citing the great Greek writer and theologian Fotis Kontoglou, Archbishop Eugenios recalls that the Nativity of Christ remains “utterly incomprehensible to our intellect,” for “God descended among us as an ordinary man, indeed as poorer than the poor.” Yet this “incomprehensible but true” mystery reveals the profound truth that “God became man in order to make man god.”
The Archbishop stresses that Christ enters “the present moment of the world, among us,” in order to offer answers to “the most difficult problems of our society.” He calls upon every person to offer Christ their trust, overcoming obstacles, passions, and weaknesses.
Special emphasis is placed on the responsibility of the faithful to safeguard “the values of justice, reconciliation, unity, freedom, mutual respect, and concord,” to respect “the divine right of every human being to life,” and to work for “peace on earth,” beginning with sincere self-examination.
In conclusion, Archbishop Eugenios invites all to accept “with longing and joy the presence of God in our lives” and to respond “with wholehearted gratitude, sincere repentance, and acceptance of His saving call.”
He prays that the Holy Twelve Days of Christmas may be lived “in spiritual joy,” so that “the joy and peace of Christmas may prevail in our hearts and throughout the world,” offering his paternal wish for “many years filled with gladness and divine blessing.”
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
