Ο Μητροπολίτης Σουηδίας για τα Χριστούγεννα 2025

Christmas Pastoral Encyclical 2025

To the Clergy and the Faithful of the Holy Metropolis of Sweden and All Scandinavia
 
Dearly Beloved Brothers & Sisters in the Incarnate Lord,
 
As we approach the radiant Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, the Church once again invites us to contemplate the great and ineffable mystery of the Incarnation.
The eternal Word of God, through Whom all things were made, humbles Himself, assumes our human nature, and is born in a cave, laid in a manger, and welcomed by the poor and the lowly. Heaven and earth are united. God becomes man, so that humanity may be restored and healed.
Yet we celebrate this salvific event in a world marked by deep wounds and profound suffering. Our generation bears witness to wars that devastate entire nations, violence that uproots families, and conflicts that claim innocent lives.
We see the scandal of human trafficking, where men, women, and children are reduced to commodities. We encounter crushing poverty, economic injustice, forced migration, loneliness, and despair.
Creation itself groans under the weight of exploitation and neglect. These realities confront our conscience and challenge our faith.
The Nativity of Christ is God’s decisive intervention in the brokenness of human history. The Son of God enters precisely into a world of fear, injustice, and pain. He does not come with worldly power, but in humility, revealing that true strength is found in sacrificial love.
Saint Athanasios the Great teaches us that the Word became flesh “that we might become by grace what He is by nature.” In Christ’s birth, humanity is offered transformation.
In the face of wars and violence, the newborn Christ reveals Himself as the Prince of Peace. His peace is not the absence of conflict alone, but the restoration of the true relationship between God and humanity, and among human beings themselves.
In the face of exploitation and human trafficking, Christ affirms the infinite dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God.
In the face of poverty and exclusion, He identifies Himself with the poor, having no place to lay His head even from His birth.
Saint John Chrysostom teaches us that we cannot honor Christ in the altar while neglecting Him in the suffering neighbor.
We are called to be witnesses of hope in a world tempted by despair, to be peacemakers where hatred prevails, to protect the vulnerable, to speak for those who have no voice, and to practice mercy, generosity, and solidarity. The love revealed in the cave of Bethlehem must be made visible through our concrete acts of faith and love.
For the faithful of the Holy Metropolis of Sweden and All Scandinavia, living in societies marked by both prosperity and spiritual challenges, this calling is especially urgent. The Incarnate Christ invites us to resist indifference, to cultivate compassion, and to bear living witness to the Gospel in a pluralistic and often secular environment.
Saint Maximus the Confessor reiterates to us that love for God is inseparable from love for our neighbor. Our fidelity to Christ is measured by how we reflect His self-emptying love in the world.
May the Divine Child born in the cave grant peace to the world, comfort to those who suffer, justice to the oppressed, and salvation to our souls.
I convey my paternal love and heartfelt wishes in the Incarnate Lord for a blessed, peaceful, and grace-filled Christmas and a healthy New Year.
 
† Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia
 

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Χριστουγεννιάτικη Ποιμαντορική Εγκύκλιος 2025
διά την Εορτήν της κατά Σάρκα Γεννήσεως του Κυρίου ημών Ιησού Χριστού

 
Ἀγαπητοί μου Ἀδελφοί καὶ τέκνα ἐν Κυρίῳ,
 
«Χριστὸς γεννᾶται, δοξάσατε·
Χριστὸς ἐξ οὐρανῶν, ἀπαντήσατε·
Χριστὸς ἐπὶ γῆς, ὑψώθητε».
 
Με τὴν ἀνεκλάλητη χαρὰ τῆς ἁγίας ταύτης νυκτὸς, ἡ Ἐκκλησία ἀνοίγει τὴν μητρικὴν ἀγκαλιὰ της καὶ κηρύσσει πάλιν στὸν κόσμο τὸ μέγα μυστήριον τῆς Θείας Οἰκονομίας: ὁ Ἄναρχος γίνεται ἄνθρωπος, ὁ Ἀχώρητος χωρεῖται, ὁ Δημιουργὸς καταδέχεται τὴν κτίση Του, «ἵνα ἡμεῖς θεοποιηθῶμεν» κατά τὸν Ἅγιον Ἀθανάσιον.
Στὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Γεννηθέντος ἐν Βηθλεὲμ, βλέπουμε τὸ φῶς ποὺ διαλύει τὰ σκοτάδια κάθε ἐποχῆς. Ὅπως διδάσκει ὁ Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, «ἡ φάτνη γίνεται θρόνος, καὶ ἡ Παρθένος βασιλικὸν κάθισμα». Ἐκεῖ ὅπου ὁ κόσμος βλέπει ἀδυναμία, ὁ Θεὸς φανερώνει τὴν δύναμη τῆς ἀγάπης Του.
Ζοῦμε, ὅμως, σὲ μιὰ σύγχρονη πραγματικότητα πληγωμένη. Πόλεμοι συνεχίζονται, ἀθώοι χάνουν τὴν ζωή τους, λαοὶ ξεριζώνονται. Ἡ φτώχεια καὶ ἡ ἀνισότητα βαθαίνουν, ἐνῶ ἀρρώστιες σωματικὲς καὶ ψυχικὲς δοκιμάζουν τὸν ἄνθρωπο. Ἡ τεχνολογικὴ πρόοδος δὲν συνοδεύεται πάντοτε ἀπὸ πνευματική πρόοδο.
Μέσα σὲ αὐτὴ τὴν πραγματικότητα, τὸ Χριστουγεννιάτικο μήνυμα δὲν εἶναι φυγὴ, ἀλλὰ πρόσκληση μεταμορφώσεως. Ὁ Μέγας Βασίλειος μᾶς ὑπενθυμίζει ὅτι «οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν σωτηρία ἄνευ τοῦ πλησίον».
Ἡ ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Χριστοῦ μᾶς καλεί νὰ δούμε στὸ πρόσωπο κάθε ἀνθρώπου, καὶ μάλιστα τοῦ πτωχοῦ, τοῦ πρόσφυγος, τοῦ ἀσθενοῦς, τήν εἰκόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὁ Ἅγιος Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητὴς διδάσκει ὅτι ἡ εἰρήνη τῆς καρδίας εἶναι καρπὸς τῆς ἑνώσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μὲ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Χωρὶς αὐτὴν τὴν ἐσωτερικὴ μεταστροφή, καμμία ἐξωτερικὴ εἰρήνη δὲν μπορεῖ νὰ στερεωθεῖ.
Γι’ αὐτὸ καὶ προσευχόμαστε, ἰδιαιτέρως τὴν ἁγία αὐτὴ περίοδο, νὰ σιωπήσουν τὰ ὅπλα καὶ νὰ ἀκουστεῖ τὸ «ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη».
Προσευχόμαστε γιὰ τοὺς ἡγέτες τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὥστε νὰ ἐμπνευσθοῦν ἀπὸ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ νὰ ἐργασθοῦν γιὰ τὴν συμφιλίωση.
Προσευχόμαστε γιὰ ὅσους πάσχουν ἀπὸ ἀρρώστιες, γιὰ τοὺς ἰατροὺς καὶ τοὺς νοσηλευτές, καὶ γιὰ ὅλους ἐκεῖνους ποὺ ἀγωνίζονται καθημερινὰ γιὰ τὴν ἀνακούφιση τοῦ ἀνθρώπινου πόνου.
Ἡ Γέννησις τοῦ Χριστοῦ μᾶς καλεί νὰ γίνουμε καὶ ἐμεῖς φορεῖς φωτός. Στὴν οἰκογένεια, στὴν ἐργασία, στὴν κοινωνία, νὰ μαρτυροῦμε ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη εἶναι δυνατότερη ἀπὸ τὸ μῖσος καὶ ἡ ἐλπίδα ἀπὸ τὴν ἀπελπισία.
«Ἡ ἀγάπη τὸν Θεὸν ἐμφανίζει», λέγει ὁ Ἅγιος Ἰσαάκ ὁ Σύρος, καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ ἀγάπη εἶναι τὸ πιὸ πειστικὸ κήρυγμα στὸν σύγχρονο κόσμο.
Εὔχομαι ὁ Γεννηθεὶς Κύριος νὰ εὐλογήσει τὴν νέα χρονιά, νὰ χαρίσει εἰρήνη στὸν κόσμο, δύναμη στοὺς δοκιμαζομένους, μετάνοια καὶ φῶς στὶς καρδιές ὅλων μας.
Εἴθε τὸ νέον ἒτος 2026 ἔτος νὰ γίνει καιρὸς συμφιλιώσεως, ἀλληλεγγύης καὶ ἀληθινῆς χαρᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ.
Εὒχομαι ὁλοψύχως εὐλογημένα Χριστούγεννα καὶ εἰρηνικὸ τὸ Νέον Ἔτος, με ὑγεία κατ᾽ ἂμφω.
 
Μετὰ πατρικῆς ἀγάπης καὶ ἐγκαρδίων εὐχῶν ἐν Κυρίῳ Τεχθέντι.
 
† ὁ Μητροπολίτης Σουηδίας καί πάσης Σκανδιναυΐας Κλεόπας