HIS BEATITUDE GREETINGS TO THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY ON THE OCCASION OF THE ARMENIAN FEAST OF THE NATIVITY.
21 January 2015
Your Beatitude,
Your Eminences,
Your Graces,
Beloved Members of our Brotherhoods.
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
We greet you, Your Beatitude, the Brotherhood of Saint James and your entire community in the Holy Land ad you celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this holy season, Christians everywhere are united in the mystery of the Word made flesh, the Incarnate Logos of God, whose birth in the cave at Bethlehem ushers in the new age in which humanity has been reconciled to God.
As we greet you, Your Beatitude, on this happy feast, we are keenly aware that this New Year brings in its train a tragic anniversary for the Armenian people. The genocide that the Armenian people suffered a century ago remains a terrible stain on human history and we remember especially all those who fled the terror and made their way to the Armenian community in the Holy Land, where they found refuge, safety and a new life. We assure you and your people that we shall be keeping you in our prayers as the centenary unfolds and especially in April when the commemorations around the world will be focused on who suffered and lost their homes, families and lives in this act man’s inhumanity to man.
We live in a world in which, even now, many different ethnic, religious, and cultural groups and communities continue to suffer persecution, violence, and even annihilation. The centenary of the Armenian Genocide, as well as the plight of many in our region today, are stark reminders that we must ever be vigilant in opposing in the strongest possible terms an at every opportunity acts of terrorism, violence, and degradation.
Our mission as those to whom the guardianship and the diakonia of the Holy Places has been entrusted is to ensure that all people without distinction are welcomed and cared for when they come for spiritual refreshment. The dialogue between our communities must always be of the highest caliber and commitment so that the world may see the fruits of our mission clearly. Our relationships with those who seek to help and support us both in this region and around the world are also the deepest importance.
As we rejoice together in this holy season, may God bless you, Your Beatitude in your primatial ministry and may God bless the Brotherhood of Saint James and the people of the Armenian community of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. We wish you a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
His Beatitude
THEOPHILOS III
Patriarch of Jerusalem