Epistle of the Synod of Bishops, 1
NEW YORK: 9th December, 2005
DEAR IN THE LORD, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters!
“Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 1:7). With these words did the Apostles greet the Christians of old, in person or in writing. With these words, too, we, the bearers of Apostolic grace, make bold to greet all of you during these days of the Nativity Fast and the feast day of the Entrance into the Temple of the Most-Holy Theotokos.
Great are these words, great in their importance and meaning. The Apostles used them to show where the true good for mankind lies, and expressed the wish that the members of the Church of Christ would receive it. Man strives towards good, tries to find it, but most often seeks it not where he should. So through these words, the Apostles clearly pointed out the path leading to the desired good to the ancient Christians. Our true joy is found only in the spiritual world; it is only by possessing a clear, calm conscience before God and our neighbour that we can be truly happy. It is never too late to obtain this joy, this inner peace; we must only pray to God with our hearts, bring Him genuine repentance for our sins and firmly decide to begin a new life, a life in the Church.
From the accounts of the holy events of the Entrance into the Temple of the Most-Holy Mother of God we see that this is a celebration of churchliness, for the holy Joachim and Anna brought the Most-Blessed Virgin to the Temple, where she laboured for eleven years in prayer, attending divine services, reading Holy Scripture, performing handiwork, etc. Through her presence and her service to God at the Temple of Jerusalem, the Most-Holy Theotokos gave us the example of churchliness, of love for the temple. Genuine churchliness brought her towards her lofty appointment — she became the Mother of the Living God, Who became Living Man out of love for us, who had turned away from Him.
