Here once again is the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4), here our Lord is visiting us as a newborn child, the Christ Child, to gather us to Himself and to lead us to His Father, and our Heavenly Father, as his brethren, children of God.

  With our ancestors and their and their refusal of love toward the Creator, in the nature of creation sin reigned (Romans 5:7), and through sin death has enslaved us. But, God our Creator does not cease to love us.

  This is why He is coming - to free us from this slavery and to reconcile us with God and to open to us the door of salvation under the protection of God. (The Epistle for Christmas)

  When the angel of the Lord visited the Mother of God, the Most Holy Theotokos, and announced to her the joyful tidings of the Birth of God through her virginal womb, she in humility replied, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord" (Luke 1:38). By this, she who is "more honourable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim", has shown us that humility and obedience is the way to welcome the King of Heaven and Earth.

  "Heaven brings you the stars, the shepherds he manger, the angels a hymn, the Wise Me gifts..." And what do we give Thee as our gift, O Lord, asks the God-inspired poet? (Hymn for Christmas from the Menaion). Behold, the human race gives the Lord its most beautiful flower - the Immaculate Virgin, the Mother of Him Who is "fairer than the sons of men" (Ps. 45:2). Let each one of us individually, my dear Spiritual Children, entrusted to me by the Lord (2 Peter 5:2), ask himself what is he prepared to give to the Lord. The Newborn little God, affectionately known by our people as "Bozic" or "Little God" will rejoice if He finds people, His dearest creation, living in brotherhood coming from hearts full of warmth and love. Let us bring to Him our gift of brotherly love and humility.

  I greet you, my dear children, with the joy of Christmas and I am joyful because of the multitude of encouraging and lovely happenings which the Merciful Lord has given us in the past months. In the first place I am thinking of the encouraging changes in our Fatherland. After so many painful and difficult decades, and the unfortunate past 10 years, a new hope is being born among our people that we, with God's help and the wise leadership of our temporal and spiritual leaders, we will outlast the difficulties and experience a fresher and more joyous morning.

  In this field, entrusted to us by the Lord, God has blessed and strengthend our efforts and desires in such a manner that this field, entrusted to us by the Lord, has brought forth much fruit. This Monastery, which we have erected unto the Lord, has become a beehive of your activity, my dear members of the Diocese. Like methodical bees, from all parts of my vast diocese, you bring your fruits to this beehive. Thus our spiritual centre has become like a warm spiritual corner for all of us, like our own piece of earth which belongs to all of us.

  We are joyful because the rest of our Orthodox brethren have highly acclaimed our efforts and have honoured our household by the largest gathering of Orthodox Christians in this land.

  We believe that the Lord will further support our efforts. I believe in you, my diocesan members, and that you will continue to show your love and your confidence towards your Church.

  In this joy and hope for good and God's blessings, once again, with all my heart, I greet you with the greeting:

PEACE OF GOD! CHRIST IS BORN!

Wishing you every good thing, health and success from the Newborn Lord
Your intercessor before the Christ Child,

Serbian Othodox Bishop of Canada - Georgije