Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, my dear parishioners,
Standing at the Bethlehem cave and before the cradle of the Newborn, yet The One Who has been reborn again and again throughout the history, Godchild Christ, and standing at the beginning of the New Year of His mercy 2021, I invoke God’s abundant gifts upon you, your families and close ones, wishing you health, prosperity and everything beneficial for your salvation, from Him, Who is The Only One, Who generously distributes all of the earthly and heavenly treasures.
At the same time, I remind you that New Year is new hope and chance given to us by God, so we can improve our lives, become better people, better Orthodox Christians than we were in the last year. Every single day is a gift from God but also a sign of His hope in us, hope that we will transform our lives for the better, return to Him and His Path that leads to the Heavenly Kingdom. This is the same path bravely chosen and safeguarded by our forefathers and mothers, The Path on which they earned their crowns of glory, eternal memory, and Life everlasting.
Rejoicing to the birth of our Savior, our Mother Church exploits this glorious Feast and occasion to call upon us to remember our close ones, our families, our relatives, friends, and even those of whom we, in our sinful and earthly judgments, think as our adversaries or opponents, and to offer to all of them our Christian love, help, and support. This great Feast of Nativity is, also, a great occasion for us to remember our Mother Orthodox Church, the Church of Saint Sava and to rededicate ourselves to Her.
Through our Lord, God-man Christ, in Whom heaven and earth met, and through His salvific mission, God came to peace with His Prodigal son (humankind) and this Glorious event and Feast of the Christ’s Nativity serves also as a reminder that we too are to “forgive to those who trespass against us” and to come to peace with them, regardless of our verdicts who “the guilty one” is.
The year behind us was a year of great temptations and sufferings of the whole of mankind due to the Coron Virus Pandemic. However, our parish remained united, strong in prayers and mutual care, and steadfast. That is what is truly important! We will overcome all other challenges.
Precisely because of the mentioned pandemic, as well as in love and care for the health and well-being of all our parishioners and the wider community, this year we must change our traditional liturgical order and Christmas tradition a little. You can find all the changes in the attached service schedule.
Finally, in hopes that the year ahead will be filled with the health and grace of God, which we will be proven worthy of, I greet you with a joyful Christmas greeting:
PEACE FROM GOD – CHRIST IS BORN! – TRULY HE IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!
Your intercessor before the cradle of the newly born Godchild Christ,
ProtoPresbyter Predrag Bojovic
