SOUTH AMERICAN DIOCESE: January 10, 2023
Nativity Epistle of Bishop John of Caracas and South America

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will among men!

Brothers and Sisters, dear Christians,

Over two thousand years have passed since angelic voices proclaimed these divine words over the fields of Bethlehem, announcing the glad tidings of the birth of the Saviour of mankind, the Prince of Peace, Whom we had awaited through the ages, from the very time of our catastrophic fall.

Today, two thousand years later, where on earth is this peace that they proclaimed? Where do we see good will among men? Instead of angelic voices from heaven, the voice of our brothers’ blood  crieth unto heaven from the ground (Gen. 4:10), bearing witness that we have cast Christ out of our existence, out of our lives. Instead of Christ, our life, on a personal level, is ruled by selfish egotism, and on the larger scale, by chauvinistic nationalism. The place of Christ’s eternal Gospel is usurped by mere transient interests and convictions, whether personal, social, political or national. Our actions are directed not by God’s commandments,  but rather by principles of strategy and retribution.
         
Are we to seek refuge in the mark of Cain, with its promise of seven fold vengeance, or in the Cross of Christ?

Dear brothers and sisters, let each of us individually, and all of us collectively, as Christians that carry Christ’s name, receive the newly born King  into our heart, to reign there alone and exclusively. Let us serve the Prince of Peace, and not the princes of this world. Let us direct our steps never to waver from Christ’s Gospel. Then shall we see that peace and that good will, which the angels proclaim on high, within ourselves and on earth.

God’s peace! Christ is born! Do we glorify Him?

John, Bishop of Caracas and South America