The Orthodox Church celebrates each year on December 25th the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, commonly known as Christmas.
On this great feast day, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, presided the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest. Together with His Beatitude concelebrated His Grace Timotei of Prahova, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest, and His Grace Qais of Erzurum, Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch of Antioch, surrounded by an assembly of priests and deacons.
In his sermon, delivered after the gospel reading, the Romanian Patriarch said that God becomes a man in order to raise the man to the eternal life and celestial glory. His Beatitude also emphasised the fact that our purpose is to glorify God in our lives, by our words, our thoughts and our deeds.
The Romanian Patriarch also explained the symbolism of the gifts received by the Child Jesus from the Magi.
The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church emphasised the fact that the Nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ shows our calling to sanctify our life through prayer and through all our activities that we carry out under the blessing of God.
Finally, His Beatitude wished many years in good healthand with joy to everyone.
The Nicolae Lungu Choir of the Romanian Patriarchate, conducted by Rev. Fr Stelian Ionaşcu, offered the liturgical answers.
The faithful present at the Divine Liturgy received the Christmas Pastoral Letter of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and a small icon depicting the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
After the Divine Liturgy, the members of the Nicolae Lungu Choir sang carols to the Romanian Patriarch.
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