NEW YORK: 5 January 2026
Nativity Epistle of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

Most Reverend Brother Archpastors, Venerable Fathers, Monastics, Brothers and Sisters!

Peace be with you from the Abode of the Miracle-Working Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God “of the Sign!”

I warmly greet you all with love on the great holidays of the Nativity of Christ, Theophany, and the New Year, sincerely wishing you inner peace, joy, and tranquility, renewal of all your strength, and God's help! May the fruit you have gained from the past Advent, fasting, and this joyful celebration continue until the Great Fast and the Pascha of Christ, when, as during the Holy Days, being in the church becomes so delightful that you do not want to leave it.

For every Christian, the feast of the Nativity of Christ is beloved and joyful. Throughout the world on this day, people remember the Star of Bethlehem and the manger, the shepherds and angels, the Mother of God and Righteous Joseph the Betrothed, while the Orthodox celebrate, confessing the cornerstone of faith—the Incarnation of Christ, the manifestation of God in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). Out of His greatest love, the Lord descended to be born of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, uniting fallen humanity with God through Himself. "The Word became flesh so that we might be renewed and divinized in Him," says St. Athanasius the Great.

The Church of Christ and the Divine Liturgy performed within it are the extension or continuation of the Incarnation. Only in the Church, through participation in the Holy Mysteries of Christ, is the new life possible for which the Son of God came to earth. The Church is inhabited by Divine powers that guide a person toward perfection and draw him closer to God. And the perfection of the individual in the Church brings happiness and bliss. "In the Liturgy is all our strength," says the Righteous John of Kronstadt.

Therefore, I wish for everyone to live for God, remaining in the light of Divine love, and not for this world. The Lord sanctifies our world and each of us. We hear joyful words at the Great Compline: "And if I put my hope in Him, it will be for my sanctification: For God is with us" and "The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light: For God is with us." Let us take advantage of this greatest gift so that, uniting with God both spiritually and physically, we may be strengthened in spirit and established in faith!

As we enter the New Year 2026, I address you on behalf of our episcopate with a call to support, with your prayers and all the means at your disposal, the upcoming Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. God willing, the Council will be held in Munich from April 29 to May 5 of 2026 and, as we hope and believe, will serve as a vivid testimony of unity, fraternal love, and the creative inspiration of our archpastors.

Taking this opportunity, I sincerely thank all the benefactors of our Synodal Residence in New York for the generous help provided in the matter of its restoration. Thanks to your selflessness, we take comfort in the knowledge that the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad honor the Odigitria of the Russian diaspora with great love, highly valuing their historical spiritual and administrative center, sanctified by the labors and tears of our ever-memorable predecessors.

Upon all the servants of Christ of every rank and order, upon all of you, beloved brothers and sisters, I invoke the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ upon your labors, cares, and well-wishes, He Who united with us through His incarnation and birth in Bethlehem. Amen.

With love in the Newborn Christ,

+NICHOLAS
Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York
First-Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

The Nativity of our Lord 2025/2026