“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men” (Luke 2:14)

 

A true shiver of religious exaltation and sacred enthusiasm is stirred in the pure and devout soul of the Christian by this sublime hymn of the Holy Angels. This angelic chant resounds in the heart of the Christian as a divine and ineffable harmony, which, penetrating to the very depths of the Christian soul, awakens within it the holiest of pulsations and disposes it in such a way that it breaks every bond with the material world and desires to ascend in spirit to the Holy City of Jerusalem and to worship, together with the Magi, the Divine Infant Jesus, Who shines with divine radiance in the manger of Bethlehem. Truly, during this glorious and joyous feast of Christmas, the heavens rejoice together with the earth, and mankind rejoices together and celebrates with the Holy Angels. Shepherds keeping watch, Magi gazing at the stars, and Angels singing all proclaim in wondrous chorus: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men.”

Rightly so, for today the middle wall of partition between earth and heaven has fallen; today God has been reconciled with sinful man, and the darkness of sin and evil has vanished, the head of the serpentine Dragon being crushed. In place of these, the sweet and transcendent light of Divine longsuffering and goodwill has shone upon the world—goodwill which has restored man to the original gift of spiritual adoption and grace.

Truly, this mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God—unknown to the Angels and incomprehensible to human reasoning—proclaims the glory of God, for He, having vanquished through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ the dominion of the evil-originating Devil, has liberated man from his tyrannical yoke and from the power of sin and evil. Thus God, having spiritually regenerated man through holy Baptism, breathed into his soul the free and peaceful Spirit of Christ and made him a co-heir of His glory in the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the divine Apostle Paul also says: “Faithful is God, the God of all grace, who has called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus.”

How many indeed are the gifts and graces that the Nativity of Christ and faith in Him bestow upon man! It illumines his intellect and elevates it to the sphere of his lofty and Divine calling; it ennobles his sentiments and idealizes the desires of the heart; it inspires in the soul all that is Divine and wondrous; it gladdens the thoughts, strengthens the character, uplifts the mind, instills endurance and hope-filled consolation in times of adversity, and in times of prosperity it refines and idealizes the feeling of joy and happiness. In general, it provides man with the key to solving all the problems of life, teaching him that his existence and ultimate purpose are in God—from whom, through whom, and unto whom are all things, according to the Apostle of the Nations.

All these gifts and Divine graces I pray, on the occasion of the joyous feasts of the Nativity and the Divine Theophany, may be abundantly granted to the entire Orthodox Christ-named flock of our Churches, for their soul's salvation and for the glory of Christ—whose grace and boundless mercy, together with our paternal prayer and blessing, be with all the Orthodox Flock, with their wives and their children.

† CHRYSOSTOMOS, formerly of Florina

 

Greek source: Η Φωνή τησ Ορθοδοξίασ [The Voice of Orthodoxy"], no. 145, December 28, 1952.

Online: https://entoytwnika1.blogspot.com/2026/01/blog-post_7.html