My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
I greet you with love and joy in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Once more we are blessed to celebrate the Baptism of our Lord!
We have only recently completed the Twelve Days that connect the Feast of our Lord’s Holy Nativity to the Theophany, and in our celebrations of Christmas, we have seen opportunities to grow closer to our family and friends, through the hope & joy we received during the holiday season.
Though the Orthodox liturgical calendar observes the beginning of the ecclesiastical New Year on September 1st, in many ways, the feast of Theophany also offers us a chance to begin again. As we observe the glorious manifestation of all Three Persons of our Triune God in the Jordan River, so too do we begin this first month of the year 2024 with a chance to cleanse & rededicate all of Creation through the Great Blessing of the Waters.
Therefore, my sincere prayer is that each one of us, Clergy & Laity, will come away from this blessed festival spiritually renewed and refreshed, ready to preach the Good News of our Lord’s merciful condescension. He has been born of a Virgin and is now baptized; soon He will preach & heal the nations, voluntarily undergoing crucifixion, before rising again for the salvation of our souls! With a gladdened heart, I remain,
With paternal blessings and with much love in Christ,
+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta