Vicar’s 2026 Christmas Address to the Pastors, Deacons, Monastics, and All the Faithful Children of the Slavic Orthodox Vicariate of America

Beloved in the Lord, most honorable concelebrating fathers, God-loving deacons, monastics, and pious lay faithful!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

“The earth, extending its depths,
receives the Creator, who accepts glory from the angels,
a star from the heavens, praise from the shepherds, gifts from the wise men,
and from the whole world — recognition.”
(Troparion of the 3rd Ode of the Canon at Compline on the Eve of the Nativity of Christ)

By the grace of God, we have once again been deemed worthy to welcome the great and radiant night of the Nativity of Christ—that night when all creation falls silent in reverent awe: heaven bows down to earth, the Angels sing “Glory to God in the highest,” the shepherds hasten to the cave, and the Magi bring gifts to the Infant lying in the manger.

In this extreme poverty and perfect humility lies the entire mystery of our salvation. God became Man not in royal palaces, but in a cold cave among animals, so that each one of us might attain salvation and inherit eternal life in the palaces of the Heavenly King.

We feel this gift especially acutely today. In a world filled with anxieties, wars, divisions, and sorrows, He is born Who is our Peace (Eph. 2:14). He comes not to judge the world, but to save it (John 3:17). And even if spiritual darkness and emptiness surround us, the quiet light of the Bethlehem star unfailingly illuminates our main path in life—the road to Christ the Savior.
Orthodox presence in America began to take active shape in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when waves of immigrants from Orthodox countries founded parishes in their communities, thereby preserving and passing on the faith to subsequent generations. More than a century later, Orthodoxy has become a notable part of the religious landscape of the United States and is currently experiencing significant growth and dynamic development. Parishes are actively growing: both new immigrants and Americans from other denominations are joining canonical Orthodox jurisdictions. It is particularly noteworthy that a significant portion of the newly converted consists of young people seeking authentic spiritual depth, strict asceticism, and unchanging traditions—and finding these in Orthodoxy.

Our Slavic Vicariate fully shares in this dynamic. New immigrants find spiritual support and their native liturgical language in our churches; we baptize new converts, establish new communities, and open parishes—all this with the blessing and active support of Archbishop Elpidophoros, head of the American Archdiocese.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you—priests and deacons, monastics and church servers, choir directors and singers, sisterhoods and volunteers, donors and all laborers—for your efforts and fervent love, with which you adorn our churches and bear witness to the world about the Lord Jesus Christ, offering a living example to those seeking the way to Him.

Together, we are a small but living part of the Body of Christ on American soil. In these bright Christmas days, let us strive to overcome within ourselves every malice, resentment, and unkind feeling toward our neighbor, and forgive one another with all our hearts—for Christ is born to reconcile us with God and with each other.

May our hearts become those Bethlehem mangers in which the Divine Infant is born anew. May the Infant Christ grant you health of soul and body, peace and blessing in your families, and unfading spiritual joy. And may our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, who has now become Mother to the entire human race, cover you all with Her honorable omophorion.

With the feast of the Nativity of Christ, my beloved ones!

Christ is born! Let us glorify Him!

With love in the Newborn Christ,

† Alexander
Bishop-elect of Nicopolis,
Vicar of the Slavic Orthodox Vicariate of America

Miami, 2026