Metropolitan's Message:

New Year, New Hopes, Ancient Faith

My Dearly Beloved,

Each New Year gives us the opportunity to dream as new horizons open to us and the refreshing breezes of renewal reawaken our spirits. Just as each new day brings us the dawn of light, so to each New Year brings us the hope of better times. For a Christian these hopes are not founded on some whimsical feelings, but rather on the person of Jesus, Who is the "Dayspring (Dawn) from on High" (Luke 1:78). As one of our Church hymns attest, "Orient Anatoli" (Dawn in the East) is His Name. This Jesus is the Christ, our Lord, and He proclaims, "Behold, I make all things new!" (Revelation 21:5). Having this assurance from our Savior that is reaffirmed every year as we celebrate His Nativity in the flesh, we look forward to a New Year filled with Christ's blessings. We are reassured that the difficulties that the Church is facing will work themselves out for the advancement of His kingdom on earth. Leadership transitions can be unsettling, but men and women of good will know Christ's promise, "And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church." (Mathew 16:18) Having this in mind, let us go forward in faith, with the fear of God and in Christian love. The message of salvation needs to be proclaimed from every street corner to every mountaintop. The Orthodox Church has a message for the 21st Century. It is the Ancient Faith of the Apostles. Let us live it in our interactions with our families and our neighbors. It is a Faith that demands "Good Works". May our works rebound to God's glory, and may the Diocese of San Francisco and the Greek Orthodox Churchin America live in the light of Christ, our Savior.

Paternally,

+ Metropolitan Anthony