wfn.org | Orthodox Christian Archbishop Herman New Year's Message

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

MEDIA RELEASE / ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA
PO Box 675 Syosset, New York 11791-0675

Contact: The Very Rev. John Matusiak
OCA Communications Director
630-668-3071
info@oca.org or tocmed@aol.com
www.oca.org

========================================================
NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE OF HIS BEATITUDE, METROPOLITAN HERMAN
RULING ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN ARCHBISHOP OF NORTH AMERICA
========================================================

January 1, 2006

Dearly Beloved in the Lord:

The beginning of every new year finds many people making resolutions to
improve their lives.  Some people make a resolution to strengthen their
financial or professional standing.  Others resolve to lose weight or
stop a bad habit.  And there are many people who express the desire to
improve their relationships with their families or coworkers, to help
the needy, or to pursue some other lofty goal in life.

While it is natural to make such resolutions at the beginning of a new
year, it is also more often than not the case that, within a few weeks,
such resolutions are broken or forgotten.  Life returns to "normal," to
the "status quo."  During the subsequent months, little attention is
paid to broken resolutions which, by the end of the year, have been
thoroughly forgotten.

The very heart of the Gospel may be summed up into a single word:
repent!  To be a follower of Christ means to resolve to change our
minds, our hearts, and our lives, resolving to discern not our own wills
and desires, but the Lord's.

Resolving to live according to God's will and the example we have been
given by Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is something that is not restricted to
the beginning of a new year, but faces us every day of our lives as
Orthodox Christians.  We are continually challenged to embrace change by
growing stronger in our faith, by participating more regularly in the
life of the Church, and by reaching out to others with compassion and
love.  As we begin every new day, we pray that our repentance will bring
us into a more intense relationship with God, with others, and even with
ourselves, seeking to accomplish not our own wills, but the will of our
Heavenly Father.

The beginning of the new year offers us an opportunity to make a
resolution that matters, that transcends the goals inherent in so many
"new year's resolutions" and offers us a foretaste of the very Kingdom
of God that, while yet to be fully revealed, is already fully present in
the life of the Church.  It affords us an opportunity to pursue a new
beginning, to transform our commitment and words into conviction and
action, and to put our spiritual households into order, not only during
the coming year but for the remainder of our lives.  Ultimately, making
the resolution to repent is not something restricted to the beginning of
a new year; rather, it is the challenge - the Gospel's challenge - to be
renewed in body and soul every day of our lives, to change our focus and
direction in our pursuit of holiness rather than our own trivial
pursuits.

We are blessed by God with the beginning of a new year.  In
thanksgiving, let us make our resolution one of repentance and interior
change, aimed at "the one thing needful" - pursuing our lives in
accordance with the will of God and the example of our Savior.	Let us
"lay aside all earth cares" - and "resolutions" - replacing them with a
firm commitment to seek renewal in the Lord.  And let us resolve to
remain vigilant in fulfilling this resolution, especially in times of
temptation or distress - times when Our Lord is quick to hear our
prayers for help, guidance, and direction.  In so doing, we will
discover that indeed the Lord is with us at every moment and in every
circumstance, giving us the resolve to grow in and with Him now and in
the days to come.

With love in Christ,

+HERMAN
Archbishop of Washington and New York
Metropolitan of All America and Canada

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
The Orthodox Church in America, which traces its roots to the arrival of
Orthodox missionaries in Alaska in 1794, has over 700 parishes and
communities throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

-- END --