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| H.A.H. Radislav I placed Gesu Bambino at the beginning of the Nativity liturgy. |
ROME-RUTHENIAN 25 December 2025 (NRom)
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In a wide-ranging Christmas allocution delivered on the Latin Feast of the Nativity, His Apostolic Highness the Most Holy Prince-Bishop Radislav I, Roman-Ruthenian Pope, head of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church, called on Christians to place allegiance to Christ above all other loyalties, warning that compassion and mercy are being eroded in contemporary public life.
Speaking at the opening of the Church’s extended Nativity cycle, which spans nearly a month and includes Western and Eastern Christian feasts, Radislav I framed Christmas not as a cultural tradition but as what he described as “the most radical event in human history.”
“The Nativity of Christ is not a sentimental story, nor a seasonal ornament,” the Pope declared. “God does not save the world by force, nor by decree, nor by the wisdom of rulers, but by humility, obedience, and love.”
A Christmas That Challenges Power
Drawing on the Gospel imagery of the manger, Radislav emphasized that Christ’s birth took place not in security or comfort, but “upon the margins,” in poverty and danger. He contrasted the vulnerability of the infant Christ with the fear of King Herod, noting that merely worldly power reacts with anxiety rather than reverence to divine humility.
This theme became the foundation for a pointed reflection on modern culture, with concern about what the Pontiff described as growing demands for total loyalty from nations, parties, and ideologies. “Our first allegiance is not to any party, platform, or flag, but to Christ,” he said. While affirming that Christians have responsibilities as citizens and neighbors, he warned that when the Church allows itself to be claimed by partisan causes, it “ceases to be a light and becomes merely another voice in the noise.”
“The Child in the manger belongs to no faction,” he added.
Compassion as a Measure of Justice
A significant portion of the allocution focused on compassion, particularly toward those on society’s margins. Radislav argued that a loss of mercy leads inevitably to moral and civic decay.
“A society that loses compassion loses its soul,” he said, adding that governments that forget mercy also forget justice. He cited Christ’s words from the Gospel of Matthew: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me,” describing them not as poetic language but as a form of judgment.
While acknowledging the reality of evil and the necessity of order, the Pope cautioned against fear-driven responses to social challenges, especially those involving the poor, the sick, foreigners, and the displaced. “Christ teaches us to love,” he said, “while the world teaches us to shout.”
The Role of the Church
Radislav also outlined what he sees as the Church’s mission in an age marked by anger, division, and ideological rigidity. Rejecting the idea that the Church should mirror prevailing cultural trends, he described its role as fundamentally therapeutic and transformative. “The Church does not exist to mirror the world, but to heal it,” he said. “She does not adopt the spirit of the age, but baptizes men and women into Christ.”
He urged Christians to respond to hostility with mercy, confusion with calm, and division with steadfast commitment to truth, arguing that holiness, rather than volume or influence, is the true means by which the world is changed. “We do not save the world by shouting louder than others,” he said. “We save it by becoming holy.”
A Call to Renewal
Concluding the allocution, Radislav invited the faithful around the world to see the Nativity not only as a historical event but as a present reality that demands personal transformation. He called on Christians to reject what he termed “the false gods of power, wealth, and pride” and to recommit themselves to what he described as “the hard, joyful work of being Christians.”
The Pope ended with a message of hope, invoking the Gospel of John: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
With a final blessing, he extended prayers for families and communities across the world, wishing them “a holy and blessed Nativity” as the Church enters its season of Christmas celebrations.
