The holy and radiant night of the most glorious Nativity of Christ shone upon our Sacred Bigorski Monastery with the unwaning light of Bethlehem and the ineffable joy of the heavenly Angels. As every year, this exalted mystery of God’s Incarnation and taking on of human nature was celebrated with prayerful rejoicing and thanksgiving, as well as with the magnificent beauty of the Divine Liturgy.
The festive joy, following yesterday’s solemn Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil, continued in the afternoon with the traditional Christmas Eve gathering, held in the monastery’s ceremonial synodikon. There, gathered around their beloved Elder, His Grace Bishop Parthenius of Antania, in brotherly love and in reverent expectation of the Divine Infant, the monks and the monastery’s guests sang the Christmas kalanda, which joyfully proclaim the salvific message of the Savior’s Birth. These beloved folk hymns, filled with deep faith and poetic beauty, united the hearts of all present with the sacred atmosphere of that Bethlehem night more than two thousand years ago.
This was followed by the all-night vigil—an otherworldly, sacramental experience that transformed the Bigorski church into a true Bethlehem. With the majestic chanting of the Bigorski brotherhood choir and the choir of “Metropolitan Kozma of Prespa,” through prayers and hymns, the heavenly joy overflowed upon the earth, filling the hearts of all the faithful. The light of Christ’s Birth illuminated not only the icons and frescoes but also the faces of all present, while the joy of the Angels and the Shepherds permeated their souls.
Presiding over the many-hour-long night vigil was our beloved Elder, His Grace Bishop Parthenius of Antania. With special Nativity-inspired zeal, he led the Divine Eucharist, offering the bloodless sacrifice before the heavenly altar of God for the salvation of all. His sacred guidance, filled with love and grace, called all present to a profound spiritual transformation and union with the Divine Infant.
At the conclusion of the solemn Liturgy, with a warm paternal heart, the Elder distributed Christmas gifts to the youngest ones, bringing special joy to their pure souls and adding even more smiles and light to this sacred night.
On this luminous feast of the Lord’s Birth, we offer immeasurable gratitude to God for the gift of life, for the light and love He has brought into the world. Christmas is also a new birth for us—a realization of our calling to live as children of the Unwaning Light.
May the Sun of Righteousness, Who today has shone forth upon us from Bethlehem of Judea through the Most Pure Virgin Mary, illumine your life with the unending radiance of the Eternal Day, and may His peace, which surpasses all understanding, dwell in your hearts.
Christ is born!
