The Son of God becomes man to raise us from sickness and death Pastoral Letter of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the First Sunday of the Nativity Fast of the year 2024

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Most Reverend Fathers,

beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord,

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has proclaimed the year 2024, in the Romanian Patriarchate, as the Year dedicated to the pastoral and medical care of the unwell, and Commemorative Year of all Holy Unmercenary Healers.

Caring for the sick is a Gospel commandment and a condition of our salvation, it being one of the essential criteria by which God will judge us. Christ the Lord asks us to visit those in sickness and suffering, to help them according to our strength, and to encourage them with a good heart and with hope in God's great mercy and power.

The Nativity Fast, which has just begun, brings the hope and joy of the coming into the world of the Savior Christ as Child, God and Man, offering us the perfect model of purity and prayer of the Mother of God, as well as the "image of meekness" of St. Hierarch Nicholas, the merciful and gift-bearing.

Man has fallen out of harmony and closeness with God

At the beginning of creation, "God saw everything He had made, and indeed, it was very good." (Gn 1:31), but later Adam and Eve's disobedience to the divine command brought death and sickness into the world (Gn 3:16-19). Man, who had been created in heaven in the image of God and endowed with all virtue, having received from his Creator all spiritual and material gifts, experienced the pain of separation from God as a result of sin. Thus, the first suffering that man endured was no longer being in harmony and closeness with God and being banished from Heaven, where he lived in the midst of a creation filled with the divine Spirit. St. Gregory of Nyssa emphasizes this truth when he states that "he who was built for immortality was undone by death, and he who spent himself in the delights of heaven was displaced to this place of sickness and pain" (St. Gregory of Nyssa, On Beatitudes, Word III, in the collection of Fathers and Writers of the Church, vol. XXIX, trans. Prof. Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Fr. Ioan Buga, Biblical and Mission Institute of the Romanian Orthodox Church Publishing House, Bucharest, 1982, p. 354).

So sickness, suffering and death were not created by God: "God did not make death, Neither does He have pleasure over the destruction of the living [...], But death entered the world by the envy of the devil" (WSol 1:13; 2:24). Both sickness and suffering are realities which highlight the weakness and fragility of man separated or alienated from his Creator through disobedience. For this reason, often in the books of the Old Testament, when sickness, suffering and death are mentioned, people's hope is directed towards God and His help. David, the psalmist, prays for healing from infirmities: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak, Heal me , O Lord, for my bones are troubled" (Ps 6:3), and the psalmist also confirms the help he has received from God: "O Lord my God, I cry to You, and You will heal me." (Ps 29:3). In the Book of Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, it is recommended that "do not be negligent when you are sick, But pray to the Lord and He will heal you" (WSir 38:9), for "He raises up the soul And gives light to the eyes, He gives healing, life, and blessing" (WSir 34:17). From the example of the righteous man Job we learn that "man is born for trouble" (Job 5:7), but also that "Because they afflicted the weak and helpless; And He will make manifest the judgement of the gentile" (Job 36:15).

Therefore, God is not the creator of suffering. He does, however, bring healing to a man weakened by sin, to whom He offers His grace so that he can bear the hardships of life. That is why the psalmist reminds us that "the Lord is near to those who are brokenhearted, And He will save the humble in spirit" (Ps 33:19).

The deepest sickness is the absence of communion with God

The fact that God is the "Physician of souls and of bodies" is particularly evident in the Holy Gospels. They describe the work of the Savior Jesus Christ, who "went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all sickness and all the infirmities of the people" (Mt 9:35). In the New Testament, the sick ask for healing from the Lord Jesus Christ, and his disciples heal too, but with the power given to them by God. The large number of healings confirms the Savior's preaching and proclaims the power and compassionate presence of the God - Man among people. Christ's teaching and His healings are always united in the deepest form, forming a single message of hope and salvation. The healings that Our Lord Christ performs are signs of His infinite merciful love. Through these healings, He shows that the Kingdom of God is close to people and helps us to understand that man's true and deepest sickness is the absence of communion with God, the Source of love. Only communion with God can offer true healing and an authentic life.

The central event that bears witness to God's merciful and healing love remains the Sacrifice on the Cross of the Savior Jesus Christ. Through Christ's incarnation, God chose to become man and to share the sufferings of humanity, culminating in his death on the Cross. He is the One of Whom the prophet Isaiah said: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses" (Mt 8:17; Is 53:4). By His obedience unto death, Christ the Lord healed the sin of disobedience of our forefathers Adam and Eve (acc. Php 2:8). The Cross of Christ is also the testimony that God entered human history to suffer with us and to save us. Through His death and Resurrection, Christ gives a new meaning to suffering, which is not seen as an end in itself, but as a reality which, though difficult and painful, can become a way of shunning of passions, of spiritual growth and of drawing closer to God. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the proof of his victory over sin and death, and therefore also over sickness and suffering (acc. Jn 11:25). If death is understood as a consequence of sin, the Resurrection is the restoration of life and victory over suffering. The Resurrection of Christ is the beginning of a new creation in which death, sickness and suffering no longer have power over the believer. Although in this material world man continues to experience sickness, suffering and death, the Resurrection of Christ testifies to a complete healing of man at the end of the ages. Therefore, in the Church, Christ Himself is the medicine, and the Holy Eucharist is the cure for the healing of soul and body, for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life (acc. Jn 6:54).

After the Savior ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, empowering them to carry on His work of healing and salvation. The Holy Spirit works in the Church through the Holy Sacraments in the hearts of the faithful, healing, strengthening and guiding them on the way of salvation. In this context, priestly ministry has always included the duty of clerics to care for the sick, as a fulfilment of the command of the Lord Jesus Christ: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Mt 10:8).

Through the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, especially through the Holy Sacraments, the ministers of the Church continue the mission to which they have been sent by Christ, healing and alleviating the sufferings of the innumerable sick. In addition to prayer and encouragement, in the Church, the pastoral care of the sick is also carried out through social-philanthropic establishments.

The Church prays for health and salvation. The Christian life lived according to the rules of the Church is both a means of keeping us from sin and a way of preventing sickness. Prayer, fasting, moderation and almsgiving are not only the moral obligations of the Christian, but also methods and remedies by which, with the help of God's grace, we cultivate a healthy physical and spiritual life.

The Church prays for the health and the salvation of people. The Holy Confessor Priest Dumitru Stăniloae points out that, through the Sacrament of Holy Unction, "the healing of the body, the forgiveness of sins and the cleansing of the soul from sins are asked for together. The indwelling of the Spirit is especially for the purpose of cleansing from sins and healing from passions and raising man to a life of holiness, of pure service of God" (Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, vol. 3, in coll. Complete Works, vol. XII, Basilica Publishing House, Bucharest, 2018, p. 213).

Moreover, in Church, those in sickness and suffering receive the protection and help of the Mother of God and all the saints. The saints are mediators and bearers of divine grace, and through their lives of holiness and prayer they become the means by which Christ pours blessings on people. Saints act not by their own power but by the power of God working through them. Saints are therefore considered living testimonies of Christ's love and mercy towards the world.

In particular, when it comes to sickness and suffering, the Church remembers and honors the Holy Unmercenary Healers, known for their gift of healing the sick by the power of God's grace given to them. They are called 'unmercenary' because they received no material reward for their services, thus likening themselves to the apostles, who spread the message of the Gospel and worked miracles without asking for anything in return. These holy healers were physicians or healers who dedicated their lives both to serving their neighbour and to serving God. They healed people's bodies as well as their souls, cultivating faith in God and passing on Christian love. To honor these wonderful healers, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church proclaimed 2024 as the Commemorative Year of All the Holy Unmercenary Healers.

The first doctor of the apostolic Church that St. Paul mentions in his epistles is "Luke, the beloved physician" (Col 4:14), that is, St. Luke the Apostle and Evangelist, the author of the third Gospel and the book of Acts. Also, in the Book of Acts, we read about the Apostles Peter and Paul, who healed the sick in the name of Christ (Acts 3:6; 9:34).

In the same early Christian period, another healer was the Great Martyr Thecla, like the Apostles, a disciple of St. Paul the Apostle.

Holy healers offer hope and give healing

Also from the first four centuries are the twelve Holy Unmercenary Healers liturgically commemorated at the Proscomidia: Cosmas and Damian, Cyrus and John, Panteleimon and Ermolae, Samson and Diomid, Mochias and Anichitus, Talaleus and Tryphon, along other holy healers from the first centuries: St. Gregory the Thaumaturgist, St. Hierarch Spiridon, St. Hierarch Parthenius of Lampsakos, St. Hierarch Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, or other great healer-saints of more recent times, but much loved by the faithful, such as St. Hierarch Nectarios of Eghina, St. Hierarch Luke, Archbishop of Crimea, St. Gherasimos of Kefalonia or The Venerable Saint Nichiphor the Leper.

All these holy healers of the Church offer hope to the hopeless, they give healing where doctors cannot heal serious diseases. Holy healers, as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, make known to the world the Lord Jesus Christ as the Great Physician, Who has given them the gift of healing, as we learn from the hymn of the Church: "What shall we call you: Doctors who heal souls and bodies, healers of unhealed diseases, who in gift heal all, taking gifts from the Savior Christ, Who bestows great mercy on us" ("The Glory of the Holy Eucharist" from Vespers at the Feast of the Saints and miracle-workers, unmercenary doctors, Cosmas and Damian, of Asia, in the month of November, the first day", in The Menaion on November, Biblical and Orthodox Mission Institute Publishing Houes, Bucharest, 2017, p. 9). Healing miracles performed by saints are testimonies of divine power, but also exhortations to faith. In most cases, the Savior healed those who came to him in faith. In this context, miracles performed by saints are a call to people to strengthen their faith and draw closer to God. Miraculous healings are a sign that Christ is at work in the world and that the Church is alive, animated by the power of the Holy Spirit, with salvation being the most important healing.

The Nativity Fast is an occasion to multiply Christian love

Even though throughout the whole of the year 2024, the Church, through her ministers and lay faithful, has endeavored more than in previous years to bring comfort and solace to those who are on the bed of sorrow and helplessness, the coming period of the Fast of the Nativity of our Lord is a good occasion to multiply Christian love and mercy.

Therefore, also this year, we appeal to the priests and lay faithful of our Holy Church with the paternal encouragement to organize, in parishes, monasteries, deaneries and diocesan centers, collections of food, clothing and medicines. These will be distributed to the suffering and destitute, to underprivileged families with many children, to the elderly and to single people without children or relatives, especially to those living in rural areas.

Trusting that you will continue this year to show Christian generosity and to respond with love to our Father's call in this holy work of benevolence and help, we thank you for your generosity in previous years and we remind you of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5:7).

We pray to the Most Merciful God to bless all Romanians, at home and abroad, giving them health and salvation, protecting them from all evil and strengthening them in all good works, for the joy of our Church and the Romanian people everywhere. With great joy, we embrace you in a paternal embrace and share with you the apostolic blessing: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Co 13:14).

President of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church

† Daniel

Archbishop of Bucharest,

Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrogea,

Locum tenens to the Throne of Caesarea of Cappadocia and

Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church

With all the members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church

Download here The Pastoral Letter of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the First Sunday of the Nativity Fast of the year 2024

16 November 2024