The Metropolitan - Encyclical for the New Ecclesiastical Year

Ἐφαρμόζεις πλήρως τό “μακάριόν ἐστι μᾶλλον διδόναι ἤ λαμβάνειν”, ὅταν δίνεις στήν Ἐκκλησία σου γιά ἐλεημοσύνη 10% ἀπό τά ἔσοδά σου ἐτησίως ὅπως ὁ Θεός ἐντέλλεται στήν Παλαιά καί στήν Καινή Διαθήκη. Σοῦ φαίνεται πολύ; Κάνεις λάθος. Πληρώνεις φόρο στόν Καναδᾶ ἀπό 18% μέχρι 46%, ἀνάλογα μέ τήν κατηγορία στήν ὁποία εὑρίσκεσαι. Σύγκρινε τό ἕνα μέ τό ἄλλο.

Ὅταν δίνεις, ἀδειάζεις τό χέρι σου, ἀλλά γεμίζεις τήν καρδιά σου. Ὅταν κάμνεις ἐλεημοσύνη δανείζεις τό Θεό. Ὁ Θεός ἀνταποδίδει, ὄχι μόνο μέ τόκο, ἀλλά ἑκατονταπλασσίονα. Ὅταν κάμνεις ἐλεημοσύνη θησαυρίζεις θησαυρούς στούς οὐρανούς. Ὅ Ἅγιος Χρυσόστομος λέει “δίνε ψωμί καί ἀγόραζε παράδεισο”.

Δέν πρέπει νά δίνεις μόνο ὑλικά ἀγαθά, ἀλλά καί πνευματικά. Γιά νά δίνεις πνευματικά ἀγαθά, πρέπει νά ἔχεις. Πρέπει νά καλλιεργεῖς τόν ἑαυτό σου καί νά εἶσαι πλούσιος σέ ἀρετές. Τό καλύτερο πνευματικό ἀγαθό πού μπορεῖς νά δίνεις, εἶναι ὁ καλός χαρακτήρας καί τό καλό σου παράδειγμα. Ἔτσι γίνεσαι φῶς τοῦ κόσμου και ὁδηγός τῶν ἀνθρώπων πού εἶναι γύρω σου.

Ποιός πρέπει νά δίδει; Ὅλοι ἀνεξαιρέτως. Κι’ ἐσύ κι’ ἐγώ καί ὅλοι. Καί ὁ πλούσιος καί ὁ φτωχός. Ὁ Θεός δέν ἀφήνει κανένα ἔτσι. Ὅλοι κάτι ἔχομε. Ἀπ’ αὐτό πού ἔχομε πρέπει νά δίνομε. Ὁ φτωχός νά δίνει ἀπό τό παράδειγμά του καί μέ τήν προσωπική του ἐργασία. Σέ ποιούς πρέπει νά δίνομε; Στόν καθένα. Χωρίς καμμία ἐξαίρεση, Ὅλοι οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι παιδιά τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ὅλους πρέπει νά τούς μεταχειριζόμαστε μέ τόν ἴδιο τρόπο. Πολλές φορές καί ὁ πλούσιος ἔχει ἀνάγκη νά τοῦ δίνομε κάτι. Ἔστω ἕνα μικρό δῶρο. Αὐτό δείχνει, ὅτι τόν ἀγαποῦμε καί τόν ἐκτιμοῦμε. Ὅταν ἐκεῖνος πάντα δίνει καί δέν παίρνει οὔτε ἕνα μικρό δῶρο, αἰσθάνεται, ὅτι εἴμαστε ἀγνώμονες καί οὔτε κἄν τόν σκεφτόμαστε.

Νά δίνομε στό περιβάλλον. Τό περιβάλλον χρειάζεται τήν ἀγάπη μας. Ἡ γῆ, τά δέντρα, τά ποτάμια, οἱ λίμνες, οἱ θάλασσες χρειάζονται νά τούς δίνομε τήν ἀγάπη μας, γιατί κι ὅλα αὐτά μάς προσφέρουν τόσα πολλά. Πόσο ὄμορφα ἐνεργεῖ ὁ Πατριάρχης μας γιά τό περιβάλλον. Νά τόν μιμούμαστε.

Τέλος, πρέπει νά δίνομε στό Θεό. Ὁ Θεός μάς δίνει τά πάντα. Ἐμεῖς νά Τοῦ προσφέρουμε ὅ,τι ἔχομε. Βέβαια, ὅ,τι ἔχομε εἶναι δικό Του. Γι’ αὐτό ὅταν Τοῦ δίδομε, Τοῦ δίδομε «τά Σά ἐκ τῶν Σῶν». Ἀλλά αὐτό μᾶς κάμνει πιό πλούσιους, γιατί αἰσθανόμαστε κοντά Του καί γιατί Ἐκεῖνος πάντοτε μᾶς ἀνταποδίδει μέ τόν τρόπο τό δικό Του.

Καλῶ ὅλους στήν καινούργια ἐκκλησιαστική χρονιά, ἀλλά καί πάντα στή ζωή μας νά ἐφαρμόζουμε τό λόγο αὐτό τοῦ Χριστοῦ “Μακάριόν ἐστι μᾶλλον διδόναι ἤ λαμβάνειν”. Ἄν ὅλοι μας κάνομε αὐτό, τότε ἡ γῆ θά μοιάζει πολύ περισσότερο μέ τόν παράδεισο.

Μέ πατρική ἀγάπη καί θερμές εὐχές

Ο ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ

Ο ΤΟΡΟΝΤΟ ΣΩΤΗΡΙΟΣ

ΤΣ:γκ

September 2007

Reverend Fathers,

Honourable Presidents,

Esteemed Members of the Community Councils

Philoptochos Societies, Teachers, Students, & Youth

And to the entire plenitude of our

Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (Canada)

“It is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive”

Would you prefer to be rich and in a position to help others, or would you prefer to be in poverty and to beg for charity and food? Obviously, you would prefer to be rich – not only in material goods, but also in spiritual virtues.

Each of you would put into practice our Lord’s words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” when you tithe 10% of your gross yearly earnings to your church and to charity, as God commands us to do in the Old and New Testament. Does this seem like a large sum of money to you? Once you examine how you spend your money, you will see that you are in error. In Canada, you pay between 18% up to 46% of your earnings in taxes, depending on the category at which you are assessed. Simply compare the latter point with the former.

When you give, you empty your hands, but at the same time, you fill your heart with spiritual joy. Whatever you give to charity, you loan to God, and He responds to your generosity, not only with interest, but a hundred-fold. Whenever you give to those in need, you acquire treasures in Heaven. St. John Chrysostom stated: “give bread to the hungry, and you buy Paradise!”

You must not give only material goods, but also spiritual goods. In order to be able to give spiritual goods, you must first possess them. You must cultivate your inner soul, so that you can be rich in virtues. The best spiritual virtue you can give to others is your good character and your fine example in life. In this way, you become a bright light to illumine the world, and a guide to those who are near you.

Who must give charity? Everyone without exception: me, you and everyone else. Both he who is poor and he who is rich. God will never leave you alone to suffer needlessly. We all have something to offer to others. Whatever we have, we must share. He who is poor should show by example through his personal labour. To whom should we give? To anyone in need, without making exceptions. Every person is a child of God, and for this reason, we must never show any partiality, but treat each person the same. On many occasions, even the rich person needs something that only you and I can give. Sometimes, it may be as simple as a small gift on important occasions. This shows that we love him and respect him. When he always gives to others, and does not receive even a small gift, he feels that others are not appreciative of his generosity, and also he feels that others do not even want to think or talk about him.

We should give to protect the environment around us. It is in great need of our care and concern. The earth, the trees, the rivers, the lakes, and all the seas in the world need our love and compassion. This is so, because they all give so much back to our environment. How beautifully our Patriarch takes action in order to protect our natural environment. We should all imitate him.

Most importantly, we must all give back to God, since He gives us everything. We should offer Him whatever we can, even though everything we own belongs to Him. This is why in the Liturgy, when we offer our gifts to God, we say: “Thine own of thine own, we offer unto Thee, on behalf of all, and for all.” In doing so, it is we who benefit, since we feel that we are in His presence and are close to Him. God always rewards us in His own divine and unique way.

I invite all of you to enter the New Ecclesiastical Year that commences on September 1^st. Let us strive to put into practice the words of the Lord, who says: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” If we all do this, then the earth will truly resemble Paradise more perfectly.

With fatherly love and best wishes,

Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios of Toronto (Canada)

TS:pa