The Archbishop of Canterbury's Message, Christmas, 1991
Episcopal News Service. November 8, 1991 [91224]
I am very glad to inherit the tradition of the archbishop of Canterbury's Christmas letter to the Anglican Communion. Christmas is a time when families try to be together, so I am happy to be in touch with members of our Anglican family, and to wish you the joy and peace of the new-born Christ.
I write this letter in October, so it is now six months since I was installed in St. Augustine's Chair in Canterbury Cathedral as the 103rd archbishop, and Archbishop. Manasses Kuria of Kenya, as the senior primate of the communion, gave me God's blessing. Within a few feet of my chair stood the other primates grouped around me, and already from our meeting in Ireland the previous week I knew them as friends. So much has happened since then, but nothing can detract from that enthronement service in Canterbury Cathedral on April 19. Perhaps you have seen photographs of it, or even the video, and can imagine what it meant to me to receive so much encouragement and support. Thank you for the hundreds of messages of prayer and love that I have received from you all.
During these six months I have discovered what striking contrasts there are between the splendor of our calling as Christians and the pain of our world. According to the shepherds, the coming of Christ was hailed by a choir of angels, and greeted with a heavenly chorus. They sang the praises of God. But the birth in the stable, the threat of persecution, and the escape into Egypt speak about a very down-to-earth and familiar world. It's a world that many of our Anglican churches still inhabit today -- the world of refugee camps, oppression, and cruel hardship. Yet that is where the message of the angels first came, and where we are asked to take the message today. You have only to think for a moment of some of the countries to which those primates at Canterbury belong -- Liberia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Ireland, the Middle East -- to realize how much the world's pain needs to be healed by Christ.
Christ came on a mission of love from God. He calls us to share his mission. In many of the churches of the communion we are struggling with some of life's complexities -- ecumenical dialogues, interfaith challenges, theological dilemmas -- all are necessary tests of our discipleship. But I want to affirm also the fundamental simplicities of Christian faith -- the generosity and goodness of God, his forgiveness of sins, his love for us all, and the hope and healing he offers us in Christ. This is the message of evangelism to which our communion is committed.
Early in January I shall pay my first overseas visit of 1992. I am joining Bishop Samir Kafity and others in Jerusalem to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Jerusalem bishopric. We shall give thanks to God for all that the Anglican Communion has been able to achieve in the Holy City and Holy Land, and for the witness of the church there today.
While I am there I shall join in the Epiphany celebrations. In the West, January 6 is the festival of the Epiphany: in the East it is the festival of Christmas. That night I shall be in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity among our Orthodox friends. We shall sing the goodness of God -- but around us we shall not be able to ignore the misery, fear, and conflict that people suffer there. This is the constant setting of our Christian life. This is where we offer our love and praise to the Father for sending us his Son. This is where in his name we serve one another, help one another, and call people to share in his redeeming love. May his light continue to lead and guide you and your family in this coming year.