It is a fact accepted by all
that a more precious thing than freedom does not exist. A person who is not
free suffers. He is oppressed. He is not even considered a human being by those
who oppress him.
For which freedom do we
speak of? First and foremost, we speak of personal freedom. Of course, we also speak
of ethnic freedom. Of religious freedom. Of political freedom.
The person who is truly free
is the one who is master of himself. He governs himself and is not controlled
by his passions. Whoever is master of himself enjoys all the other victories
that come with it.
Ethnic freedom is
fundamental. This came to the forefront recently, and not from the beginning.
This became a fact when the nations were established.
Religious freedom also
became a necessity later on. This took place when religions were founded. When
humanity lost faith in God and created these religions When man lost his
personal relationship with God.
Political freedom is of
utmost importance. You have ethnic freedom; that is, a country has its freedom.
But in some cases, you are not free within the political system of one’s
country – in other words, the political freedom of the citizen. The nation is not
enslaved to other countries, but the citizen is enslaved to the dictator or to
the bad ruler.
Man had true freedom when he
was created by the hands of the Creator. Unfortunately, he relinquished his freedom
for material nourishment. He became a slave to himself. To his passions.
It is a great wonder, but
man only has true freedom when he follows the will of God. God has no need of this
for Himself. Yet, whenever He thinks of man, He deals with him as a Father for
His children, always thinking what is best for them.
With the fall of man, humanity
became a slave to himself; to his passions; to his sins. He could not be freed by
himself. The Creator came in the Person of Christ. The Only-Begotten Son of God
became a man. He took on human flesh to free man. On this day of the
Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel revealed the Will of God the Most-Holy
Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. God became man. Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity.
He gave humanity its freedom once again. He opened wide the doors of Paradise. From then on, man was able to gain access to
Paradise through the proper use of his freedom and could then become a citizen
of Paradise forever.
This is what God awaits from
us. This will only become a reality, however, if man uses his freedom
correctly. If he does not become enslaved to his passions. If, during the course
of his life, he does not lose his personal relationship and contact with God.
March 25th, 1821
is a landmark for our national freedom. We lost it on May 29, 1453. We lost it because
malevolent people were jealous of us and fought us in war. The enemies were
many, two being the most prominent: the Crusaders and the Ottomans. We ourselves were not without blame.
We gained our national
freedom during the Revolution of 1821; with the true sacrifices of our
forebearers during that time; with the return of our forebearers to true
freedom, to the personal relationship with God Himself. They fought and sacrificed
themselves for the holy faith of Christ and for the freedom of their
Motherland.
Greece today has ethnic freedom.
Yet, does every Greek (wherever he or she may be in the world) have religious
freedom, political freedom and personal freedom?
The
financial crisis in our homeland Greece proves that the Greek has
lost his political, religious and personal freedoms. The experience will become
a lesson. When every Greek acquires his personal freedom (that is, freedom from
his passions), when all Greeks have their personal freedom, then Greece as a whole
will enjoy its freedom and its prosperity.
Let us not try to put all
the blame on others. Of course, enemies exist. They not only exist, but they
also lurk around us. They lurk around us to see us lose our personal freedom,
so they may seize away from us every freedom. The greatest responsibility,
though, is borne by us. And when we have our national freedom and we waste it
away, we bear all the responsibility.
As we celebrate March 25th
this year as a religious and national holiday, I call upon all of us to mend
our ways; to clearly understand the blessings of freedom that I mentioned above;
to compare the freedom that we had when we were not slaves to our passions - the
freedom and the joy we had before we lost our national freedom. Let us
celebrate, because we have our national freedom. Let us be vigilant to retain our
religious freedom, our political freedom, our personal freedom and may we never
lose our ethnic freedom.
We who live in Canada have ethnic,
religious and political freedom. Whether or not we have personal freedom, this
can only be answered by each person individually.
I pray that the Virgin Mary
always intercedes for us. May the Incarnate Christ always abide within us. May our
Motherland Greece always have ethnic, religious, political and personal
freedoms for its citizens. May we all live free. We should always be thankful
to our heroic forebearers who sacrificed themselves in order that we may enjoy
our national freedom. May we live reconciled to God. May we have a personal
relationship with Him. May we become true human beings, in every sense of the
word. May we live and breathe our freedom. May we understand that the basis of every
other freedom is our personal freedom.
With fatherly love and fervent prayers,
+ Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios
Head
of the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada
