Dear brothers and sisters!
I cordially congratulate all of you on the bright feast of the Meeting of the Lord, on which, by established tradition, Orthodox Youth Day is celebrated.
Today we prayerfully remember the Gospel event: the meeting of the righteous elder Simeon with Jesus, brought to the Temple in Jerusalem. The elder meets the Infant, the old meets the new, man meets God.
Such a meeting is important for each of us, for we all need the experience of personal, mysterious and grace-filled communion with our Creator. Thinking about God, people often tend to imagine Him either as an implacable judge who censures and punishes us, or as some abstract higher power, indifferent and infinitely remote from our hopes and prayers. Both of these views are wrong.
Christians, however, know a different God: loving and compassionate, merciful and forgiving, Who came to earth to proclaim the Gospel to people and accomplish the work of salvation. Taking upon Himself the sins of all mankind, He accepts torments and ascends the cross, by His Resurrection on the third day conquers death and opens the gates of paradise to all who live by faith. The centuries-old experience of the Church testifies that precisely such an encounter, and with such a God, is important and longed for by every human soul, and especially by a young soul.
May the Lord send down strength, wisdom and understanding (Isa. 11:2) to all who await this most important encounter in life, and to all who have found the joy of communion with the Heavenly Father and follow Him on the path of salvation.
I invoke upon you the blessing of Christ.
+KIRILL, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA