“If we want to receive Christ in our hearts, then we need to have pure hearts. We need to have internal, heavenly peace. To acquire this, then we must accept every difficulty, persecution, and pain in order to be purified from our passions that do not allow us to love.”

His Eminence Metropolitan Antonios, Patriarchal Vicar, visited Southern California from Dec. 16-18, 2022, joined by his assistant, Fr. Porphyrios Ibrahim, and Mr. Fawaz El Khoury, the vice chairman of the Archdiocese Board of Trustees. Sayidna Antonios conveyed the love and prayers of His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East.

His Eminence’s visits included St Michael Orthodox Church in Whittier California (his first visit to a Western Rite parish), and St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral of Los Angeles for meetings with clergy and laity, as well as the divine services.

“If you want to know if you are ready to receive Christ in your hearts, to celebrate His Nativity, then look into your hearts,” Sayidna Antonios preached on Sunday. “Are you reconciled with yourself, with the Lord, with those who hate you? The Lord told us to love our enemies.”

Full report and more photos available at https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/1442. #orthodoxy