Archbishop of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz congratulates Christians

Archbishop of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz Theophane has congratulated
Christians on Christmas, Yuga.ru reports.

In his message, Theophane said that Christmas unites all good people,
especially in hard times. He said that they are at a moment of
choosing Russia's future appearance. This requires responsible
decisions on the directions needed to be taken to achieve the goals.
People need a spiritual and moral basis for friendship, love,
construction and good deeds. Russia’s future needs to be backed by
traditional Russian Christian values, the archbishop said.

Orthodox Christians and Muslims have been living together in the North
Caucasus for ages, there has never been religious opposition. Some
people have been putting efforts into exacerbating tensions between
the two confessions in the past few years. The efforts did not
succeed, because all traditional religions call for respect for human
life, regardless of religion or nationality, Theophane said.

He said that they have a great heritage, which can be lost or
expanded. People must remember that both the older and younger
generations need to go through modern challenges together. They can
only be overcome together.

The Stavropol and Vladikavkaz eparchy, centered in Stavropol, covers
Stavropol Territory, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia,
Ingushetia, North Ossetia and Chechnya.