Beloved brothers, sisters, siblings, and friends in Christ, our readers, writers, and followers, our Patrons and supporters, those who love us and those who hate us,

Orthodoxy in Dialogue greets you all with the joyous proclamation:

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Together with all of you we give thanks to God the Father for the gift of His Son become one of us, begotten of the Father in a timeless manner before all ages, born of the Holy Spirit and the Most-Pure Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary in our own time.

We also give thanks to God for the generosity of those who responded to our several appeals in rapid succession between July and now:

• To help a gay refugee escaping homophobic violence in his home country of Zimbabwe establish a new life in Canada, we raised

$2,732

• To help a gay married homeless couple in Toronto procure outdoor equipment to survive the winter, we raised

$978

• To put our Orthodox pro-life ethos into action by helping a young couple in Nigeria cover the costs of the birth of their first child, a precious little girl, we raised

$860

• For our sixth annual Nativity Fast campaign to put cash into the hands of homeless people in downtown Toronto over the days of Christmas, we raised

$1,521

Some of you contributed to more than one or even to all of our appeals. Some of your names were already known to us, some were not. From all over the world you came together to make life a little easier for some of our most vulnerable and needy fellow humans created in the image of our newborn Lord, God, and Saviour. May He care for all your needs in the New Year and always, granting you an abundance of earthly and heavenly blessings in return for your kindness. 

On many levels this has been our most challenging year at Orthodoxy in Dialogue. All thanks go to God where we have done well; where we have failed, we place all our hope in His forgiveness and yours.

Pray for us during the coming year as we do unworthily for you.

With love in Christ,

Giacomo Sanfilippo