“I have said this to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).
To the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On this Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in Canada), we remember the sacrifices made by the men and women who protect our nations. It is right that we do so with gratitude.
War is a terrible thing which must never be glorified or treated lightly. It is a brutal, cruel, ugly, and grim affair that scars all who come into contact with it. For our veterans and their families, war is a cross which they carry both in combat and for long years after their return.
We owe our gratitude to those men and women who endure those hardships for our protection, sometimes paying the highest price. Because of these men and women, we enjoy peaceful countries and our children are spared this horrific reality of our broken world.
But we Christians know that peace is something more than the absence of conflict. Christ’s peace is “not as the world gives” (Jn 14:27). Saint Paul assures us that God’s peace “passes all understanding” and “will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7). God’s peace leads us to deeper communion with our Lord that cannot be destroyed even by the battlefield. Let us pursue this peace above all.
I express gratitude to the veterans and their families, and offer my prayers for them. May you be encouraged with the words of the Apostle Peter, quoting the Psalmist: “He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it” (1 Pet 3:10–11).
Yours in Christ,
+Tikhon
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada