Statement by President-elect Joe Biden Marking Orthodox Christmas
Jill and I wish a blessed Christmas to Orthodox Christians in the United States and around the world. This sacred season looks different this year; many families will grieve an empty seat at the table or forgo favorite holiday traditions to keep each other safe. Yet, as we mark the birth of Jesus Christ, we know that faith, hope, and love continue to light the way, even on the darkest of days, and they will sustain us through the most difficult trials.
As we honor the many contributions of Orthodox Christians in the United States and around the world, we reaffirm the right of all people to practice their religion as they choose and our commitment to stand with religious minorities who at times face discrimination and violence. With the hope of a new year before us, we join our Orthodox sisters and brothers in hopeful prayer for peace, justice, and healing the world over.
Jill and Joe Biden | JOE BIDEN’ PRESS RELEASES
Joe Biden | The 47th Vice President of the United States
President-elect Biden represented Delaware for 36 years in the U.S. Senate before becoming the 47th Vice President of the United States. As President, Joe Biden will restore America’s leadership and build our communities back better.
Joe Biden, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four children of Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden and Joseph Robinette Biden, Sr. In 1953, the Biden family moved to Claymont, Delaware. President-elect Biden graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council. At age 29, President-elect Biden became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate. President-elect Biden established himself as a leader in facing some of our nation’s most important domestic and international challenges.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, joined President-elect Joe Biden, to offer greetings to Orthodox Christians and all Russians on Christmas celebrated. A Kremlin press service statement quoted Putin as saying that Christmas “gives millions of believers joy and hope.”
At the Church of the Nativity, built over the West Bank grotto that Christians believe is the site of Jesus’ birth, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attended Mass early Wednesday as well.
In Egypt, Coptic Christians celebrated on Tuesday night with Mass on Christmas Eve. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi sent his greetings to Coptic Pope Tawadros II.
Worshippers across the Orthodox Christian world have begun Christmas celebrations. January 7 is Christmas day for Orthodox Christians in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Syria, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Albania, Cyprus, Finland and by the Orthodox Church in America. and Serbia.
The Coptic Church recognizes January 7th as the day that Jesus was born. This is the same date as Orthodox Christmas. Elsewhere in the world, Christmas is celebrated on December 25th.
The Assyrian and Ethiopian churches also celebrate Christmas on the seventh, according to the Julian calendar.
Coptic Orthodox Christians comprise 90% of Egypt’s 10 million Christians. The Coptic Orthodox Church has been a distinct Christian body since the schism that took place at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, when the Coptic Church broke from the rest of the Christian Church.
Coptic Christmas was declared a national holiday in Egypt in 2005 by the government of Hosni Mubarak.
Delivered to you by COPTICNN™ | Coptic News Network on 2021-01-07 from Washington, USA.
COPTICNN™ | Coptic News Network & COPTICNN™ DIRECTORY | Christian Business Directory
Fair Use Notice: This internet web page contains copyrighted subject material the use of which has not at all times been specifically approved by the use of the copyright owner. We are making such subject material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, monetary, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, and so forth. We believe this constitutes an ‘honest use’ of this sort of copyrighted subject material as provided for in section 107 of the United States Copyright Law. Under Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this internet web page is distributed without receive advantages to those who have expressed a prior pastime in receiving the built-in wisdom for research and educational purposes. For more information transfer to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to have to make use of copyrighted subject material from this internet web page for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘honest use’, you’ll have to obtain permission from the copyright owner
