“The abuse of freedom of speech is one of the most difficult trials of our time. Only those will overcome it who are able to walk worthily toward the Lord through the path of truth, patience, and forgiveness; who, regardless of the weight of a person’s sins, still see the image of God in every human being and do not respond to evil with evil,” says Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, in his Christmas Epistle.­

The Patriarch notes that we must resist evil desires and inclinations that turn us into enemies of the divinely established order.

“The Apostle James warns us: ‘The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness… it occupies such a place among our members that it defiles the whole body… it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison’ (James 3:6–8), while ‘whoever does not stumble in what he says is a perfect man’ (James 3:2).

The Lord imposes nothing by force; ‘before a person are life and death, and whichever he chooses will be given to him’ (Sirach 15:17).

Do not be afraid to renew your life according to the Gospel commandments of the Lord and the exhortations of the Apostles and Holy Fathers. Stand against those evil desires and inclinations that make you an adversary of God’s established order - those that harm your faith, corrupt it, and render it barren and unfruitful.

Labor and struggle for life - for eternal life; for the revelation and renewal of the abilities granted to you by God. The Lord has not given you a cross you cannot bear. Therefore, strive to live not by the laws of superficial love, but by the laws of true love, so that you may be deified and rejoice in eternity,” the epistle reads.