Kyrillos VI on Leadership and Service
Two early letters connect the responsibilities of church leadership with practical care for other people.
A biography tells us about a person. A letter lets us listen to what that person wanted others to hear. Two early messages from Pope Kyrillos VI offer a direct introduction to his understanding of leadership and service.
The first was written for his enthronement in May 1959. The second marked the Feast of the Nativity in January 1960. They address different occasions, but both connect faith with responsibility toward people.
Responsibility shared with others#
In his first pastoral message, Kyrillos VI acknowledges the seriousness of the task before him. He asks for prayer and calls on clergy and laypeople to work together. The Church’s life appears here as a shared responsibility, carried out through cooperation and service.
He also writes about life beyond the Church’s walls. Faith carries responsibilities toward other people, including the way we treat one another in daily life.
Care made practical#
The Nativity letter begins with Christian teaching about the Incarnation, the belief that the Son of God became human. It then moves toward the needs of others. Kyrillos calls for comfort for those who grieve, help for the poor, visits to the sick, and hope for people in despair.
He makes the scope of that care explicit: doing good should not be restricted by a person’s race, color, or religious belief. Peacemaking belongs beside those acts of help.
Reading the letters today#
Service, in these letters, means practical things: visiting someone who is sick, helping someone in need, or comforting someone who is grieving. Those responsibilities belong to the whole community.
One letter begins with his new responsibility as patriarch. The other begins with the birth of Christ. Both lead toward care for other people. They leave a straightforward question to consider: how does what we believe show up in the way we treat someone?
Sources and further reading#
Kyrillos VI, First Papal Message, 10 May 1959
Kyrillos VI, Papal Letter on the Glorious Feast of the Nativity, January 1960
Explore the Saint Pope Kyrillos VI collection
Image credits
Photographs from the sources credited below. Images have not been retouched; some are cropped for display.