As conflicts continue to scar large parts of the Middle East and beyond, leading Christian patriarchs from the region used their Christmas messages this year to emphasize faith as a source of light, urging peace, reconciliation and renewed commitment to human dignity in a time of global upheaval.

From Antioch to Baghdad, church leaders framed the birth of Jesus Christ not as a distant historical memory, but as a living call to hope and moral responsibility in a world weighed down by war, displacement and political uncertainty.

In his Christmas message, Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, described the Nativity as a perpetual declaration of God's closeness to humanity. He said that the meaning of Christmas transcends circumstances, insisting that joy rooted in faith remains possible even amid fear and instability.

"The presence of Christ," he said, "has the power to transform fear into reassurance and despair into hope," underscoring the idea that spiritual resilience does not depend on external conditions.

Patriarch Mor Aphrem II also reflected on the approaching 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, highlighting its central profession of faith that Christ is "Light from Light, true God from true God." He called on believers to open their hearts to that light and to become witnesses of peace within their homes and communities.

In Iraq, Cardinal Mor Louis Raphaël Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, delivered his Christmas message against the backdrop of persistent regional violence and what he described as a global erosion of ethical values. He emphasized that faith in God remains a fundamental source of hope in times marked by war and social fragmentation.

Addressing Iraq's domestic situation, Cardinal Sako called for the birth of a new political phase grounded in national responsibility, one capable of ending years of suffering and establishing genuine coexistence among the country's diverse communities.

He stressed that Christmas is not merely a commemoration of a past event, but an invitation to spiritual renewal and a renewed commitment to peace and love. He also appealed to leaders and followers of all religions to confront the roots of conflict and to work collectively toward a world defined by justice and human dignity.

Both messages concluded with prayers for victims of war, the displaced and the wounded, and with hopes that the coming year might bring healing, peace and renewed hope to the peoples of the region and the wider world.