Verily, He had nothing to do in India, or in Egypt, or in Greece, or in any other country, and even in Palestine, His earthly homeland. But He learned in the land of Silence - in His soul, in which the Spirit of God always breathed. The same Spirit of God, by Whose power He was bodily conceived in the body of His Mother, did not leave His soul for a moment. Thus He grew in wisdom from the Holy Spirit and did not need anyone to teach Him.

And what could He have learned in India? Many of us now know what India knows, and we regret to say that it is not enough.

The Indians say: "The incarnation of God and His appearance in the form of a man are not unknown to us. God Krishna incarnated many times, walked among people and taught them." Alas, what did he teach them? And what did it save them from, if even today India, the land of Krishna, immersed in sorrow and despair, groans from this life and yearns for nirvana, non-existence and emptiness? What kind of God is this, if He incarnated and walked the earth so often, and could not change the fate of mankind for the better?

And the god Shiva, they say, also incarnated many times, and lived among people, and taught people! What did he teach them? Nothing but the desperate belief that this world, infinite in time and space, was and is a labyrinth without windows or doors, and that all gods are just as helpless and desperate creatures as men. This was confirmed by Gautama Buddha, who said that he came to save people, gods, and demons (with their lord archibes) from the samsara of existence.

Ah, Theodoulos, our mother India has nothing to teach us. She must renounce all fables about gods who cannot save either themselves or people. All its gods are demons, keeping people bound in the nets of their lies and in the shackles of their ruthless dominion.

Our Mother India must accept that God who is so powerful, so omnipotent, that it is enough for Him to appear once in human flesh among men to bring about the salvation of the human race. The true God is not like a man, for example, the governor of a certain region, who has to go to this or that city many times to repair the bridges in it, and then these bridges again break down. But God is God, the one and only, omnipotent, all-wise, all-righteous, all-merciful, eternal, invincible, terrible, all-pure, loving to mankind.

The incarnation of such a God in the world is an event that is not repeated in the history of mankind, nay, in the history of the universe.

Such a God, to Whom everything is possible that He thinks and what He utters, appeared in the world almost two thousand years ago. He appeared as the Son of the Most High God, as God from God, was incarnated by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was born in the cave of Bethlehem. He spent thirty years in silence, in hourly inner communion with His Father and the Holy Spirit, until He went out into the world at the appointed time for His ministry.

He is the only and true Messiah and Savior of the world. The other did not come and will not come.

Baptism

What a beautiful name you bear, O Theodoulos, servant of God! Thousands of people with meaningless and stupid names can envy you. And your name is exceptional. In our Serbs, the first name is given on the banner when a child is born. But this name changes the godfather at Baptism and gives the child a new, lasting name. Blessed is your godfather, who gave you the name Theodoulos, which means "servant of God."

In fact, this is the name of the Messiah Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. For He Himself said of Himself: The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. Christ did not come like the Indian Krishna, only to order, forbid and dictate; and not like the demonic Shiva to plot and destroy; but he came to serve. To serve His Father who is in heaven and God's people on earth. A real Theodoulos!

Truly He served without rest or respite. He served in silence and in word. He served with prayer and deeds. He served with sweat and tears. He served with suffering and torment. Most of all, He served as His personal example.

His baptism in the Jordan is also a service to people by example, without words.