“A Christian is a person of perennial Advent, that is, a person who is constantly journeying, constantly waiting”, said Bishop Kirill Klimovitch of Irkutsk in a Pastoral Letter to the faithful marking the beginning of Advent. “Kindness” is one of the many indications offered for this “journey” – an “irreplaceable value” on “our earthly pilgrimage”. “We have seen it clearly in the difficult time of the pandemic, when many people, through selfless acts of love and service, have done good to others”, the Bishop recalled, pointing to kindness as “a style of thought and action in our daily lives”. The Bishop also wrote that “Advent needs our participation, because not everything comes by itself”: creativity and patience are another two words suggested by the Bishop. Speaking of the Synod that has just begun, he said “it is a kind of Advent journey, where we go out to meet the Lord who comes, and we prepare ourselves and our communities to welcome Him, so that He may live with us”. Mgr. Klimovitch reiterated that “the Synodal journey is not just for priests and monks”, but for all; and he urged “priests and monks, to create the conditions for shared conversations and reflections, so that together we can build vibrant and active communities”.