“With lamps in our hands, we will go to the meeting of Christ,
who comes from the tomb as a groom, and we will celebrate with joy
celebrating ranks the saving
God’s Easter” (Troparion of the Easter Canon)
Beloved of the Lord, all-honorable priests, dear brothers and sisters!
CHRIST IS RISEN!
“Now the crying of mortals has stopped and the light of the Resurrection has shone – a sign of God’s supreme love for us. Now the death to man was to be subjected, Christ destroyed by His death, presenting as the price of redemption: for His soul – His soul, for His body – His body, for man – Man, for death – death. Which righteous person has ever died voluntarily for the unrighteous, or the father for the son, or the son for the father? But the Lord did it for us. He not only created us in Adam, but also revived us by the spirit in His suffering,” we hear from St. Epiphanius of Cyprus in the word on the Holy Resurrection of Christ. During the seven weeks of Great Lent, through fervent prayers and sincere repentance, the Church prepares us for the feast of the Lord’s Passover. The joy of meeting the Risen Savior for a Christian is similar to the joy experienced by the righteous Simeon the God-Recipient, when the Most Pure Virgin Mary, according to the Old Testament law, brought the Infant of God Christ to the Jerusalem temple on the fortieth day. This meeting was the most important event in the life of the righteous Simeon. The divine promise was fulfilled and the elder, wise with gray hair, was vouchsafed not only to behold, but also to hold the Savior of all mankind in his arms. From the gospel history, we know that few were worthy to meet Christ, most of those who considered themselves righteous and guardians of the Law of Moses, on the contrary, saw in Him a threat to their imaginary religiosity. Instead of learning from Him the true worship of God, they persecute Him and try to pervert the Words of Eternal Life. Instead of saving your lost souls and, like the Apostle Peter, stretching out your hands to the Divine Teacher, proclaim: “My God! Save me” (Matthew 14:30), on the contrary, they shout in a complete frenzy: “Crucify Him” (Mk. 15; 13).
“People have condemned God to death; by His resurrection He condemns them to immortality. He rewards blows with hugs, insults with a blessing, and death with immortality. Never have people shown themselves to hate God more than when they crucified Him; and never has God shown more love for people than when He was resurrected. People wanted to make God mortal, but God made people immortal by His resurrection. The crucified God has risen and killed death. Death no longer exists. Immortality has surrounded man and all his worlds,” says the Monk Justin (Popovich).
The life of a modern person has changed little. Instead of being true disciples of Christ and “having love among themselves” (John 13:35), people continue to commit iniquities. And against this background, the Easter joy and the news of Christ Risen from the dead instills in our souls not only optimism, but also helps us to endure the hustle and bustle of life and anxiety more easily.
On the bright feast of Easter of Christ, I prayerfully wish everyone to become participants in the spiritual celebration in love and peace and from the bottom of my heart pronounce the words of the Easter Canon: “Resurrection Day! And we will shine with triumph and embrace each other; we will say: “Brothers!” and to those who hate us, we will forgive everything for the sake of resurrection and so we will cry: “Christ has risen from the dead, death has been corrected, and He has given life to those who are in the grave!”
CHRIST IS TRULY RISEN!
Bishop of Molodechno and Stolbtsovsky.
Easter of Christ, 2022.
Molodechno