ΙΕΡΑ ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΗ

ΑΜΕΡΙΚΗΣ

                                                                                            Pascha 2005

The Reverend Clergy

Esteemed Members of the Parish Councils, Philoptochos Societies,

Faculty & Students of the Catechetical and Greek Afternoon Schools,

Directors and Participants of all Youth Organizations, and all devout

Orthodox Christians of the Greek Orthodox Communities of our Holy Metropolis of New Jersey

Beloved in the Lord,                                                                       

CHRIST IS RISEN!

            It is with extraordinary joy and unrestrained enthusiasm that we sing praises to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today, on the great Feast of Pascha. We give thanks to our heavenly Father who has made us worthy to once again celebrate this First of the Sabbaths, the Queen and Sovereign, the Feast of Feasts, Festival of Festivals, and all-venerable and life-saving Pascha. Indeed, as Orthodox Christians, let us celebrate with all of our hearts and souls, His after 3-day glorious Resurrection.

             All of creation participates and rejoices in the celebration today of Christ’s Resurrection, and even more so, do we who were made in His likeness and image. Today, more than ever, our Christian heart and soul experience the truly infinite love that our Lord Jesus Christ has for all of His creation. Indeed, it is even for the most wretched soul that our Lord suffered on the Cross, submitted Himself to human death, and subsequently, through His glorious Resurrection, opened the doors of Paradise for all who would believe in His Name.

           Christ our God, who is Life itself, is at the very heart and foundation of our jubilation today. For it is Christ Who destroyed and conquered death, and it is the unwaning and intensely bright Light of the Resurrection that trampled upon the powers of darkness. Moreover, we rejoice today, my beloved children in the Risen Lord, because the never-dawning and unceasing Divine Light continues to enlighten and illumine the footsteps of every pious individual, leading man to the boundless and everlasting glory of the Heavenly Kingdom of God.

             “This is the Day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This is the exhortation of the Resurrectional Canon, so that we may truly celebrate Pascha since Christ’s Resurrection is the very wellspring of our spiritual bliss. Unequivocally, the Resurrection of Christ is the fundamental dogma of our Holy Orthodox Church, for without the Resurrection, Christianity has no meaning. St. Paul reminds us of this eternal truth in his letter to the Corinthians, “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.” (1 Cor. 15:14)

             My beloved, with these thoughts and pious reverence, let us enter unto the spiritual banquet of the His glorious Resurrection, receiving the unwaning Light so that our joy may be fully complete. Let us also, as one spiritual family, receive the grace and blessings of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, Whose infinite mercy, compassion and divine blessing be with all of you always. Amen.

With love in the Risen Lord,

THE METROPOLITAN

 

†E V A N G E L O S

Metropolitan of New Jersey

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