The Paschal Epistle of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Beyond the Borders of Ukraine for 2014 in the Year of Our Lord
To the Reverend Clergy, the Deaconate in Christ, Venerable Monastics and all the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church beyond the borders of Ukraine and on Ukrainian native land,
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE HAS RISEN!
For almost 2,000 years these words have been uttered with great joy and spiritual strength from the lips of millions of Christians all over the world. The Resurrection of Christ forms the greatest event that has changed forever their lives and that has fulfilled the meaning and hope for the future.
The Holy Orthodox Church calls Pascha “the Feast of Feasts and the Festival of Festivals.” (Easter Matins, Canticle 8). The Lord’s Pascha is celebrated by the entire Christian world, but only the Orthodox Church celebrates with such illumination and immense excitement, expressing through her Paschal services, the deep spiritual joy and the triumph of life over death.
For Orthodox Christians the celebration of our Lord’s Resurrection becomes the greatest event in their personal life because, now, the day of their birth and the day of their death carry different meaning and importance. By His Holy Resurrection, Christ overcomes death and grants people eternal life. The Holy Apostle Paul writes, “If Christ had not risen, then our preaching is empty and our faith is empty.” (1 Cor 15: 14) Without the Lord’s Resurrection, the Church of Christ would not exist, salvation would be impossible and faith would be futile. There would be no hope, no everlasting life and Christianity would exist like a school of philosophy, having a teacher for a limited group of disciples.
God did not leave us orphans in this world, imbued with sins and death. He did not forget us, His prodigal children. He did not leave His creation in the darkness of sin and damnation. With love for us, He sent His Only-Begotten Son. From the time of the birth of the Son of God, born from the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, the Bethlehem star shone in the heavens for the entire world, showing humans the road to God through the darkness of sin and death. For God loved us so much that He even gave His Only-Begotten Son to death so that we should not die, but have eternal life. Yet, Christ is risen, and by His death, He overcame death.
St. John Chrysostom in his sixth homily about Pascha writes,
“The sacred rays of Christ’s light already shine; the long and dark night is absorbed; cloudy death is hidden; life is open for everyone; all things are fulfilled; Great Christ appears to everyone in inexhaustible light, brighter than the sun.”
We can compare the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ to a star in the dark. It shows us that the road and the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is brighter than the light of the sun, according to St. John Chrysostom. As we all know, there is no life without sunlight. Without the Holy Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, true life, eternal life, cannot exist for us.
In the Holy Gospel we learn that, when He appeared to His Disciples after His Holy Resurrection, the first greeting of our Lord Jesus Christ was: “Peace be with you.” He repeated these words on many occasions and they carry great meaning. With His Holy Resurrection, the Lord provides us with an opportunity for the forgiveness of sins and for unity with Him, and through Him, peace and harmony with oneself, with our neighbours and with all creation in the world.
In this year 2014, from the time of the Nativity of our Lord, Ukraine continues to experience its greatest trial since achieving independence. With pain, anxiety and prayers, we beseech that our Risen Lord bestow peace upon the long-suffering people of Ukraine so that, after the anguish and tribulations which they continue to endure, our Ukrainian nation will witness the light of the Holy Resurrection on its own land in peace.
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE HAS RISEN!
With Hierarchical Blessing,
† YURIJ, Metropolitan
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† ANTONY, Metropolitan
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
Locum Tenens of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Diaspora
† IOAN, Archbishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Diaspora
† JEREMIAH, Archbishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Brazil and South America
† ILARION, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† ANDRIY, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† DANIEL, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA