Pascha Encyclical
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Pascha 2014
This is the day of resurrection. Let us be illumined by the feast. Let us embrace each other. Let us call "brothers" even those that hate us, and forgive all by the resurrection, and so let us cry: Christ is Risen from the Dead! (Doxastikon of Pascha)
To the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of Parish Councils, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Members of Philanthropic Organizations, the Youth and Youth Workers, and the entire Orthodox Christian Family in North and Central America
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In the name of the Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we greet you with the salvific and vibrant message of Holy Pascha: Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Together, as one family, we have completed the spiritual journey of Great Lent. Standing on Golgotha with the Most-blessed Theotokos and John the Evangelist, we have witnessed the Author of creation nailed to the Cross. With boldness and profound faith, together with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, we have dared to touch the life-giving Body of our Lord. And with the Myrrh-bearing Women, we have received the eternal peace and experienced the deafening silence of the Cenotaph of Jesus Christ.
Through the Holy Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, humanity, along with the rest of creation, has been liberated and transformed. Indeed, we no longer speak about a world that is estranged from God since creation has been delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8: 20-21). Once frail and mortal, humanity is now a spring of vigor in and for the world. Therefore, we are all called not only to come receive the Light, but to also embrace our neighbors as brother and sister, sharing with them the Light of Christ that illumines all.
With heartfelt paternal love, we pray that this blessed Paschal Season illumines and invigorates your hearts and minds, and that your families experience the eternal joy of the Holy Resurrection.
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!