Paschal Epistle Of Bishop Andrei
Christ is Risen!
Beloved fathers, brothers and sisters in the Lord,
The salvation of man is a mystery incomprehensible to our mind. We have been brought into existence by the almighty command of God. Man is God’s beloved creation, created in the image and likeness of God. Man has free will, which is the main feature of the image of God. But freedom makes man capable of falling. Being free, man can choose evil over good. And the man fell. Sin has entered human nature and perverted it.
It was necessary to renew human nature in such a way as to attract him to the good without violating man’s freedom, to instill in human nature a free striving for goodness, for righteousness, for God. The means of man’s salvation, established in the pre-eternal Council of the Holy Trinity, was the coming to earth of the Son of God, His incarnation, teaching, miracles, and finally, His voluntary crucifixion and resurrection from the dead on the third day.
It has been 2,000 years since this great mystery of salvation has been accomplished once and forever, for all ages. God did not suffer His creation to be tormented by the devil, but came and saved us.
But even now man has the freedom to accept or reject God’s saving hand.
On the night when the Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said to those who came to seize Him: “This is your hour and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). At that moment, His divine power stepped back for a time to allow the devil’s servants to accomplish what was established in the Divine Council before the foundation of the world. And the Lamb Who takes away the sins of the whole world was slain. God’s providence is so powerful that, while allowing His enemies to do evil, He incomprehensibly turns this evil to the fulfillment of His divine plan.
The power of darkness is what we see in the world today. This darkness is devoid of light, because the source of light in the world, the Orthodox Church, does not shed the pure light of Christ. And here is an example: the current war in Ukraine has clearly shown the degree of spiritual decline, to which the church of the Moscow Patriarchate has reached. Its clergy, headed by the Patriarch, justify and bless this senseless murder of Orthodox people. For the third year in a row, the feast of Pascha in Ukraine will be celebrated under falling bombs. Even on this great feast, Russian soldiers do not stop shelling. We should not get used to this crime committed in the name of Russia. Let this be a constant pain for us.
We see how evil expands in the world, how shamelessly atheism blasphemes, how it triumphs over its imaginary victory over the Truth. However, at the same time with this insane satanic festival, invisibly, irresistibly, the work of God’s Providence is carried out, leading the world to the goals determined before the creation of the world. But the world that lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), does not understand the ways of God’s providence, and does not want to know them.
Our time presents us with more and more new challenges. And so it will be until “the trial that is coming upon the whole world” (Rev. 3:10–11) appears, foretold in the Holy Scriptures. What do we need to withstand these trials? First of all, in the Church there must be oneness of mind and spiritual unity among the bishops, clergy and laity. Such unity is possible only when everyone remains in obedience, within the limits of his rank. The Church stands on the foundation of love and humility, which is manifested in the voluntary, willing obedience. Those who throw off the yoke of obedience sin against the Church, they destroy love that binds and holds together the edifice of the Church.
On the night of Pascha we hear the Gospel tidings that God has regenerated us to new life through the resurrection of Christ and made us, who believe in Him, His children. Therefore, He calls us through the Apostle to distance ourselves from the defilements of this world: “Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; and I will receive you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:17).
Amen.
I congratulate you all on the great feast of Pascha.
Christ is Risen!
Bishop Andrei
Melbourne. Pascha 2024