Archbishop Andronik’s Paschal Epistle
Beloved in the Lord pastors, monastics, and laypeople of our diocese!
Dear brothers and sisters!
CHRIST IS RISEN!
And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. (John 16:22)
The Son of God became incarnate and was born on earth not to arrange the affairs of this world, but to establish us in His Kingdom. The religious leaders of that time crucified Him for precisely this reason — they had hoped to see in Him one who would uproot the pagans, the idolaters, and all manner of wayward people. Sadly, religious leaders to this day remain occupied with the same thing — arranging the affairs of this world and establishing human justice within it, rather than directing human souls onto the path toward God. The Lord warned us that we would know sorrow in this world — not on account of its lawlessness, but from a sense of orphanhood, from the apparent abandonment of us by the Lord. Even in the times of the Apostles, pagan rulers waged wars; yet the Apostles did not direct people toward this world, for it is not ours — they directed them toward the spiritual realm.
We were expelled from the spiritual world, and it is toward that world we must strive, toward it we must direct our thoughts — not toward this world. It is human actions that make this world evil; it does not lie in evil of its own accord. The Lord created it otherwise. In this world, distorted by human sin, we will not find the righteousness of God — nor are we called to seek it here. We are called to what is above.
My dear ones, strive to direct your thoughts and deeds toward that to which we are called. Everything else is from the evil one. We are losing the meaning of the Gospel in our daily lives — as though the Lord’s words were not spoken to us: “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” (Matt. 5:23–24)
St. John Chrysostom explains the Lord’s words: “Let My service be interrupted, He says, if only your love be preserved — for this too is a sacrifice, when one is reconciled with his brother. The Lord places great value on love, and regards it as the greatest sacrifice, and without it He does not accept even a material offering.” But how do we heed these words today? They seem foreign to us, belonging to some distant past — and we carry on as though nothing were amiss, attending the Liturgy, receiving Communion, while a brother who holds something against us simply does not exist for us. Is this why the Lord came to earth? Is this what He taught His disciples? Regrettably, today’s disciples of Christ see “spiritual” life in something else entirely: in the defense of some distorted human justice within a world that does not belong to us. Reconciliation and love for our neighbor must be more important to us than participation in divine services — because love for our neighbor is our divine service. This is the sorrow of which the Lord spoke — and yet in the same breath He encouraged us with the promise of joy. How can the Lord see us? Only through our own striving to see Him. The Zacchaeus of the Gospel climbed a tree in order to see Christ passing by — yet in our daily lives, the Lord passes by and we make no effort to see Him; we simply want Him to see us. For our salvation, it is not enough that the Lord see us. We must first see Him — and then He will see us, and our hearts will rejoice.
My dear ones, with all my heart during these holy festal days, I wish you — with hearts that love your neighbor — to behold Christ. And that joy, no one will ever be able to take from us. It is this joy I wish for you: genuine, not formal joy in the Risen Christ!
Without the Crucifixion there is no Resurrection; without struggle against oneself there is no change!
CHRIST IS TRULY RISEN!!!
† Andronik, Archbishop of New York and North America
Pascha of Christ,
30 March / 12 April 2026