Paschal Epistle of His Eminence Andronik Archbishop of New York and North America
PASCHAL EPISTLE
It is the Day of Resurrection. Let us be radiant, O people: Pascha! The Lord’s Pascha! For from death to life, and from earth to heaven hath Christ God has brought us, as we sing the song of victory!
Beloved in the Lord clergy, monastics and laity!
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
CHRIST IS RISEN!
The Lord allowed us to complete the Great Lent and to again attain the glorious Resurrection of Christ.
What has the Great Lenten period taught us?
We have made an effort to follow along the earthly path of the Savior, the path of hardships and suffering, of self-denial and emulation of Lord Jesus Himself, who so loved us that He Himself underwent all manner of trials, and did not even abhor death for the sake of our mutual salvation! We understand that our earthly path leads us through many obstacles, through grief and humiliation, and only in this way can we inherit the Kingdom that God has prepared for us! And if today we rejoice in the Resurrection from the dead of only one God Incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ, imagine what exultation awaits us and the whole world at that Great Hour when we hear the Son of God: Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34), where there will be neither disease, nor sadness, nor complaint, nor death, but only endless life in the Bosom of the Holy Trinity!
How can we inherit such wonderful bliss if we have not learned to battle against our sins? Not the sins of others but with our own. Is it not possible, for the sake of Christ, for us to reject the sins and vices that torment not only us but those around us as well? Time is fleeting, dear brothers and sisters, and one way or another we will all soon have to make the most crucial choice: to inherit Eternal Life with Christ or the sheer hell of the enemy of the human race. Let us choose Eternal Life, brothers and sisters!
Let us forgive each other for all of our failings, extend our hand to our neighbor, embrace each other with joy, and joyously proclaim to the world around us:
CHRIST IS RISEN!!!
TRULY, HE IS RISEN!!!
† Andronik
Archbishop of New York and North America
Pascha
April 15/28, 2019