Addressings of the Heads of the Local Orthodox Churches to the faithful
(
22.04.2009
)
All Orthodox Churches around the world, celebrated the greatest feast of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. Heads of Local Orthodox Churches sent their greetings to faithful people.
The Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew:
“The Resurrection is a notorious historical reality. And such reality, has direct and salvation consequences for all of us. The Son of God has risen! God was resurrected together with all of humanity that He assumed: in the Body that He received from the pure blood of the Most Holy Theotokos as well as in His sacred soul. He was risen from the dead, “resurrecting the whole of Adam in His loving-kindness. ” Christ’s grave, the “empty tomb” of Joseph, is forever empty. Instead of being a grave for the dead, it is a memorial of victory over death; it is a fountain of life! The spiritual Sun of Righteousness has dawned “beautiful, as from a grave,” granting the unwaning light, peace, joy, gladness, and eternal life. It is true that the temples were the “tombs” of God, but they were empty tombs, filled with light and replete with “the fragrance of life” and the smell of Paschal spring, brilliant, splendid, adorned in glory and with life-giving flowers of tangible hope.
Russian Patriarch Cyril:
“Let the Whole-Mighty God support us in our acknowledging Him, in our common love, in the deeds of our common struggle and in charity. Let us make our eager efforts so that, not only our lives but the life of the whole society as well, be organized towards the God’s commandments, because only the fulfillment of the God’s Commandments brings fullness and harmony in human’s life. In this way, we may witness our love to God, as He said to us: “If you love Me, you will obey what I command” (John, 14, 15). In these hard times, let us declare our Christian call, let us help each other so that no one of us must feel humiliated, abandoned, poor and hurt. I wish all of you to aspire to Heaven, with all of your thoughts, deeds and intentions, always having the Apostle words on mind: “And so that, if you have risen together with Christ, look for what is up there, where Christ sits on the right side of God” (Kol. 3, 1).
The Patriarch of
“The Son of God, The Only Begotten Son, through cross came down to Hades and with the power of His Father and His Divine power, conquered the death, crushed the force of the enemy, His most pure Flesh didn’t recognise the decay in the tomb, but he rose up from the death and with His body resurrected the whole Adam in His loving kindness. He resurrected us, indeed, He rose up us, indeed, He rejoiced us, indeed, He returned to us the old primarily created treasure! With this power, which the embodied, crucified and from the death Risen, Lord Jesus Christ submitted in our human nature (origin), the man became strong against the devil and death.”
Patriarch of
“Resurrection, brothers, means: liberation from the sins, forgiveness, transfiguration and creation of our correlation (association) to God, with ourselves, with other people and with the blessed and suffering creation, in which we live unfortunately, without taking any care for it, for a long time now….Resurrection means that we have definitely found the way which leads to the fatherland we’ve lost once – The Kingdom of Heaven. Resurrection means also that we have the opportunity to touch the truth really, and to touch the mystery of our being…”
Archbishop of
The Embodied Word, the Second Appearance of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ our Lord, overwhelmed the death, giving us new possibilities, giving the sense and breath to our wishes, noticing to us the advantage of light over darkness. In the darkness, the eclipsed from sins icon of human, changes and identify itself with hate and loss. Risen Christ came to transform this fallen icon. He transforms us all and each of us individually. He calls us to overcome the selfishness and the personal self-fullness, showing us the bright path of the human “we” instead the “I” (the ego). In such light, man finds his real expression, which is nothing else but our meeting with God, by serving our fellow ones.”
Albanian Archbishop Anastasias
“With Christ’s Resurrection, a new form of human’s existence began. The faith in Resurrection, the conviction that “Every power has been given to Him, in Heaven and on Earth” (Mathew 28, 19), released His disciples from any fear and anxiousness and transfigure them in brave preachers of the New Life in Christ.
“Do not be frighten!” Nowadays, the fears grew up, and such fears are the peril to our life. Moreover, lately again, all such fears are bigger because of the whole hardiness’s and difficulties caused by the world crisis. Old and new fears are burdening our thoughts and press our hearts. In such tensed atmosphere comes the feast of Resurrection, and invites every faithful human to proceed further on the road of liberation from the fear: the fear that makes us enemies to each other, the fear which gives birth to the injustice and cruelty in our society. The fear from the various sins entering our lives and destroying them…”
Source: Дверибг.нет
