Новости

Dear brothers and sisters!

 

The Resurrection of Christ brightens the entire Universe. “Today each creature joys and celebrates, because Christ is risen, and hell is captive”. And fallen spirits rage in their powerless malice. God-Man resurrected in a mysterious way and crushed the gates of hell and brought the souls of the righteous, being in hell, to Heaven.

But in his unrepentant pride demons can not accept defeat and take up arms for people with increasing fury. Every day we see crazy madness of the modern world. It is particularly evident in our long-suffering Motherland, Holy Russia, where most of our compatriots, who imagine themselves to be Orthodox Christians, did not groan with the Church in the days of Holy Week, did not empathize sufferings of the Lord, and indulged in worldly unnecessary care and all sorts of entertainment in “holidays” set by the theomachists.

And it is difficult not to remember here the words of our contemporary, Fr. Seraphim (Rose): “Jesus Christ is innocent – He has nothing to atone for, He is omniscient – He has nothing to comprehend, He is universal – He has nothing to strive for. Therefore His suffering showed altruism and compassion incomprehensible for human”.

 

Indeed, despite all of our fall, the Lord is patient for people's sins, and honors us to taste the ineffable joy of Easter this year. Even the hymns can not convey it in its entirety. After all, today we: “celebrate the killing of death, destruction of hell, beginning of another eternal life”.

Let us gather these same verbs in our hearts, so that they become the oil, which fill lampads of the wise virgins, for us. Let us keep the light of Easter joy, which has always been a pole star for the Saints, in our hearts. Let us participate in killing of passions to rise with Him by the voice of a trumpet. Let us throw off funeral chasubles pleasing the deceitful body. Let us take away a stone of laziness for salvation from the soul sealed by sin. Let us fill the chest with life-giving breath of the Resurrection and cry: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!”

Christ is risen!
Truly He is Risen!

† His Grace Aleksіs, Bishop of Soltanovka and Little Russia.
Kyiv. The Easter 2013