Metr. DANIEL (TOC-Bulgaria) of Phillipolis: Paschal Epistle

(Mostly Google Translation)

Beloved in the Lord hierarchs, pastors, monastics, and all the faithful of the True Orthodox Bulgarian Church!

Today, we cry to you!

Christ is Risen!

This message, like the rising sun, the message returns us hope for eternal life, the message asserts the kingdom of God in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

“Christ is risen!” – The heart Rejoices!
“Christ is risen!” – The mind Celebrates!
“Christ is risen!” – The will Celebrates the completion of the feat of fasting, prayer and repentance!

We again and again want to repeat this cry: “Christ is Risen”.
All of our being wants to be filled with the grace of the Risen God, because we are – members of joy of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the joys of the Apostles and disciples of Christ, the joy of all the saints …
Pass the path of Lent. At this time the decree of the Holy Spirit, IPBTS found her in the temple, and the Primate of the Saints Cosmas and Domian besserebryannikov in the city of Plovdiv was made his enthronement. The church acquired complete.

But the perfidy of the human propensity to sin, and has no boundaries! He who yesterday was next to me and told me: “You are My bishop and Father, thy blessing, we accept as the will of God and trust in thee our lives and souls, and ready to follow you.” Today, I betraying kiss of Judah. Bless the Lord telling me plotting treachery against their bishop. And very soon the man himself will judge violated canons and rules of the Holy Church! When will this robbery, I ask you dear brothers and sisters to stay true to your bishop and not to be like Judas, who betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver. Know your brothers and sisters with you and the Bishop of our Synod is ready to accept all those seeking protection under its Amofor. Your bishop did not resign himself to the cross which he took on the Cross of the week and will carry it through. And those who revolt against the bishop has condemned himself, and soon it will condemn the Church and our humility. It can not be in the life of the Primate’s nothing personal, private, myself and my life belongs to God without reserve and the Church.

During Lent, we heard the Akathist to the Mother of God, singing penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete. Like the apostles Luke and Cleopas, marched to Emmaus, we are in a procession to the Easter argued among themselves about the events of Holy Week: “What was Jesus of Nazareth … as delivered him … condemned to death and crucified “(Luke 24:15).

All of our lives – is the way to Emmaus disciples, the path through the bitterness of doubt to the brilliance of Easter. As the Apostle preaches Luke: “And when they talked and reasoned with themselves, and Jesus himself drew near and went with them” (Luke 24:15). But we should not be afraid of the difficulties which now bears our church does not have to fill my heart with envy and otchaiyaniem We know that, like a ray of sunlight which destroys the night and we will meet your IPBTS truly resurrects rasvet in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! Christ is Risen!
Fear not little flock, I said to you, Christ and all the sorrows and joys shared with us the Lord Himself.

Beloved! We try to meet with God, but God Himself condescends to us. Sometimes we think we are alone … But it was the Lord teaches us to silence, in which the Easter bells will sound! We think that we are poor … but it was the Lord once again shows us where to be our true wealth! We think that we offend … But it was the Lord gives us the opportunity to join the Cross, so that in our minds from seeing the light of Christ’s Resurrection!

Dear brothers and sisters! Today our hearts once again embarrassed at the sight of unprecedented natural disasters, wars and other challenges faced by modern civilization, the fruits of which we are reaping today, our society is facing serious issues such as the impoverishment of the people especially pensioners, low wages and high food prices, no grip means for health and education, youth who now resides under the influence of other values, godless ideals.
And this can not and do not bother to care about us!
But Easter – a celebration of Life! The Lord has taken away the sins of the world, enlightens us today brightest rays of the Resurrection! Therefore, we boldly sing, cry, and the verb proverb:
Christ is risen from the dead, death by death and upon those in the graves bestowing life!
We, the Orthodox, we Christians have the power to do good and love one another! This is what calls us to the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian: “Beloved, If God so loved us, we ought to love one another “(I Jn. 4: 10-11).

Dear brothers and sisters! With great joy, celebrating the Resurrection of Christ and congratulating each other, we all bear witness to the salvation of the world of the future resurrection has given us in Christ!
Greetings and Happy Easter Christ the whole Bulgarian nation, in Bulgaria and elsewhere, the Orthodox are now unable to be with his family and friends. Although we are separated from each other by distance and space, but these days our hearts are one. For Christ on the Cross his hands stretched out to gather and to show rastochennyya unity of the human race by His Glorious Resurrection!
On this day, “Whose Lord has made” (Psalm 117:24), I wish all children of the True Orthodox Church Bulgarian abundant gifts of grace of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ! We follow the life-affirming appeal of the Apostle Paul: “Rejoice, perfect, good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace – and the God of love and peace will be with you” (II Cor. 13:11).

Christ is Risen!
CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!

Daniel II
Metropolitan Filipoppolsky,
Primate of the True Orthodox Bulgarian Church
Pascha 2012.