RTOC Pachal Epistle 2014
Dear in the Lord fellow hierarchs, reverend fathers, brothers and sisters!
Christ is Risen!
“Death celebrate the killing, the destruction of hell,
another life vechnago beginning, and playing, singing Vinovnago,
Single fathers blessed God and Preproslavlennogo “
Today, as in previous years, we again heard the cry of the victorious triumph of truth – Risen Christ – The Sun of Righteousness!
No other greeting can not cause greater joy in the heart of the Orthodox Christian believer than a brief greeting, we greet each other in our greatest holiday of Easter.
And so every time when it is Easter, we are touched by the thought that another year has passed, and the Lord granted us feel again the Easter joy. Thank God, prolonging the summer of our life and giving us this great grace and bright holiday – the celebration of the Resurrection! We are waiting for Passover all year preparing for it, especially in the days of Lent and Holy Week, and looking forward to it as the ultimate triumph in our earthly life, because in any other days we have not been so close to heaven, as in the present.
Yesterday we felt sadness and sorrow – they were particularly noticeable for those believers who diligently attended church services in Holy Week with special sympathy recalled her experiences. It was bitter to read about how Christ gave His closest disciple, as blinded by passions and ignorance malicious enemies and crazy crowd tortured and crucified Him who loves all and forgives all who call upon His Father not for vengeance tormentors and prayed with Divine Love Father! Forgive them. They do not know what they do.
We also, I think, can not comprehend, and that bit of bitterness, which was then tested devoted disciples of Christ – these heirs twelve thrones in the kingdom of Jesus, having to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Later, the Lord will appear to His disciples and reassure them greeting world know the certainty of His resurrection marks on the hands, feet, and side, and partaking of a meal. Then open the necessity of His suffering and glorification through Sunday – Scripture – as well as emmausskim companions, he opened their minds understand the Scriptures, and, leaving them again, repeat them his “Peace be with you”, reminding them of their calling. He himself had already made his ministry and now refer his case to them – let them know what part of the forces necessary for the future of preaching, that the forces which they neither of whom could not get apart from Him, the Redeemer of the human race, and gave them the right to use them with the same despotism, with whatever himself used them. But it will be soon …
And at that moment, every bright hope absorbed sense of deprivation of his mentor, especially in the first hours after the terrible events of Calvary. They, like many of the people knew that Christ was not guilty of the charges against him, that is a terrible injustice to him. However, were still fresh in their memory sorrow inflicted on the last night of his stay with them. What are they were when Jesus took the guards? Were ready to leave in the hands of the latest clothing His pursuers, only to get rid of them. The more he approached one of them to myself at the time, to share His grave misgivings, the less he found himself able to to this. He asked them to pray with him – they sleep. He wants to impress upon them the danger of the coming time – they do not understand. He tells them about the suffering you undergo a few hours – they argue about which of them will be great in the kingdom of heaven. Finally, not from among them there was a traitor who betrayed him?
The unfairness of what is happening at that moment seemed completely invincible, and that can conquer death? But the Lord all things are possible! He conquers death! He is above our earthly perceptions of injustice! Both students and the myrrh-bearing women, who have come to mourn him, I was surprised this took a new truth – victory over death itself, the statement of His divinity and omnipotence.
And we, as believers are Orthodox Christians, we know that by going to hell, beating him and knocking out a hell of our forefathers kept there, and then resurrected in the body of His Lord and us accustomed His victory over death, according to his promise that the believer imat in him eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but pass away from death in the belly (John 5:24).
But in everyday life, we continue to murmur against our Creator and Savior and His rebuke of injustice. How often we hear stories from others that death delights of life of young people or children, and how great the suffering of humanity, but because – where is justice where God? In his stubbornness, succumbing to carnal sophistry, we are looking for earthly justice and earthly evidence of His grace. How can you blame in this one who himself was crucified and himself suffered from frenzied human cruelty? Because of him, and the Jews were waiting for the earthly manifestation of divinity – the King wished to see him on the ground, a leader, a strong ruler, firm hand endearing neighboring nations under the rule of “God’s chosen the kingdom of Israel.” And He brought us another kingdom – the kingdom is not of this world from, He has revealed to us in response to our demands of earthly happiness, that there is something that conquers death itself, and it is something hidden in our hearts. His death on the Cross has given us eternal life, and the possibility of deification. What could be more of this? The Resurrection of Christ opened the gates before mankind once and for all eternity.
How insignificant compared with eternity, with etoyu Truth, the reality of life, our quarrels, our rancor, in which we will be barred entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, which won many grave sinners who repent of their crimes, but did not come there one that holds in the heart of malice or pride.
Oh, if we no longer thought about the inevitable for all of us death and life after it! How quickly would melt at us then remnants of anger and desire for revenge. It is not hateful and deeply unhappy seemed to us villains, their deeds themselves doomed to eternal perdition. After enjoying their cruelty, immorality and lust for power lasts only a few years, and sometimes days, and anguish of their souls after death will continue forever.
And if Christ’s disciples found a gracious powers to forgive the offenders and rejoice in the Lord of disasters, then we should imitate them in this, and not to betray his heart despondency, grumbling, anger and revenge, despite all the hardships of life, will inevitably come our way . Let him deliver us from all this grace of the Resurrection!
After the appearance of the resurrected Christ, coming out of the tomb, Thou winner wives-mvronositsam broadcasts: “Rejoice” – Apostle and His peace giver, not only the world, but also ecstatic jubilation swept soul uzrevshih His friends had already awarded the title of his brother, because they saw his beloved Master and Lord is not defeated torture and death, but the victorious death and living forever in His imperishable glory. In everyday life, death puts an end to human aspirations, desires and passions. But in fact it was the beginning of Christ’s one true and immortal life. Hence – the fearlessness of the Apostles to the threats of the enemies of Christ, their steadfastness, their hardness infidelity friends in the apparent triumph of untruth. And such intrepidity and firmness have revealed not only direct witnesses of Christ’s passion and resurrection, but are now many thousands of our contemporaries, battered by civil war and subjected to torture, prisons and tortured until a painful death.
Resurrection of their Master apostles did not expect bólshih earthly joys century that the word of Christ: “Pakistan shall see you, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you” (In.16 22).
Today we have been given, according to our abilities and strengths, to partake of the joy of His great gift because Easter service at Radiant Easter night allows us to briefly experience, see yet untreated earthly eyes heavenly joy of living.
And then, in the days of Christ’s suffering saints, few believed in his innocence, sympathized with him, and mourned, and he was given only rejoice in His resurrection – and today, eating Easter joy, we look to ourselves: if we were able to all today heart be with Him who has given us eternal life so dearly – Own death on the cross? Because only clean, bezukornaya human conscience allows him to distinguish truth from falsehood, righteousness from the sinful wickedness. And it only gives a person the opportunity to experience the pure joy of the Resurrection light.
Archbishop Nathaniel (Lvov) says of this moment: “… for Easter parade is like mental abilities of man, how he is able to take in his heart that winning blissful joy that the Lord has prepared for ever love him. The Lord wants this joy was always a person, but the sins of man is unable to accept it, and thus condemns himself for flour and gloom, “but because our entire lives we are preparing to accept the Lord, and the feast of Easter allows us not only a foretaste this sweet moment, but also worthy of clearing his conscience in the sacrament of penance, having prepared himself for this.
Because partake of today’s joy, which surpasses the previous sorrow sorrowful memories of Holy Week, and surrender ourselves to the Lord with all your heart, which is able to comfort our most bitter sorrow and defeat a chilling fear of death: “No man but fear of death, freedom bo us the Savior’s death.”
Forty days will be chanted sacred Easter songs, and during all this joyful Prayers will maintain and rekindle in yourself this gift of grace – faith, hope and love, fed us on the night of the Resurrection.
Holy and great sacrament of Easter joy for us is not only a small display of paradise, but also tangible evidence that we can take this bliss, though weak and our strength. But strong One to Whom we seek to cling, Who want to love with all your heart and with all our soul, upon whom lay all our hopes.
Let the Holy Resurrection, fulfilling our hearts a tender joy and love of neighbor, raise us to a new, loving and godly life, so that as Christ was resurrected glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).
Christ is risen indeed!
+ God’s grace Tikhon
Archbishop of Omsk and Siberia,
President of the Synod of the RTOC
