Bishop Demetri's Message for Pascha 2001

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

With these words, I greet each and every one of you with great joy, for indeed Light has dawned upon us as we celebrate the Lord's Resurrection. Today, each of us feels a joy that surpasses all earthly understanding: "Let us rejoice and be glad in it".

As we enjoin this Feast of Feasts, we must purify our thoughts and "cleanse our senses" (Pascal Canon) so that we can clearly see and understand the significance of Holy Pascha. There is great wonder in mere fact that Our Lord transcended death to rise on the third day, but there is much more that we must take from this miraculous event so that our joy will not be hollow and without worth. Let us pause a moment from our festivities to make certain that we understand why we are over-filled with joy.

In the Paschal Canon, we hear the words "we were but yesterday buried with thee, and we shall rise with thee in thy Resurrection". This is one of the greatest mysteries of all - that we are not only witnesses to this great event, but active participants! Yesterday, we were enshrouded in darkness, sickness and death - today we are restored to health and life, and are bathed in the shining and unapproachable Light of Christ. Yesterday we were without hope, and today we have the new hope that eternal life is possible, and the Kingdom of God is open to us.

Let us carry forward each day from this Feast of Feasts the joy that we feel today in our heart of hearts. This is the only true source of joy and gladness, borne of the new hope that there is life beyond the grave; a hope only made possible by Our Lord's death and glorious Resurrection.

May your celebration of Pascha, the well-spring of life, be for you and yours a source of spiritual uplifting and exultation. May the Risen Christ, bless you with days illumined and adorned with the Light of His glorious Resurrection.

In the Risen Lord,

+ Bishop Demetri