My beloved the Benevolent                                          

“He went out conquering and to conquer.”

Rev. 6:2

Xristos Anesti              Alisos Anesti

Christ is Risen            Truly He is Risen

I am pleased to congratulate you on the Resurrection of our Lord, our God and our Savior Jesus Christ.  The Feast of the Resurrection is the feast of victory. Christ rose from the dead, triumphing over death, sin, Satan and the world. Indeed, “He went out conquering and to conquer” Rev. 6:2

1. Victory over death: Death entered the world because of sin, “For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Gen. 2:17. The first man disobeyed the commandment, ate from the tree of sin, and was stripped of grace. Adam brought to himself and the entire human race, the sentence of death. The human race came under the bondage of death, “dead in trespasses”, Eph. 2:5. “Thus death passed to all people, as everyone sinned.” Rom. 5:12 Christ rose victorious over deathand, “raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places” Eph. 2:6.  Death no longer has power over man, but rather death is a departure from life to a better life. As St. Paul the Apostle said, “Death is swallowed up in victory. “, “O death where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 1Co. 15: 54, 55.

2. Victory over sin:  The sting of death is sin. Sin is separation from God, separation from life, separation from light, and separation from holiness; God is life and light and He is the Holy of the Holy. The separation of man from God made him stumble in darkness and turn to evil. Man became unable to be justified neither by his actions nor by the works of the law, “They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” Rom. 3:12   Man came under the bondage of sin which dwells in him, “As for me, my body is sold under sin.” As for Christ, “He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” Heb. 9:26  He freed us from the law of sin and death, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” Rom. 8:2.  Christ, with His glorious resurrection, freed us from condemnation, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” Rom. 8:1 Thus, we must follow according to the Spirit, meaning, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which we received after baptism in the Sacrament of the Holy Chrismation.  True freedom is freedom from sin, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” Jn. 8:34 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Jn. 8:36

Sin is death because it separates us from God, and repentance is life because by repentance we return to God, as the Prodigal Son did.  As the father said in the parable of the Prodigal Son, “For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Lu. 15:24.

3. Victory over Satan: God created man in His image and likeness, gave him life to live in purity and holiness, and prepared for him the eternal kingdom.  But through Satan’s envy and deception, man fell, and the human race fell with him; but God in His love sent His Son into the world to save us from Satan’s bondage. The Son of God took our human nature with a rational soul and accepted that Satan tempt Him, to conquer Satan and grant us victory over him.  Christ conquered Satan in the wilderness and achieved the greatest victory over him on the cross, “He Humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” Phil 2:8 The Glorious Resurrection proclaimed Christ’s victory over Satan.

4. Victory over the world: The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1Jn. 5:19) because Satan is the prince of this world.  The world has its values, ideas, and lusts. Christ, with His resurrection, triumphed over the world and invited us to trust in His victory over the world, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jn.16:33 We live in the world but, “We know that we are of God” 1Jn. 5:19

My Beloved

Let us rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and our resurrection with Him.

Let us rejoice in victory over death, sin, Satan and the world.

Let us rejoice in the new life that has been granted to us, “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for He who died for them and rose again.” 2 Cor. 5:15  

May God bless all your lives and bless your gifts to support Santa Verena’s charitable programs.

Metropolitan Serapion