My Beloved the Benevolent                                                            

Khristos Anesti           Alithos Anesti

Christ is Risen         Truly He is Risen

We rejoice in celebrating the Resurrection Feast of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ throughout the Holy Fifty days.

• The Resurrection of Christ is a victory over death, “With death He overcame death and those who are in the tombs were granted eternal life.”
• The Resurrection of Christ is a victory over sin, for Christ suffered, died on the cross and resurrected, “to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” Heb. 9:26
• The Resurrection of Christ is a victory over enmity and reconciling man with God, “that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them” 2 Cor. 5:19
• The Resurrection of Christ is a victory over the old things and the beginning of a new life “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Cor. 5:17

My Beloved

Our celebration of the Resurrection Feast this year came under different circumstances and in a different way than any other year. We celebrated the Resurrection at a time when the whole world suffered and is still suffering from the spread of the Covid-19 virus, also known as the Coronavirus. This spread has resulted in the loss of thousands of lives all over the world along with various economical, health and social impacts. It therefore resulted in strict rules to avoid getting infected as well as preventing the spread of the virus, and thereby has forced a restriction on gatherings. This led to celebrating the Resurrection Feast this year in a different way; celebrating and rejoicing the Resurrection of our Savior while remaining at home and not at our churches as we have every year.

Thus, let us remember Christ’s disciples; how and where did they rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ?

Christ told His disciples about His Crucifixion and Resurrection and asked them to go to Galilee to meet Him after the Resurrection. Before His Crucifixion as St. Matthew mentioned, “Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Matt. 26:31-32 and after the Resurrection when Christ met with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, He said to them, “Do not be afraid, go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” Matt. 28:10 At the beginning, the disciples didn’t go to Galilee, but as St. Luke mentions, regarding the disciples of Emmaus after they met Christ, “So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together” Lu. 24:33 St. John had revealed the reason for them not to go to Galilee, “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples we assembled, for fear of the Jews” Jn. 20:19 The disciples were not able to go to meet the resurrected Christ in Galilee, but remained in the upper room in Jerusalem and the doors were shut because of fear. So, what did our loving Christ do? “Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” Jn. 20:19-20

This year we are not able to go to church to meet our Living Christ the Resurrected and rejoice with Him and every one, in His glorious Resurrection because of the fear of spreading this virus. But with faith and certainty, we trust our loving Christ to come to our homes and say to each gathered family, “Peace be with you.” and manifest to us the power of His glorious Resurrection. We rejoice together as we see the strong and mighty Lord, Who is capable of doing everything for us at all times and everywhere. As He appeared to the disciples in different places throughout the 40-days, He can also be present to celebrate His Holy Resurrection during the Holy Fifty days in our churches and homes everywhere.

My beloved

The Resurrection of Christ grants us hope that no matter how long darkness lasts, light will shine upon us with the true light of His glorious Resurrection. Let us remember the Shunammite woman and her strong faith when God permitted her son to die, she went with faith to Elisha the Prophet and he asked her, “Is it well with you? Is it well with our husband? Is it well with the child?” And she answered, “It is well.”  2 Kings 4:26 She said it was well with the child in spite of the fact that he was dead and her soul was bitter and sad; but she was seeing what no one can see: She was seeing her son alive with eyes of faith. As it was said about Moses the Prophet, “by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” Heb.11:27 St. Paul the Apostle mentioned this woman among the heroes of the faith, saying, “Women received their dead raised to life again.” Heb. 11:35

May our loving, living Christ grant us, through the power of His glorious Resurrection, strength during these days that we may see these painful events through faith in God; and rejoice to see God’s compassionate hands turning evil to good, sorrow to gladness, illness to healing and death to life.

Let us pray for the peace of the world and the safety of everyone; may the Lord bless your offerings to support Santa Verena Charity’s programs.

Metropolitan Serapion