Paschal Epistle of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

Your Eminences, Brother Archpastors, Reverend Pastors and Monastics, Colleagues and Helpers in the Harvest Fields of Christ, and All the Beloved Children of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Photo: iconreader.wordpress.com With God’s help, we safely crossed the sea of Great Lent and reached the bright days of the Lord’s Pascha. May the present celebration, for which we have been preparing with prayer and fasting, renew the right spirit, that is, a healthy spirit, in our hearts, in order to understand the mystery of Christ’s Resurrection, to enjoy the “riches of goodness” of which Chrysostom writes, and to anticipate “eternal joy”! Let us give praise to the Savior as the destroyer of Hell and death, and, embracing one another with holy kisses, let us be comforted by the common spiritual joy in Him, in accordance with the Apostle’s admonition: “Rejoice, be perfected, be comforted, be of one mind, be peaceable, and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11).

Let us thank God that we have the opportunity, living among other peoples, according to the customs of our ancestors, to pray, fast, celebrate and glorify the Risen Christ, telling the truth about our persecuted brothers who are enduring great sorrows. May our feast be united with the general yearning of the faithful to God for peace and for the persecuted Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onouphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. For “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it,” says the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 12:26). As we gather to celebrate the feast of Pascha, let us pray for one another, for our beloved Church, for the persecuted and those in need, and for peace in the world.

May the grace of Holy Pascha unite all of us into one strong and friendly family. The power of celebrating this “sacrament of the sacraments,” as His Beatitude Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) spoke of Easter, strengthens us in bearing the cross of life, renews our inner strength, and inspires us with spiritual vigor and undaunted courage to endure all the sorrows, temptations, and sufferings that befall us in life.

By their example, the hierarchs and confessors of the twentieth century, who died one hundred years ago, call us to such a celebration of Pascha: Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and Jonah, Bishop of Hankow. Both of them, surrounded by chaos, suffering and human passions, lived in holiness and beauty, showing concern for their neighbors who were hungry for Christian love, preaching the Gospel to them in word and deed, filling their hearts with peace, grace and hope. Through the prayers of these great hierarchs, who by their feats sanctified not only our Fatherland, but also the centers of our emigration in North America and China, may our words and deeds become a witness to faith and love, so that we, like them, may become like lamps illuminating the dark corners of the world with the light of Christ.

I pray to God that this triumph of our faith will unite children and youth around the Church even more, for whom St Jonah expressed special warmth and selfless care. How dear and cherished to the believing heart are the ways of our Paschal life and the touching beauty of the night-time service! May the Lord help the clergy, parents, grandfathers and grandmothers to instill in the younger generation a love for meaningful divine services, traditions and customs of Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha, confirming children, young men and women in faith, piety and churchliness!

May the life of the Church be the source of our joy, the inspiration of our souls and the strength of our spiritual striving! Amen.

With Paschal joy in the Resurrected Christ,

Metropolitan Nicholas (Olhovsky), the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and Metropolitan of Eastern America and New YorkNicholas (Olhovsky), Metropolitan