Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain Easter Encyclical
Archbishop’s Easter Encyclical
The long journey to Pascha has been completed and we have come to the end of our sacred pilgrimage. We have walked from Bethany to Jerusalem, from Golgotha to the Tomb, from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection. Our journey was guided by the precious and familiar scriptural passages and we were accompanied by the divinely inspired meditations of the psalmist and the hymnographers. We may have grown tired and weak since we set out at the beginning, yet the glory and unfading light of the Resurrection now fills our hearts with comfort, peace and an ineffable joy that rejuvenates us entirely. Looking back, we can recall the reassurance that our Lord gave to His disciples as He prepared them for His Holy Passion: “When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:21-22). Now, having checked off the days and weeks of Holy and Great Lent, and having experienced together the events of Holy Week, our hearts rejoice in the Feast of Feasts, for we see that all things have been made new in the Risen Christ and the veil of darkness has vanished.
And amid the lingering sadness of our world, with its perpetual disharmony, conflicts and wars, the only eternal hope is in Christ and His message of salvation. Only He preached and spoke of true peace – divine peace that will abide in our souls and spread amongst peoples and nations, both now and in the age to come, if we only live the great commandments of love and abide in Him.
My brothers and sisters, the fast and season of preparation has come to an end and all people are invited to partake in the festal banquet in celebration of eternal life. Those who started out with prudence from the first hour and those who did not shy away but with boldness approached before the end, those who are tired and those who are refreshed, those old and those young, let all enter into the joy of our Lord, as the golden-mouthed preacher proclaims. Our individual differences are overcome and we become one family, one body, the Church gathered in the name of the Holy Trinity to proclaim in once voice the joyous news that Christ is Risen and that we are now free from the bondage of slavery and sin. Darkness has been dispelled and the light of Christ illumines the hearts of all people. For two years we have waited patiently in silence and in isolation because of the pandemic restrictions we endured for the sake of our neighbour, which in itself was a prolonged Lenten sacrifice and ascesis. Now, by the mercy and love of God, the Churches are once again open and all the faithful are called to come and fill the sacred spaces of our temples, so that we may offer a witness to the world that we believe in the miracle of miracles. And as faithful witnesses, we joyfully proclaim: Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus the only sinless one. Come, dearly beloved in the Lord, come with your families and friends, and share in the Eucharistic Banquet and exchange the Paschal greeting. Come to the Church and embrace one another in forgiveness and love and let us walk together in the light of Christ.
As we sit at the Paschal table and we enjoy the traditional foods of lamb, flaouna, cheese and eggs, let us also remember those who do not have a table to sit and eat. Let us not cease from praying for peace in the world, especially in Ukraine, asking God to pour His mercy and hope into the hearts of all people everywhere. For where He and His Truth abide, there is peace and love.
I and all those at the Archdiocese wish you and all your loved ones a most blessed and joyous Pascha.
Christ Is Risen!
With paternal love and blessings,
+ Archbishop Nikitas
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