Archpastoral Letter For Pascha 2018
Protocol No. 9/2018
To the Very Reverend Protopresbyters, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, and Faithful of our God-Protected Diocese:
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!
“Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him…likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:9 - 11)
Today I greet you with great love and joy in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ following His glorious Resurrection. On Great and Holy Pascha, we behold the triumph of Christ, as He rose from death to life, from darkness of the tomb into the Light. With the Resurrection of Christ, all Creation is filled with a new Light of life and joy. On this Feast of Feasts, this Holy Day of Holy Days, we all proclaim the only truth that matters, the Truth that Christ is Risen!
Through this Truth, we are liberated from the power of sin and death, to receive God’s promise to live in eternity. We feel the inexpressible joy of being united with real life in Christ. We are overwhelmed by the awesome love and tender mercy of our God, Who gave Himself up to suffering and
Protocol No. 9/2018
To the Very Reverend Protopresbyters, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, and Faithful of our God-Protected Diocese:
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!
“Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him…likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:9 - 11)
death for our sake – yet that was not enough, for He also rose from the dead to give us new Life and eternal Hope.
If we truly open our hearts, if we allow ourselves to be illumined by the glorious Light of Pascha, we too will receive the Resurrection in our own hearts and lives. The message of the Resurrection is that we can be transformed, and that Pascha is a call to all mankind to live joyously, to be filled with jubilation and love for one another, our hearts overflowing with His Grace. Therefore, let us rejoice and be glad in the Lord’s Pascha, the Feast Day of freedom, life and light.
Personal Greetings:
On this Bright and Holy Feast, I extend my prayerful best wishes to you, the Clergy and Laity, Friends and Supporters of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese. May you truly experience the love, joy, and excitement of the early followers of Christ when they first saw Him after His Resurrection. Christ is Risen!
Working in the Risen Lord’s Vineyard with much love,
+His Grace Bishop Gregory of Nyssa
To be read as the sermon in all churches of the Diocese at the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ.