Gaining a Deeper Understanding of the New Testament — 20170423

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Prior to the Holy Days that we just celebrated, I shared some of the key words that St. Mark embedded in his narrative. They were deliberately used by Mark to make a point. Mark also uses patterns and design to shape his narrative.

Mark shapes his narrative in patterns of twos and threes. The reader will be first aware of doublets. Some-times this is a matter of repeating episodes; some-times it is a matter of echoing words. There are, for example, two instances in Mark when Jesus calms the sea. Twice he multiplies bread for a hungry crowd. There are two occasions when people discuss who Jesus is. There are two instances in which Jesus gives specific instructions to his disciples. And there are numerous other examples. If you truly want to learn more about the Gospel of Mark, why not pick up your New Testament (NT) and try to find these doublets.

At the end of Chapter 8, Mark seems to give a reason for his method when he describes Jesus’ healing of a blind man in two stages. Here he dramatizes the idea that the blind man cannot shift from darkness to vision all at once; he needs to go through a process of coming to sight. In the same way, careful readers will find that each repetition enlarges their understanding.

Further, Mark’s whole Gospel is divided into two parts and Mark has worked out this structure to shift the reader’s perceptions from a conventional to an unconventional way of seeing. We must always remember that this Gospel, like the others, was written to attract and convince others that Jesus IS the Messiah, the Savior.

Mark also likes to pattern things in threes. There are three healing miracles, for example, in chapter 1, three questions asked of Jesus in chapter 2, three seed parables in chapter 4. Jesus has three chief disciples (Peter, James and John), whom he takes with him on three key occasions (Chapter 5: the raising of Jarius’ daughter; chapter 9: his transfiguration; and chapter 14: his agony in the garden). There are also three key anonymous women who are healed in the first part of the Gospel. In the second part, three women (two Marys and Salome) who follow Jesus to Jerusalem, watch where he is laid in the tomb, and then come to anoint Him (chapters 15 and 16).

As with the doublets, there are numerous other examples. If you become alert to this pattern, you will see that Mark always uses the middle of these triads to shed light on the other two.

Marks whole Gospel might also be viewed as having three parts. The middle of this large triad, shedding light on both sides, is the scene of His transfiguration. So you see there is much more to Mark’s Gospel that meets the eye. This is also true of the other four Gospels. They are not history but documents of faith.

Appointment of Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Nicholas of Chicago of the Ukrainians, United States of America

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Appointment of Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Nicholas of Chicago of the Ukrainians, United States of America

The Holy Father has appointed as bishop of the eparchy of Saint Nicholas of Chicago of the Ukrainians (United States of America) His Excellency Msgr. Venedykt (Valery) Aleksiychuk, M.S.U., transferring him from the titular see of Germaniciana and the office of auxiliary of the archieparchy of Lviv of the Ukrainians.

Msgr. Venedykt (Valery) Aleksiychuk, M.S.U.

Msgr. Venedykt (Valery) Aleksiychuk, M.S.U. was born on 1 January 1968 in the village of Borshchivka, in the region of Rivne, Ukraine. He attended the major seminary of Drohobych and on 29 March 1992 he was ordained a priest.

In 1993 he was received in the Univ Holy Dormition Lavra of the Studite Rite and on 21 December 1995 he gave his first vows. He obtained a doctorate in spiritual theology from the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland.

He exercised his ministry in the parish of Bystrytsia (deaconry of Drohobych); in Belarus in Polock, and in the in parish of Vitebsk (1994-1996); and in Canada (1996-1999). He has served as Igumeno of the Lavra of Univ (2000 and re-elected in 2005); member of the commission of the Major Archbishop for Monasticism (2004); and administrator of the parish of St. Nicola Peremyshlany (2004). Since 2007 he was head of the secretariat of the Council of Monks of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; president of the liturgical council and president of the major superiors of male religious institutes of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

He was elected as auxiliary bishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians on 3 August 2010, and was consecrated on the following 5 September.

Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen!

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My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Хрїстóсъ воскрéсе! Воистину воскресе! (Old Slavonic)
Christos voskrese! Voistinu voskrese (Transliteration)

Христос воскрес! Воістину воскрес! (Ukrainian)
Chrystos voskres! Voistynu voskres! (Transliteration)

Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ανέστη! (Greek)
Khristós Anésti! Alithós Anésti! (Transliteration)

Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere! (Latin)

المسيح قام! بالحقيقة قام! ; المسيح قام! حقا قام! (Arabic)
al-Masīḥ qām! Belḥāqiqāti qām! (Transliteration)

As we celebrate this glorious feast of Pascha, I would again exhort you to believe in what is revealed through this great mystery, namely that human life is eternal. This is revealed to us through the resurrection of Jesus, the man. God raised Him from the dead as a way of revealing to us that life is truly ETERNAL. This means, in simple terms, that there is life after death although we are not sure of how that will be. We know this much, however, that it will not be sitting on a cloud and playing a harp. That is not the way of God.

Needless to say, however, there is life after death! Since life is eternal, you and I are involved in an eternal journey to becoming ever more closely and deeply united with our God. Out of His great love, He has preordained that we can, if we desire to do so, enter into a deeper union with Him – become ever more like His first only-begotten child, Jesus Christ.

It is my earnest prayer that all who read my Bulletin or worship with me will come to believe, as I do, that our God loves us beyond all measure. He has designed life to present us with the necessary opportunities to help us spiritually grow. We must REMEMBER, however, that He will never force us to return His love because He has given us FREE WILL. He only desires our free-will response of love. What will be your response? Let us desire to be more united to Him!

Father Wayne

OUR CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF CHRIST’S DESENT INTO HADES

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The teaching of Christ’s descent into Hades is an inseparable part of the dogmatic tradition of the Church. It was shared by all members of the ancient church as reflected in the New Testament (NT), the works of the early Christian apologists, fathers and teachers of the Church, ancient and later writers of both the East and West, as well as in the baptismal creeds, Eucharistic services and liturgical texts. One author writes: “It seems that the descent of Christ into Hades was by itself not contested in any Christian community in the early Church.

While the fact that the descent was not itself questioned by the representatives of church tradition, there did exist various and different interpretations of the event. Many writers maintained that Christ freed all who were held captive in hell, others thought that only the Old Testament righteous were liberated, and another group believed that only those who came to believe in Christ and followed him were saved. Finally, others held that Christ freed only those who had lived in faith and piety during their earthly lives. The first interpretation is most widely reflected in the liturgical texts of the Eastern Church: that Christ “emptied” hell and “not a single mortal” remained. The first and second opinions were endowed with equal authority in the Eastern Christian patristic tradition, but with the passing of the centuries the first gradually gave way to the second. In the Western tradition after Augustine, the second and fourth views were given preference.

What is universally endorsed is the teaching that Christ mortified death and destroyed hell. This is, however, understood in different ways. The Eastern liturgical texts and many of the Fathers speak of a total destruction of death and hell. Others are more specific, saying that death and hell continue to exist but only inasmuch as people’s evil wills encourage its existence. In the Western tradition the view that Christ’s death harmed hell but did not mortify it came into dominance and remains in dominance.

The significance of the descent into Hades has been evaluated in a variety of ways. In the West some have maintained that the descent into Hades was a “one-time” event that had significance only for those who were in hell when it happened. Certain Western writers even considered that the “memory” of Christ’s descent into Hades was not retained there. This is a perception that is entirely foreign to the Eastern tradition, in which the descent is truly seen as an event of universal significance. A great number of Eastern authors perceived Christ’s descent into Hades as an event of universal significance and some extended its saving action not only to past generations but also to all those who followed. The idea that all the dead received the opportunity to be saved is quite widespread among Eastern Christian writers, and it was only in the West where some authors labeled it heretical.

Belief in Christ’s descent into Hades and his preaching to the dead belongs to the realm of general church doctrine. This belief is based on the New Testament (NT), works of the church fathers and liturgical texts. It is, therefore as significant for our church today as it was for the Christian Church of early centuries. The teaching that Christ granted to all the possibility of salvation and opened for all the doors to paradise should also be considered general church doctrine. This teaching is confirmed by the vast majority of liturgical texts referring to the subject, as well as by works of many church fathers.

The teaching that Christ trampled death by His death, abolished the power of the devil and destroyed hell – a teaching based on the NT, liturgical texts and works of the church fathers – is general church doctrine. The devil, death and hell continue to exist, but their power over people is neither unconditional nor unlimited, for hell “reigns,” but “not for ever,” over the race of mortals. The opinion that Christ only “wounded” hell but did not mortify it should be considered a personal interpretation without authority for the entire church

Think about how we celebrate Pascha! Our liturgical tradition tells us that Christ DID conquer Death and He did destroy hell.

CALLED TO HOLINESS

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The call that God has given to us to be holy is a call to be united with Him for all eternity. He, of course, cannot force us to respond to this call since He gave us free will and because He created us in His image with the potential to grow in His likeness. The Feast of Pascha should erase all doubts in our minds that we have been called to be united to Him. Through the raising of His Son Jesus, He clearly revealed to us that it was His intent when He created us that we should be united with Him for all eternity. This is why I am emboldened to believe in His love.

If indeed God did not love us, He would not have gone to such great lengths to call us to holiness – call us to a deeper union with Him. If He did not love us, He would never have created us in His image and given us the potential to grow in His likeness. And yet we, and centuries of people before us, believe that He did and does this.

Now I realize that I cannot empirically prove any of this. It is a MATTER OF FAITH. All I do know is that this FAITH can make life easier to live. It provides something very important, I believe, and that is A MEANING AND PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES. It provides me with a clear purpose, namely to actualize the potential I have to grow in God’s likeness. It provides me with an explanation of why life is as it is.

Today I would share my faith with you, my readers and encourage you to believe the wondrous revelation made to us by our God through the Person of Jesus, theChrist. It is the belief of our Church that God became a man in the Person of Jesus and then, after His death, rose from the dead to tell us quite clearly that human life IS eternal. Jesus is the Archetype of what God intended when He created humans. God poured His life and Spirit into His creation, which became known as man, so that He might share all that He has with man. Because the “power” that unites the Three Persons of our God is love, He is compelled to pour it out to others and share it.

Хрїстóсъ воскрéс!

THE EASTERN CHURCH’S ICON OF THE RESURRECTION

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At the center of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ and His Resurrection from the dead. As such, the Icon of the Resurrection is the most celebrated, the most common, the most cherished, the most instructive of all the icons we possess. The Eastern Church’s Icon of the Lord’s Resurrection does not show Christ coming out of the tomb. Rather, it presents the impact of the Lord’s Resurrection.

Jesus Christ was not content with laying in the tomb for three days after His crucifixion. Instead, while He was entombed, His soul descended into Hades, or Hell. He descended there not to suffer, but to fight and free the souls trapped there. He brought light into darkness, causing the darkness to disappear. The Source of all Life descended into the abode of the dead and destroyed death, proclaiming that human life is eternal – is immortal.

In the Icon, Jesus Christ stands victoriously in the centre. Robed in heavenly glory, He is typically shown as surrounded by a mandorla, a sphere of light, representing the Glory of God. He is shown pulling Adam and Eve from their tomb. He is pulling Adam from the tomb by the wrist, and not the hand.

Surrounding Christ are John the Baptist and the Old Testament Righteous – those who predeceased Christ and who were patiently waiting the coming of their Messiah. He frees them from Hades. And what of Hades? It is shown in the aftershock of Christ’s descent. It is in utter chaos. This event, known as the Harrowing of Hades, was taught from the very beginning of the Church. Many of the Fathers wrote about it (See article on pages 7 & 8).

Beneath Christ’s feet – which still carry the marks of His crucifixion – lay the gates of Hades, smashed wide open. Often they are shown laying in the shape of the Cross. Therefore, just as the hymns proclaim, so too does the Icon: Christ has trampled Death by death.

The Eastern Church does not dwell on Christ coming out of the tomb or speculate how it happened. Rather, it stresses the fact that His death on the Cross eliminated Death and put an end to Hades – truly THE MOST IMPORTANT REVELATION God has made to us. This is why we rejoice on Pascha! The fact that Jesus was raised from the dead changes how we think about life and eliminates, or should, our fear of death.

CHRIST IS RISEN

Thank you

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A BIG THANK YOU … is truly extended to each and every person who took the time to remember me at PASCHA. Please know your thoughtfulness is appreciated and cherished. Thank you for making me a part of your life. I pray that each of you may be blessed with health and happiness.

A WORD OF THANKS … is extended to all who generously donated for PASCHA flowers, allowing our worship space to be so beautifully decorated. Please know that your generosity has brought great joy to me and to many others.

A WORD OF GRATITUDE … is extended to all those who helped with the singing during this sacred time. Your efforts are truly appreciated. Singing is a way to become truly involved in our worship and to praise God. They say that singing prayer is like praying twice and like the angels before His throne.

A SPECIAL THANKS … is offered to any and all who helped in any way to make our Great and Holy Week Services prayerful. Thank You!

MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

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The belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ digs deep into the foundations of Christianity. Who does not know the powerful words of the Apostle Paul: If Christ is not risen, then your faith is in vain. It is the Resurrection that makes the Gospel truly Good News – in fact the “best news” conceivable! All “other news” and revelations sound vague and lifeless in comparison!

It is this joyous Good News that imbues the entire liturgical life of the Church with joy and hope. This joy lives in our services, hymns, prayers and feasts, especially the glorious feast of Pascha. We hear again and again in the prayers of Pascha the fact that the Lord’s resurrection reveals to us the truth about the universal resurrection of humankind.

It seems, however, that many Christians are unaware of the ultimate consequences of the Resurrection of Christ, even though St. Paul mentions it in his first letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 15). He writes that Jesus, bodily risen from the dead, is called the “first fruits of those who have fallen asleep,” thus anticipating and pointing toward the resurrection of the dead at the end of time.

The Church does not believe merely in the immortality of the soul and in the goodness and ultimate salvation of only spiritual reality. Following the Scriptures, Christians believe in the goodness of the human body and of all material and physical creation. Thus, in its faith in resurrection and eternal life, the Eastern Church looks not to some “other world” for salvation, but to this very world so loved by God, resurrected and glorified by Him, tilled with His own divine presence.

As you probably already know, our Church believes in Christ’s real death and His actual resurrection. His resurrection, however, does not simply mean bodily resuscitation. Neither the Gospel nor the Church teaches that Jesus was lying dead and then was biologically revived and walked around in the same way that He did before He was killed. In a word, the Gospel does not say that the angel moved the stone from the tomb in order to let Jesus out. The angel moved the stone to reveal that Jesus was not there (Mk 16; Mt 28). In His resurrection Jesus is in a new and glorious form. He appears in different places immediately. He is difficult to recognize (Lk 24.16; Jn 20.14). He eats and drinks to show that He is not a ghost (Lk 24.30, 39). He allows himself to be touched (Jn 20.27, 21.9). And yet He appears in the midst of disciples, “the doors being shut” (Jn 20.19, 26). And he “vanishes out of their sight” (Lk 24.31). Christ indeed is risen, but His resurrected humanity is full of life and divinity. It is humanity in the new form of the eternal life of the Kingdom of God.

The resurrection of Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection of all humanity. It is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, “according to the Scriptures” where it is written, “For Thou doest not give me up unto Sheol [that is, the realm of death], or let Thy Godly one see corruption” (Ps 16.10; Acts 2.25–36). In Christ all expectations and hopes are filled: O Death, where is your sting? O Sheol, where is your victory? (Hos 13.14).

The resurrection of the Lord is a preview of our own resurrection from death, when Christ comes again: “And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.” (1 Cor. 6:14). Without the promise of the resurrection, Christianity would be hollow – Christianity would be reduced to a philosophy, a code of conduct, a way of life, but not a religion.

This is clear in Paul’s message: “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. [1 Cor 15:12-20]. The remainder of this chapter by Paul is an excellent reference for the importance of the resurrection to Christianity.

We have celebrated the Lord’s Resurrection today. May your faith tell you that you too will rise after death and, knowing that, may this day be a day of great joy!

ВЕЛИКОДНЄ ПОСЛАННЯ БЛАЖЕННІШОГО СВЯТОСЛАВА

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Високопреосвященним і преосвященним владикам,
всесвітлішим, всечеснішим і преподобним отцям,
преподобним ченцям і черницям, дорогим у Христі мирянам
Української Греко-Католицької Церкви

Христос воскрес!

Як однорічний агнець, благословенний нам вінець – Христос
Добровільно за всіх заколений був – Пасха очищення;
І знову нам із гробу засяяв – чудове Сонце правди.
Пісня 4-го Канону Пасхи

Дорогі в Христі!

Сьогодні по всьому Всесвіту лунає радісний одноголосий благовіст: «Христос воскрес!» У цих словах − сила й визнання головної істини християнської віри. «Воістину воскрес!» − відповідають ті, хто повірив у воскресіння нашого Спасителя та Його перемогу над адом і смертю. Наша віра у Воскреслого − це віра у воскресіння, яке кожен із нас особисто зможе пережити. Саме завдяки вірі ми стаємо християнами, тобто причасниками вічного життя нашого Божественного Спасителя, який сьогодні у славі виходить із запечатаного гробу. Ось чому святий апостол Павло твердить: «Коли ти своїми словами визнаватимеш Господа Ісуса і віруватимеш у своєму серці, що Бог воскресив Його з мертвих, то спасешся, бо серцем вірується на оправдання, а устами визнається на спасіння» (Рим. 10, 9-10). Ми святкуємо подію, про яку свідчили святі апостоли. Благодаттю Святого Духа в пасхальних богослужіннях ми можемо пережити те саме, що досвідчили жінки-миронисиці при гробі та апостоли, які особисто зустрілися з воскреслим Спасителем і були Його свідками аж до краю землі. У нинішньому світлому празнику наново з’єднаймося з Ним і промовмо до Нього словами апостола Томи: «Господь мій і Бог мій» (Ів. 20, 28).
Як однорічний агнець, благословенний нам вінець – Христос
Ким є той Христос, якого ми зустрічаємо воскреслим із гробу? Насамперед Він є нашим воплоченим Богом, який переміг смерть і якого ворота аду не змогли втримати. Наша Пасхальна утреня прирівнює Ісуса Христа до пасхального агнця, принесеного в жертву на визволення і спасіння вибраного народу. У ту ніч, яку вперше назвали пасхальною, смертоносний ангел у Єгипті проминув того, чий дім був позначений кров’ю пасхального ягняти, і тоді розпочався вихід вибраного народу з рабства до свободи. Нашим справжнім пасхальним Агнцем є розп’ятий і воскреслий Господь Ісус Христос, як про це пише св. Іван Богослов, коли устами Хрестителя вже на початку Євангелія свідчить про Ісуса: «Ось Агнець Божий, який світу гріх забирає»(Ів. 1, 29). Саме Він є Той, який у цю ніч зламав своїм світлом темряву рабства гріха та
веде за собою всіх нас від смерті до життя і від землі до небес.
Якщо ми у Святому Хрещенні таїнственно вмерли і воскресли з Христом, якщо
ми причащаємося Його Тіла і Крові, тобто споживаємо новозавітну Пасху, та
ознаменовані кров’ю Христа, то і нас смерть оминає, «проходить мимо», і
відкриваються перед нами двері небесні. Щоразу, коли ми молимося Божественну
Літургію, то стаємо причасниками воскресіння – того життя, яке сьогодні засяяло нам
із порожнього гробу. І це життя Воскреслого є благословенним вінцем для нас, дітей
Божих, знаком нашої гідності й нашого покликання бути свідками Його у світі та
проповідниками Його Євангелія.
Добровільно за всіх заколений був – Пасха очищення;
Святкувати християнську Пасху означає для нас сьогодні бути здатними силою
Воскреслого вставати і пробудитися до дії, – бути здатними до особистої пасхальної
самопожертви задля добра свого народу, його свободи та кращої долі. Дивлячись на
обличчя наших українських воїнів-героїв, які принесли своє життя в жертву за рідний
народ, можемо бути впевнені, що Небесний Отець приймає ці жертви в імені свого
Сина. Саме у них через воскреслого Христа ми вже маємо перемогу над злом і
зцілення душевних і тілесних ран.
Святкувати християнську Пасху означає для нас сьогодні бути носіями перемоги
життя там, де панує смерть. Щиро визнавати те, що Христос «воістину воскрес»,
означає повірити, що завдяки нашому особистому рішенню та зусиллю є воістину
можливим побороти корупцію і неправду в нашому суспільстві, що саме від нас
залежить, яким буде наша країна: чи вона буде вмирати, віддана на поталу могутнім
світу цього, чи встане, пробудиться, оновиться і воскресне до справжнього життя,
гідного людини як образу Божого.
Христос, який сьогодні рве кайдани смерті та виходить із гробу, є нашим
виходом із рабства. Він очищує нас від гріха, залежності, обставин, спокус і
маніпулювань групки, учасники якої вважають себе господарями світу цього, –
очищує від всього, що нас поневолює і забирає в нас життя. Він, воскреслий Господь,
є нашим виходом із наших історичних обставин: у Ньому переможемо війну і тих, хто
її розпалює та підтримує. Христос – це також наш вхід, наші двері (пор. Ів. 10, 7.9). Він
для нас є дорогою, правдою і життям (пор. Ів. 14, 6). Він дає нам свободу для повноти
життя, любові до Бога і ближнього, будівництва власного майбутнього на своїй Богом
даній землі. У світлі Христового воскресіння не дозвольмо себе обдурити ні
пустослів’ям та марними обіцянками, ні безпорадністю тих, яким бракує віри в
євангельську правду і справедливість, і які лишень нарікають на свою долю.
І знову нам із гробу засяяв – чудове Сонце правди
Труднощі й невигоди – досвід кожного паломника, що йде в пасхальній ході. Не
цураймося труду і особистої жертви цієї переможної ходи. Ми часто маємо спокусу
відмежуватися від дійсності довкола нас, перекладаємо відповідальність на іншого,
бачимо швидше зло ніж добро, шукаємо когось як «жертву», на яку хочемо
перекласти власні тягарі. Вибираємо собі не чистого Ангця, який кличе до особистої
участі в перемозі над злом, а цапа відбувайла, на якого скидаємо всi грiхи, слабкості,боягузтво, небажання брати на себе відповідальність за долю свого народу. Хочемо, щоб хтось за нас усе зробив, шукаємо «когось», хто взяв би на себе наші труднощі й заплатив би ціну за наш добробут, а наші негаразди щоб без нашого особистого зусилля «пройшли мимо» нас. Чуємо, як нам шепчуть: «Нехай інші захищають Батьківщину, а я хочу почуватися в безпеці. Нехай інші змінюють країну, в якій я живу, на краще, лише щоб не змінювався я сам».
Натомiсть Христос нас кличе до iншого способу життя. Він воскрес із мертвих для того, щоб змінити спершу нас, зрушити і підняти спершу мене, а через мене – усе і всіх довкола. Якщо я хочу кращого суспільства, країни, світу, то спершу мушу стати кращим сам. І день цієї великої переміни, коли наше Сонце встає, є саме сьогодні! Сьогодні наш Великдень! Станьмо великими у воскреслому Спасителеві! Христос засяяв нам із гробу і є нашим Сонцем правди. Досить нарікати – час діяти! Сходить Сонце – починається новий день. У світлі Його проміння маємо даровану нам нагоду саме сьогодні, у цей день і час – не змарнуймо її!
Дорогі в Христі браття і сестри! Вітаю всіх вас із нинішнім світлим празником Воскресіння Христового, із днем визволення від смерті й зла та відкриття дверей до життя, надії і любові. Зичу всім миру Христового, миру, який дарує нам Христова перемога над злом і неправдою, миру, якого серед війни так щиро прагне кожне українське серце. Ще раз усім вам, в Україні й на поселеннях сущим, засилаю свої сердечні вітання. Щиро бажаю вам благословенних Великодніх свят, смачного свяченого яйця та світлої пасхальної радості!
Благодать воскреслого Господа нашого Ісуса Христа, любов Бога Отця і причастя Святого Духа нехай буде з усіма вами!

Христос воскрес! Воістину воскрес!

† СВЯТОСЛАВ

Дано в Києві,
при Патріаршому соборі Воскресіння Христового,
у 5-ту неділю Великого посту, 2 квітня 2017 року Божого

EASTER PASTORAL LETTER OF HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV

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EASTER PASTORAL LETTER

OF HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV

Most Reverend Archbishops and Bishops,
Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers,
Venerable Brothers and Sisters in Monastic and Religious Life,
Dearly Beloved Laity in Christ
of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church
Christ is Risen!
Like a yearling lamb, our blessed crown, Christ,
was sacrificed of his own will for all
, a Pasch of cleansing.
And from his tomb he shines on us again, the splendid Sun of righteousness
From Ode 4,
Paschal Canon
Beloved in Christ!

Today throughout the whole Universe the joyful good news resounds with one voice: “Christ is risen!” In these words are found the power and profession of the central truth of the Christian faith. “Truly He is risen” is the response of those who believed in the resurrection of our Savior and in His victory over hell and death. Our faith in the Risen One is our faith in that resurrection which we all can personally experience. Indeed, it is because of our faith that we become Christians, that is, partakers in the eternal life of our Divine Savior, who today emerges from the sealed tomb in glory. It is for this reason that St Paul the Apostle affirms: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (Rom 10:9-10). We celebrate an event to which the holy apostles bore witness. Through the grace of the Holy Spirit in our paschal services we can experience that which was experienced by the women myrrh-bearers at the tomb and by the apostles who personally encountered the risen Savior and were His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Today, on this light-filled feast, let us once again unite ourselves to Him and proclaim to Him in the words of the Apostle Thomas: “My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28).

Like a yearling lamb, our blessed crown, Christ
Who is this Christ, whom we find risen from the grave? First of all, He is the incarnate God who conquered death and whom the gates of Hades could not contain. Our Paschal Matins service likens Jesus Christ to the paschal lamb, offered in sacrifice for the liberation and salvation of the chosen people. On that first paschal night, the death-bringing angel in Egypt passed by those whose house was marked by the blood of the paschal lamb, and then began the exodus of the chosen people from slavery to freedom. The risen Lord Jesus Christ is our true paschal Lamb, as St. John the Theologian attests when in the words of the Baptizer already at the beginning of the Gospel he bears witness to Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29). Indeed, He is the One, who this night with His light dispelled the darkness of the slavery of sin and leads behind Him all of us from death to life and from earth to heaven.

If in our Holy baptism we have mystically died and risen with Christ, if we partake of His Body and Blood, that is, if we consume the Pascha of the New Covenant, and are signed by the blood of Christ, then death bypasses us, “passes over,” and the doors of heaven are opened before us. Each time we pray the Divine Liturgy we become partakers of the resurrection, that is, of that life which today shines upon us from the empty tomb. And this life of the Risen One is a blessed crown for us, children of God, a sign of our dignity and our vocation to be His witnesses in the world and proclaimers of His Gospel.

Was sacrificed of his own will for all, a Pasch of cleansing;

To celebrate the Christian Pascha for us today means to be capable to rise up and awaken to action by the power of the Risen One, that is, to be capable of personal paschal self-sacrifice for the good of one’s people, their freedom, and a better future. Gazing at the faces of our Ukrainian soldiers – heroes, who gave up their lives for their people, we can rest assured that the Heavenly Father accepts their sacrifices in the name of His Son. Indeed, in them through the risen Christ we already have victory over evil and a healing of spiritual and bodily wounds. To celebrate the Christian Pascha for us today means to carry the victory of life to where death rules. To sincerely confess that Christ is “truly risen” means to believe that through our personal commitment and effort it is truly possible to overcome corruption and untruth in our society, that the kind of country we will have depends, in fact, on us: will it die, a victim of the merciless powers of this world, or will it stand up, awaken, be renewed and arise to an authentic life worthy of a person created in the image of God.

Christ, who today breaks the chains of death and emerges from the tomb, is our exodus from slavery. He purifies us from sin, from addiction, from circumstances, temptations and manipulations of a small group, whose members consider themselves the stewards of this world. He cleanses us from all that imprisons us and takes away our life. He, the risen Lord, is our exodus from our historical circumstances: in Him we will find victory in the war and overcome those who instigate and support it. Christ is also our gateway, our door (see Jn 10:7, 9). He is our way, truth and life (see Jn 14:6). He grants us freedom for the fullness of life, of love of God and neighbor, of building our own future in our God-given land. In the light of Christ’s resurrection let us not allow ourselves to be fooled by empty words and false promises, nor by the helplessness of those who lack faith in the truth and justice of the Gospel, and who only complain about their own fate.

And from his tomb he shines on us again, the splendid Sun of righteousness

Difficulties and discomforts are the experience of every pilgrim on the paschal path. Let us not seek to avoid toil and personal sacrifice on this path to victory. We often are tempted to distance ourselves from the reality that surrounds us, shift responsibility on others, are quick to see evil rather than good, seek a “victim” upon which we might transfer all our burdens. We select for ourselves not a pure Lamb who calls us to personal participation in the victory over evil, but a scapegoat upon which we place all our sins, weaknesses, fears, our unwillingness to take upon ourselves responsibility for the fate of our people. We would like for someone to do everything for us, look for “someone” who will take our difficulties upon himself and who will pay the price for our welfare, so that our adversities might “pass over us” without our personal effort. We hear when people whisper: “Let others go and defend the Fatherland, but I want to feel secure. Let others change the county where I live for the better, as long as I myself don’t have to change.”

Christ, on the other hand, calls us to a different way of life. He rose from the dead in order to bring about a change in us, first of all, to move and raise me first, and through me everything and everyone in my surroundings. If I want a better society, country, world, then first of all I myself must become a better person. And the day of this great transformation, when our Sun rises, is indeed today! Today is our Great Day, our Velykden!

Let us become great in our risen Savior. Christ has shone forth from the grace and is our Sun of righteousness. Enough complaining, it is time to act! The Sun is rising and new day is dawning. In the light of its rays we are given an opportunity today, this very day and time. Let us not waste it!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. I greet you all with today’s glorious feast of Christ’s Resurrection, with the day of liberation from death and evil, and of the opening of the door to life, hope, and love. I wish you all the peace of Christ, that peace which is given us by Christ’s victory over evil and untruth, that peace for which every Ukrainian heart longs in the midst of war. Once again to all of you, in Ukraine and throughout the world, I send my heartfelt greetings. I sincerely wish every Easter blessing, a tasty sharing of our traditional blessed egg, and a Paschal joy that is full of light.

The grace of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Christ is risen! – Truly, He is risen!

+ SVIATOSLAV

Given in Kyiv at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, April 2, 2017 A.D