OCA Chancery
Syosset, New York
April 30, 2000
OCA Chancery
Syosset, New York
Dearly beloved,
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED, HE IS RISEN!
It was only a few months ago that the world marked the beginning of a new millennium. Across the globe celebrations were held, joyous sentiments were exchanged, and predictions for a brighter future caused great anticipation. Within a few days, however, the world discovered that the first week of the new millennium was not much different from the last week of the old one. In short, little—if anything—had changed, and the world returned to “business as usual.”
Several weeks ago, Orthodox Christians throughout the world entered the sacred season of Great Lent. Having sought forgiveness from God and one an-other, our attention turned to prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance. We struggled, as individuals and communities, to make essential changes in our lives—changes which would not only prepare us to celebrate the Holy Pascha, but which would bring us closer forever to God by sharing in the eternal victory of His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was raised from the dead in order to give us eternal life.
Today, our lenten journey ends at the empty tomb. Today, like the disciples and the myrrhbearing women, we are greeted with the central message of the Gospel: “He is not here; He is risen as He said!” And today, we are challenged to enjoy the fruits of repentance and ascetic effort, to maintain and augment the changes we have made in our lives, and to continue on our journey “from glory to glory.” Above all, we are challenged to “put on Christ” while continuing to guard against the very thing that characterized the post-millennium celebration: the return to “business as usual.”
In the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem of Syria, we asked to God to replace the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk with the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love—the very things Our Lord came into this world to proclaim. Throughout the lenten season we attempted to put these words into action. And today, we accept the challenge to make them a reality every day of our lives, loving God and loving others with that same love which led our Savior to the Cross and Tomb.
Fully confirmed in the joy of Christ’s victory, and humbly making His victory our own, we must continue to struggle, forever guarding the new life which flows forth from the empty tomb and remaining vigilant lest our spiritual lives return to “business as usual.” Our celebration must not be limited to a few days of jubila-tion; rather, it must serve as the beginning of another journey to the Kingdom of God, to “the life of the world to come.” The fruits of our lenten prayer, fasting and almsgiving must be nothing other than continual fasting from those things which keep us from God and almsgiving to any and all who might turn to us as the People of God. The spiritual changes begun during Great Lent must indeed continue to be a reality in our lives and in the lives of those with whom we come into contact.
As we celebrate the glorious feast of our salvation, the Holy Passover “from death to life, from earth to heaven,” and as we exchange those ultimate words of joy—“Christ is risen!”—let us respond not only with our words, but with our deeds and our lives. Let us witness to all that this feast offers us, and let us share it with those who are hungering for the Good News of Jesus Christ. May the gift of new life be with us today, in the days and months and years to come, and indeed, until the dawning of that new day in the world to come!
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED, HE IS RISEN!
With love in the Risen Lord,
+ THEODOSIUS
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada