Пасха 2004

Compiled [in Russian] on 12 April 2004. The Paschal Epistles Of The Hierarchs Of The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad Under The Omofor Of Metropolitan Vitaly, ROCA(V), which [so far] have been received by the Editor [of Russia-Talk] are proferred below. If and when the Editor [of Russia-Talk] receives additional epistles, they will be added to those already shown.

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Once again have death and all its spawn -- doubt, lack of faith, melancholy, ddespondency, hardness of heart, confusion and all sorts of fears -- been vanquished by our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

Once again have inexpressible joy and boundless faith in victory -- the ultimate victory of the Church of Christ over all the powers of hell, both visible and invisible -- visited us. At times, the dark gloom over all the world was so profound that we were exhausted by the pitch black intensity of night. It was an insult to our soul -- and a thing unbearable to see -- evil rejocing, all around. But manifest, unconcealed evil did not oppress us to the same degree as did that face of evil which clothes itself in the image of a lamb, but is, in its essence, the forerunner of Antichrist, the evilly cunning invention of satan himself.

But the Lord has not abandoned us, and we feel ourselves, this day, to be conquerors, together with our Lord. The Light of Christ has enlightened our life's path, has dispersed the darkness, has cast away all the powers of hell into their proper appanage within the nether realm. We now feel so well that our soul sings out and we do hear -- not in our mind's eye, but in all reality -- how every creature -- and even nature itself -- rejoices and inexpressibly lauds the Risen Christ. Let us offer up thanks to God for this Paschal visitation of us sinners, for the fact that He has called us into His Church, in which we commune with this Feast of feasts, this Triumph of triumphs.

"It is the day of Resurrection, let us be enlightened by [this] solemnity" (from a Paschal stikhira).

This veritable triumph of triumphs and joyous greeting bears witness to the fact that the Truth of Christ's Radiant Resurrection gleams with Divine Light, as it has in prior times, before all of mankind. On this grace-imbued day, with God's help, our faith is increased, our hope is strengthened, and Christian love is kindled in our hearts. On this day, even the embittered become kind, the hate-filled become friendly, and the grieving and dejected are consoled.

"Notice, beloved brothers," says Blessed Metropolitan Antonii (Khrapovitskii), "that such grace-imbued joy on the day of Holy Pascha, such a spiritual gift from God, is given only to Orthodox Christians." Only true Orthodox Christians (for, at the present time, there are many pseudo-orthodox) are filled with such grace-endowing Paschal joy, genuine love and unfeigned forgiveness in all things. True Christians consider the most important thing in the world for them is to preserve their faith in all its purity; they try to awaken within themselves an attitude of kindness towards people, and in no case to subject them to oppression or persecution.

According to the teaching of the Holy Church, there is nothing more needful for a believer than the confession of Divinely-revealed Truth without impairment. Our very Lord Jesus Christ bears witness to the fact that those who worship God "must worship [Him] in Spirit and [in] truth," for it is only "such worshippers" that the Lord God seeks and accepts (John 4, 23-24). The Truth? It is by no means such an insignificant thing, which can be treated as one pleases, altering it to suit one's own convictions. Only in the Truth can there be a genuine life of grace, outside It is spiritual death. "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life," sayeth the Lord (John 14, 6).

And lo! on this day of Holy Pascha, we, Orthodox Christians, solemnly celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour, giving glory to Christ's victory over death and falsehood.

We know, from recent history, that after the theomachs seized our Fatherland, in order to ensnare as many people as possible in their nets of godlessness, they conducted so called "anti-religious debates" in many places, by means of which these militant atheists hoped, with the aid of "scientific facts," to prove the non-existence of God and to sow a perniciously destructive seduction in the hearts of their listeners. Many zealous Christians and priests took part in these "debates" (at which hundreds of people were sometimes present), and frequently, with God's assistance, they emerged indisputably victorious over manifest -- of course, in accordance with the word of the holy Royal psalmist and prophet David -- madness. During one such "debate," when both sides had already exhausted a multitude of arguments and the dispute, it would seem, had already reached its highest level, a certain priest, a participant in the "debate," asked the godless atheist: "Do you want me, now, to prove God's existence to you by means of an active, vital and animated example?" "Of course, please do," the atheist answered with evil cunning, "but in what way, specifically, can you carry out this promise in an active and vital fashion?" Then the priest turned to face the people present there and loudly exclaimed: "CHRIST IS RISEN!!!" To which hundreds of voices thundered in response: "TRULY, HE IS RISEN!!!" Godless falsehood was vanquished by Absolute Truth.

The Spirit of Truth is always present in the Truth, inasmuch as He proceedeth from the Father. Whereas in every falsehood or deceit, the father of lies, i.e. the devil, is present. Therefore, a man who confesses the truth takes the Spirit of Truth into his heart, while one who confesses falsehood or one who draws near to slander, espouses, without a doubt, the spirit of falsehood, the spirit that is rejected [by God].

Outside the One Orthodox Church there neither exist any means or Grace-giving powers -- nor can any be found -- wherewith to withstand the spirit oof falsehood, the spirit of Apostasy. This law of inevitable deceit and eternal perdition is the heritage of all who have not accepted "the love of truth for their salvation," notes the Holy Apostle Paul. "And for this cause shall God send them strong delusion that they might believe the lie, that all those who believed not the truth but who have loved iniquity might be condemned... Thus, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions ye have been taught either by word or by our epistle" (2 Thess. 10-15). That very same law finds expression in the Creed of St. Athanasius of Alexandria: "If one desires to be saved, it would behoove him first of all to hold fast the catholic faith, which, if one does not observe in its entirety and purity, one shall perish eternally, without a doubt" (Psalter with arrangement).

Our Lord Jesus Christ will help his followers only if they manifest principles contrary to those which are followed by His foes: instead of greed and a desire for someone else's belongings -- kindness of heart and deference; instead of wrathful anger -- love and forgiveness; instead of self-will -- obedience; instead of compromises -- the preservation of one's faith; instead of being one's own master, judge and "church" -- the Church of Christ; instead of schisms -- the preservation of the sacred traditions and the Holy Canons; instead of a call for "dialogue" with heretics and schismatics -- the recognition that the Church of Christ never carried on any dialogues with apostates, but only through boundless love received them into her Bosom by means of various rites; instead of self-proclaimed robber "Synods" -- of the true Pastor and Confessor, His Eminence Metropolitan Vitaly, and the Synod of Bishops of ROCA over which he presides.

Casting our gaze toward the sorry state of the present, when there is such a diversity of thought, we must mark out a path for ourselves -- if not one of external activity, which is not always accessible to all, then inevitably for our internal enlightenment and renewal. Christ's Radiant Resurrection, filling our hearts to overflowing with joy and love towards our neighbours, itself sets us upon this path of the renewal of our souls and our resurrection from sins and passions.

Let Christ's Most-Radiant Resurrection resurrect us, this year, to a new [and] God-pleasing "renewed life" (Rom. 6, 4) in Christ Jesus, our Saviour.

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THE PASCHAL EPISTLE OF HIS GRACE, BISHOP ANTONII OF BELZ AND MOLDOVA

Beloved in Christ Fathers, Brothers and Sisters of our Orthodox Church, I wholeheartedly felicitate you on the occasion of the greatest of all feasts -- the Pasch of the Lord! During this leap-year, as always, we Orthodox Christians are observing the Lord's Resurrection together with the spring rebirth of nature. The joy of spring prepares us to receive the greatest joy of the soul -- the Resurrection of Christ, which has trampled down death and hell. Henceforth death is neither fearsome nor horrible, for it has been vanquished.

Pascha signifies a passing over. We Christians observe Pascha in commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ, while the Hebrews do so in remembrance of their exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. Pascha was observed by the Hebrew nation in honour of their deliverance from Egyptian enslavement. But for us Christians Pascha is a greater joy -- deliverance from death and a passovver from an earthly life to a heavenly one. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having been crucified upon a cross, gave his life for the redemption of many, offering Himself in sacrifice in order to reconcile us with God the Father and to deliver us from enslavement by the enemy of mankind -- the devil.

May the Resurrection of Christ, with His boundless love toward mankind, strengthen us in our love towards our brethren, uniting good actions with humility and singing out: "Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling down on death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"

And may this feast of Christ's Resurrection bring much light and spiritual enrichment into our souls this year.

Christ is Risen, O beloved in the Lord Pastors and Sons and Daughters of the Church of Christ!

"This day, the Lord hath created it, let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad in it," the Church of Christ calls out to us from year to year. And how can we not respond with our rejoicing heart to this longed-for call? It seems that even all of nature, all creatures, rejoice in and celebrate this day. The heavens extol this day, for the Resurrection of Christ has brought about the final victory of good over evil. Already, coming out to preach yet prior to his exploit on the cross, the Saviour says: "I saw satan, falling from heaven, like lightning" (Luke 10, 18).

The struggle, the torments on the cross, had to end with the triumph of the Resurrection, and what can compare with this victory? All lived in expectation of such a triumph: both Angels and men, living and dead. With this victory, satan finally fell from the heavens; hell gave up its sinners, hoping for the Resurrection; the expansive gates to salvation were open to men on earth. Rejoice, strive with your entire being toward God Most-High and do not slacken in the struggle against hell, which has risen up against this salvation.

And who on earth truly rejoiced at the victory of Christ's Resurrection if not His Church! But it was Holy Rus' that rejoiced most of all, having become a Church in her entirety. There is not a nation on earth which so celebrates Pascha, because, in order to experience this joy, one must be alive in the spirit. That is why satan's forces came down hard upon Rus', with all their might. Through God's especial oversight, [the devil and his hordes] were allowed to crush down our Fatherland, to flood [our land] with the blood of martyrs, to corrupt and destroy the soul of our nation. But, in accordance with the words of the Saviour, the gates of hell cannot prevail against His Church -- and, like a phoenix being reborn, She will rise once more from the ashes.

Our Church and Fatherland have begun the process of resurrection, but this resurrection is not as instantaneous as was that of Christ: it is like unto being born in pain. The enemy of the human race, having failed at vanquishing the Church through persecutions and through leading away a part of Her into the camp of Judas Iscariot, now, through the influence of constant intrigue, seduces and leads away one part of Her after another into [various] schisms: that of Suzdal', that of Lavr, that of Lazar'. But Christ is Risen, and we therefore believe: He will Resurrect our Fatherland, as well, which remains His living Church.

This Resurrection is taking place slowly, unnoticed by the aloof eye, but inflexibly, unavoidably. An ever greater number of priests from those who have gone off onto various dead-ends come to us in repentance. An ever greater number declare themselves desirous of being in the true Church and of being ordained to the priesthood. Our people, more and more, are inclining their hopes toward being ruled by an Orthodox Monarch and living free in the Fatherland, without the imposed yoke of corrupting and enslaving forces.

This is the first Pascha that we are celebrating following the Church's rising-up from total ruin, brought about by schisms; and not far distant is that day when we will exclaim: Christ is Risen and our Fatherland is risen! Emboldening for our Church resound the words: "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of satan who say of themselves that they are Judaeans (Orthodox) but are not such, but do lie, -- behold, I will make them to come and bow down before thy feet and to know that I have come to love thee" (Rev. 3, 9). Further on the Lord promises, for faithfulness to Him, for not going off into schisms, to preserve "from the time of temptation which shall come upon all the inhabited world, in order to try those who live upon the earth" (Rev. 3, 10), that is, from the wiles of the antichrist.

Let us be made worthy by God's mercy and the last and final general Resurrection from the dead and we shall see the new heaven and the new earth.

Russia, the city of Slaviansk on the Kuban'
The 2004-th year after the Nativity of Christ