PASCHA 2021
Right Reverend Bishops, Reverend Parish Priests,
Honourable Presidents and Esteemed Members of the Boards of Directors, Archons
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Members of the Philoptochos Societies,
Teachers, Students and Youth Members of the Communities, and to the Entire
Plenitude of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada.
Keep Silent… Let
God Arise... Christ Is Risen!
Archbishop
Sotirios of Canada
Judas betrayed Him. Peter denied Him. The people
shouted for Him to be crucified. Pilate washed his hands. Simon of Cyrene
carried the Cross. The nails were driven into the hands and feet. The King of
kings and Lord of lords was crucified. He was butchered. He sacrificed Himself.
He became the medicine of immortality. He became the indispensable food and
drink for the faithful.
Before delivering His Spirit into the hands of the
Father, He took care of everything. He prayed for His crucifiers: “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” He turned over His mother to
the protection of His beloved Disciple. He forgave the thief: “Today you will be
with Me in Paradise.”
And after taking care of everything on earth, he
had to take care of the dead who were in Hades from the beginning. As the true
God, He descended there. On Holy Saturday, the Savior is in Hades. He secures
the salvation of the dead from the beginning. He teaches the truth. He calls
them to repentance. He offers salvation. He prepares for His third-day
Resurrection. He prepares to resurrect Adam and Eve, and all of humanity.
Knowing and seeing and living these actions being
undertaken by the Creator Himself, by Christ the Saviour, what should we do?
What should all mortal flesh do? We can only do one thing: “Let all mortal
flesh keep silent and stand in fear and trembling, giving no thought to things
of the earth”. On Holy Saturday, everyone keeps silent. Everyone stands still,
in fear and trembling, and thinks of nothing earthly.
As Holy Saturday comes to an end, we hear exclaimed
‘Let God arise’. Christ is Risen. Satan who saw Him on the cross chuckled
thinking: I have finished you now. With the descent of Christ into Hades, he
understands that Christ is the ultimate victor over death. Christ untied the
bonds of Hades and rose on the third day.
Christ is Risen! Enemies be scattered. Adversaries
depart. Those who hate the truth fade away. Now is the time for everyone to
repent, for enemies to forgive each other. Let us embrace both enemies and
friends.
This year, we celebrate the two-hundred (200) year
anniversary of the Greek Revolution. Have you thought about this, my dear
Christians? Let me ask you, are not the heroes of the Revolution and the new
martyrs the ones who followed the path of Christ better than most? Did they not
defy everything and sacrifice their lives for the most holy faith in Christ?
For the freedom of the homeland? For the honour of the family? If we think
about it, they are the truly faithful disciples of Christ. And now let us ask
ourselves something else. How much do we resemble the God-Man Christ? How much
do we resemble the heroes of the Greek Revolution and the new martyrs? How
determined are we to closely follow Christ, and the example of the heroes of
the Revolution and the new martyrs?
Christ opened the gates of Paradise for all.
Everyone is welcome. Even sinners. The only requirement is sincere repentance.
With repentance, everything is freely granted. The return to Paradise is freely
bestowed. Eternal life is freely given. God is the real Father. His embrace is
open to everyone. Those of us who want to be saved have the opportunity. Let us
not lose out.
“Behold,
now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” “Come receive
the light, from the never-setting light; and glorify Christ who has risen from
the dead.” Christ Is Risen!
With fatherly love and blessings in the Risen Christ,
ARCHBISHOP SOTIRIOS
GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF CANADA
CS/ag
Note: To be read during the Holy Resurrection
Service, right before “Come receive the light.”
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