site.btaChurch Leaders Issue Easter Message of Hope

Patriarch Daniil and the metropolitans of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church issued a patriarchal and synodal message for the Feast of the Resurrection, the Bulgarian Patriarchate said on Saturday.

The message proclaims that once again God's unspoken mercy touches believers as they rejoice in the sacred Pascha, the Feast of feasts. The Church exults spiritually, beholding Christ the King shining forth from the tomb. Pascha, the text explains, means a passage: from decay to incorruption, from death to life, from sin to salvation. Christ's Resurrection, foretold by the prophets and witnessed by the apostles and the myrrh-bearing women, is the central joy and purpose of Christian life. It brings comfort, courage, justice, and strength, for through the power of the Resurrection the sting of death has been removed. As Saint John Chrysostom taught, no one should fear death, since the Saviour's death has freed humanity from it.

In troubled times marked by war, injustice, and suffering, believers have one hope: Christ is Risen. The Lord Himself promises, "I am with you always, to the end of the world". The message calls on the faithful not to fear but to stand firm with trust in the Risen Saviour, to cultivate Gospel virtues, to participate in the sacramental life of the Church, to forgive, and to resist individualism, division, and every sin that entangles. The light of the Resurrection, it says, should guide Christians to serve God fearlessly in holiness and righteousness.

The Patriarch and the metropolitans wish all the children of the Church in Bulgaria and abroad health, peace, spiritual strength, and paschal joy. They urge the faithful to meet the Risen Lord as the apostles and myrrh-bearers did, to converse with Him in prayer, and to bear true witness to His saving Resurrection. The message concludes with a blessing for the grace of the Risen Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit to be with all.