With the arrival of the most holy Christian holiday - the Resurrection of Christ, the Bulgarian Patriarch and the Holy Synod sent an Easter message to the believers. In their address, they highlight the Resurrection of Christ as “the only hope against the backdrop of the troubled times in which we live, constantly hearing about wars, death, cruelty, injustice“.
Here is the entire patriarchal and synodal message on the Resurrection:
Christ is risen!
Beloved in the Lord, children of our holy Church,
Again, the ineffable mercy of God touches our hearts, experiencing the joy of the holy Pascha – Feast of Feasts and Celebration of Celebrations! On this most glorious day of the glorious Resurrection of Christ, the Holy Orthodox Church rejoices spiritually, “seeing the King Christ shining from the tomb as a Bridegroom.“ “Oh, great and most holy Pascha, Christ! Oh, Wisdom and Word of God, and Power…“
The word “Easter“ means a transition – we pass from corruption to incorruption, from death to life, from sin to salvation, from the temporal to the eternal, from the “valley of weeping“ (Ps. 83:7) and “the shadow of death“ (Ps. 22:4) to the day of the night in the “New Jerusalem“ of the Kingdom of God. The Resurrection of Christ is the most long-awaited and longed-for event in human history, preached and predicted by the Old Testament prophets, witnessed by the holy apostles and myrrh-bearing women, and sealed with the blood and suffering of countless martyrs and confessors of the faith.
The Resurrection of Christ is our unceasing joy and inspiration. It is the meaning and purpose of our lives. The Resurrection of Christ is comfort for those who have lost hope, courage for the discouraged, justification for the wronged, elevation of the fallen, faith for the faithless, strength for the weak. It is the center of our faith. Through the power of the Resurrection, the sting of death has been torn out of the world once and for all. For if Christ has not been raised, our faith is in vain (cf. 1 Cor. 15:17). If Christ had not risen, our life would have no meaning. "But behold, Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20). "Let no one fear death, for the Savior's death has set us free from it," exclaims St. John Chrysostom. Just as Christ rose from the dead, so we and our loved ones will be resurrected on the last day, as we confess at every Holy Liturgy: "I await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come!"
In the troubled times in which we live, constantly hearing about wars, death, cruelty, injustice, conflicts that tear our world apart, we have one and only hope: CHRIST IS RISEN! We have an unfailing promise from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself: "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20). Let us not be afraid. Let us stand upright, cheerful, with trust in the Risen Savior. Let us learn the imperishable evangelical virtues, let us participate in the sacramental life of the holy Orthodox Church, let us imitate the saints, let us forgive our neighbors, let us be merciful, let us fight against individualism, addictions, divisions, and alienation among ourselves, as well as against every sin "which easily entangles us" (Heb. 12:1). May the light of Christ's Resurrection be our guide, so that we may fearlessly serve God in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives (cf. Luke 1:75).
We wish all the children of our holy Church in Bulgaria and beyond the borders of our Fatherland health, peace, spiritual strength and Easter joy! May we, like Christ's apostles and myrrh-bearing women, be honored to meet the Risen Savior, to converse with Him in prayer, to live united with Him, to be with our works true witnesses of His glorious and saving Resurrection!
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Risen from the dead, the love of God and the Father, and the communion of the Most Holy Spirit be with us all!
CHRIST IS RISEN!
CHAIRMAN OF THE HOLY SYNOD
† DANIEL
PATRIARCH OF BULGARIA AND
METROPOLITAN OF SOFIA
MEMBERS OF THE HOLY SYNOD:
† To the USA, Canada and Australia Metropolitan JOSEPH
† Metropolitan GRIGORY of Veliko Tarnovo
† Metropolitan Ignatius of Pleven
† Lovchan Metropolitan GAVRIIL
† Plovdiv Metropolitan NIKOLAI
† Western and Central European Metropolitan ANTONIUS
† Metropolitan JOHN of Varna and Veliko Preslav
† Metropolitan Seraphim of Neurokop
† Metropolitan NAUM of Rousse
† Metropolitan CYPRIAN of Staro Zagora
† GRIGORY, Metropolitan of Vratsa
† Metropolitan YAKOV of Dorostol
† Sliven Metropolitan ARSENIJ
† Metropolitan Pachomius of Vidin