Patriarch Daniel and the Synod Sent Easter Message for the Resurrection of Christ

Patriarch Daniel and the metropolitans of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate (BPC-BP) sent a patriarchal and synodal message for the Resurrection of Christ, the Bulgarian Patriarchate announced.

Once again, the unexpressed mercy of God touches our hearts, experiencing the joy of the sacred Pascha - Feast of Feasts and Triumph of Triumphs! On this most luminous day of the all-glorious Resurrection of Christ, the Holy Orthodox Church rejoices spiritually, “seeing Christ the King shining from the tomb as the Bridegroom.” “O Pascha, great and most holy, Christ! O Wisdom and Word of God, and Power…”, they write from the Patriarchate.

The message clarifies that the word “Pascha” means passing - we pass from decay to incorruption, from death to life, from sin to salvation, from the temporary to the eternal, from the “valley of tears” (Ps. 83:7) and “shadow of death” (Ps. 22:4) to the never-ending day in the “New Jerusalem” of the Kingdom of God. The Resurrection of Christ is the most long-awaited and desired event in human history, preached and predicted by the Old Testament prophets, witnessed by the holy apostles and the myrrh-bearing women, and sealed with the blood and sufferings of a countless host of martyrs and confessors of the faith. The Resurrection of Christ is our constant joy and inspiration. It is the meaning and purpose of our life. The Resurrection of Christ is a comfort for those who have lost hope, courage for the discouraged, justification for the wronged, uplifting of the fallen, faith for the disillusioned, 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. Because, if Christ has not risen, our faith is vain (cf. 1 Cor. 15:17). If Christ had not risen, our lives would have no meaning. “But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). “Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death freed us from it”, exclaims Saint John Chrysostom. As Christ rose from the dead, so shall we, and our loved ones, be resurrected on the last day, as we confess at every Holy Liturgy: “I await the resurrection of the dead and life in the age to come!”

In the troubled times in which we live, constantly hearing about wars, death, atrocities, injustice, conflicts that are tearing our world apart, we have one and only hope: Christ is Risen! We have one unfailing promise from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself: “And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Let us not be afraid. Let us stand upright, alert, with trust in the Risen Savior. Let us cultivate the imperishable evangelical virtues, participate in the sacred life of the Holy Orthodox Church, imitate the saints, forgive our neighbors, be merciful, fight against individualism, addictions, divisions and alienation among us, as well as against every sin, “which so easily entangles us” (Heb. 12:1). Let the light of the Resurrection of Christ be our guide, that we may fearlessly serve God in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life (cf. Luke 1:75), says the message of Patriarch Daniel and the metropolitans of BPC-BP.

We wish all the children of our Holy Church in Bulgaria and beyond the borders of our Homeland health, peace, spiritual strength, and Paschal joy! May we, like the apostles of Christ and the myrrh-bearing women, meet the Risen Savior, converse with Him in prayer, live united with Him, be with our deeds true witnesses of His glorious and saving Resurrection!

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead, the love of God and the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all, with this blessing, the patriarchal and synodal message for the Resurrection of Christ concludes.