In a video message for Holy Pascha 2025, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church reflected on the deep spiritual significance of Pascha, emphasizing that it is not merely a historical commemoration, but a living experience of Christ’s love, sacrifice, and victory over death.
Recalling the Last Supper, His Beatitude explained that Jesus Christ instituted a new Passover on Holy Thursday, prefiguring His sacrificial death on the Cross and glorious Resurrection on the third day to offer eternal life to the world.
Drawing a parallel between the Jewish and Christian Passovers, the Patriarch of Romania noted that while the Jewish celebration centers on the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and the liberation from Egyptian slavery, the Christian Pascha marks Christ’s passage through death and Resurrection into eternal life.
“Through His humble and merciful love,” said Patriarch Daniel, “Christ heals the disobedience of Adam and Eve and replaces the violence of this world with the peacemaking love of God.”
His Beatitude also highlighted that the message of the Resurrection is a call to imitate Christ in daily life through acts of humility, forgiveness, compassion, and joy. He urged all faithful to become bearers of peace and reconciliation, sharing the gifts of the Risen Lord with their families, communities, and the world around them.
At the conclusion of his message, Patriarch Daniel extended heartfelt wishes of peace, health, and happiness to all Romanians—both in the country and throughout the diaspora—offering the traditional Paschal greeting: “Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!”
Please find below the full text of Patriarch Daniel’s Message for Holy Pascha 2025.
Patriarch Daniel’s Message for Holy Pascha 2025: Humble and merciful love is stronger than sin and death
After celebrating the Jewish Passover with His disciples, the Lord Jesus Christ instituted, on Thursday evening, a new Passover at the Mystical Supper. Through this, He anticipated the mystery of His sacrificial death on the Cross on Friday and His Resurrection on the third day (Sunday), in order to offer the world eternal life. This is why Saint Paul the Apostle says: “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
At the centre of the Jewish Passover celebration is the miracle of the Jewish people, led by Moses, passing through the Red Sea on dry ground, marking their liberation from the bondage of Egypt.
However, in the Christian celebration of Pascha, our Church commemorates Christ’s passage in the body through the bloody sacrifice of His death on the Cross and His bodily Resurrection from the dead, to enter eternal heavenly life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through His humble and merciful love, the Lord Jesus Christ shows on the Cross both humble obedience to God and merciful forgiveness to those who crucified Him. Thus, the Lord Christ “takes away” or heals the sin of disobedience of our foreparents Adam and Eve for the salvation of the world, and at the same time, He replaces murderous violence with peacemaking love.
The Feast of Holy Pascha calls all of us to show humble and merciful love, forgiveness, peace, and joy to those around us, as gifts of the Risen Christ.
We wish all Romanians in Romania, near its borders, and throughout the diaspora peace and joy, health and happiness, together with the Paschal greeting: Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
† Daniel
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Photo: Lumina Newspaper / Luigi Ivanciu
