Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem sent an Easter message on Wednesday proclaiming the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and calling for an end to all hostilities in the region – “primarily to Gaza, the entire Holy Land and the Middle East”.
“Today, the Church of Christ proclaims the gospel of unspeakable joy to the world. It proclaims to the ends of the earth the Resurrection of its Founder and our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, the Crucified. Jesus Christ the Son and Word of God, made Incarnate of the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, born in the flesh and seen on earth,” transmits the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
The Lord’s Apostles, made wise through the Holy Spirit, “planted” the Church in all the earth until its end, against which, as promised, “the gates of Hades shall not prevail” (Matthew 16:18).
Patriarch Theophilos III quotes Holy Apostle Paul, who wrote that “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19) and states that “this work of reconciliation is performed by His Body, the Church, through the centuries throughout the world.”
„The Church of Jerusalem, the Mother of the Churches, the first to receive remission of sins through the Resurrection, does this in the places on earth where Christ appeared in the flesh. To them, both near and afar, peace is preached, especially in these difficult times of war raging in the world and destroying not only property and residence but also human life,” writes His Beatitude Theophilos III.
“From these places, namely from the Holy and Life-giving Tomb, from where the light of life arose and where the Paschal Resurrection Divine Liturgy is celebrated, the Church of Jerusalem appeals for the cessation of all hostilities, primarily to Gaza, the entire Holy Land and the Middle East.”
“It also appeals for the unity of the Orthodox Churches in the bond of peace and for its unifying testimony to the suffering world, anxiously awaiting for this,” continues the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
“to its flock in all its normal jurisdiction, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian state, Qatar and the pilgrims all over the world, it addresses the Easter greeting “Christ is risen” and the triumphant speech of the Saviour: Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world! (John 16:33).
Photo credit: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu (archive)
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