In his pastoral letter for Holy Pascha 2023, Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas has urged the priests and faithful to preserve in their hearts and share positive messages with others: rejoice and be not afraid.
Metropolitan Nicolae urged everyone to reflect on the experience of the Myrrh-bearing Women on the morning of the Resurrection and rejoice with them.
“If we have rejoiced with the Myrrh-bearing women; if we have worshipped Him, the Risen One, it is fitting that we also receive the call to preaching.”
“They are the first heralds of the Resurrection with these hope-giving words: Christ is risen! Like them, we can also receive the power to bear witness through the joy of meeting and of worshipping. The meeting of the Myrrh-bearers with the risen Christ reveals to us our own Christian path: the path of the joy of meeting (the word of the Gospel and the icon), followed by worship (partaking of the Body and Blood of the Risen One) and being sent to preaching.”
“Our world continues to be troubled by war, even between Orthodox brothers, by persecutions against Christians and the Church, even in countries that are called Orthodox, by the cultivation of a spirit of enmity, and by fear of an economic crisis,” the Romanian Metropolitan of the Americas highlighted.
“Christians cannot defend themselves, their families, and communities if they do not follow the path described by this miraculous meeting on the morning of the Resurrection,” His Eminence noted.
“Only the joy of meeting with the Risen Christ in the Church at the Divine Liturgy followed by the proclamation of this meeting to those possessed by the spirit of enmity and division can conquer the evil spirits of this world. Only a Christian clothed in the light of the Resurrection can bring light in the darkness of hatred. Only the faith-filled proclamation of the Resurrection, the victory of life over sin and death, can bring peace and hope to our present troubled times,” Metropolitan Nicolae noted.
Photography courtesy of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas
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