Paschal Epistle of His Eminence VALENTINE, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir
Fr. Elias Greer, Chancellor
In the name of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox
Autonomous Church, I greet you, our dearly beloved in the Lord
Pastors, Right Honorable Monastics and God-loving flock, with
spiritual joy, on this universal and joyous feast of the radiant
Resurrection of Christ.
Christ is Risen!
May the Risen Lord abide with us forever, and may He ever provide us
with all that is necessary for our salvation.
We offer up our most ardent prayers to Christ, the Giver of Life, Who
is now ascended from the tomb, that we might be able to withstand all
of the evil and violence, oppression and persecutions, sufferings and
death, which face us.
We place our hopes and expectations on the risen Christ, that He
might vouchsafe unto us the spirit of patience, the spirit of humility
and love for our enemies, but not for the enemies of His Church, Which
is the entryway to the kingdom of God, and the gateway to the kingdom
of glory and eternal life.
This year, the holy feast of Pascha comes at a time when the forces
of evil have been let loose upon the Russian Orthodox Church Outside
of Russia, which over the course of 80 years had been the vessel
bearing the grace of untainted Orthodoxy; upon that Church, which
those languishing and suffering in Holy Russia used to compare to the
Woman who had fled from the power of the dragon into the desert of
heterodoxy in order to keep unsoiled the purity of her wedding
garments, the wedding garments of the Church, the Bride of Christ,
there, upon the shifting sands of the unorthodox world. Now these
forces of evil have stretched forth their treacherous hands to grab at
the throat of the Orthodox Church Abroad in order to choke Her, and
thereby exact vengeance for the labors of those of her hierarchs who
had laid down their lives for the sake of spreading true Orthodoxy.
Together with the ineffable joy which accompanies the holy feast of
Pascha, we must also be mindful of those not too far distant days in
which we foresee great temptations for our faith, inasmuch as "those
who wish to live in piety must needs be persecuted," as the holy
Apostle Paul teaches us. This is the bearing of our cross, which leads
to salvation. If the Lord gives us a cross, He also gives us the
strength to bear it, for no one comes down from the cross on his own,
but he is rather taken down from it by others. "In your patience
possess ye your souls...watch and pray," and the Risen Christ grants us
salvation, for "he who is patient to the end will be saved."
"On this chosen and holy day," may the risen Christ strengthen the
hearts of those Orthodox Christians who stand firmly upon the path of
Orthodoxy, confessing the truth, preaching the Kingdom of God, and
increasing the talents they have been given for the coming eternal
life.
May the light of Christ's resurrection brighten our hearts and may
our eyes and ears be open unto the understanding of the "good and
perfect" saving providence of God, which leads to our eternal
salvation "in the evening-less day of the kingdom of Christ," in the
bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Church of the holy New
Martyrs and Confessors.
Truly He is Risen!
With much love,
VALENTINE
Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir
Pascha 2007
Suzdal