Pastoral letter – Easter 27th April 2008

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

Today the Eastern Church both in Ukraine and in Russia celebrates the glorious Resurrection of Christ. This year we also commemorate the jubilee of the baptism of Rus-Ukraine by St. Vladimir in Kiev. Through baptism we were immersed in Christ’s death and received new life (cf. Rom 6:3-4). We are to renew this God’s life in us through the celebration of Sunday – the Day of Resurrection. The spiritual resurrection will come only after every Christian opens himself to Christ’s Spirit!

Millions of people have believed the lie, let themselves be deceived and thus lost Christ as well as eternal life. The same as the first people in Paradise believed the lie of the serpent, that they would be as gods, but became slaves to demons and death instead.

The Western Church celebrated Easter a month ago, on 23rd March 2008. The Pope then celebrated his Easter liturgy for Ukraine. On that very day we publicized our episcopal consecration and announced it to the believers. The reaction to it on the part of Christ’s and the Church’s enemies was: “Crucify!” Christ’s violent death on the cross and His burial in the tomb was, nonetheless, completed by His glorious resurrection on the third day. The disciples could not understand it and were unable to accept it, even after they encountered the risen Christ. He said to them: “Why are you so senseless? It is I Myself.” Finally, they were completely overwhelmed by the reality. Still, one of them, Thomas, refused this reality. For he was not with them that evening and then for all the week kept repeating: “Unless I see, I will not believe! Unless I put my finger into the print of the nails, I will not believe!” A week later, Jesus appears to the Apostles again and personally invites Thomas to put his finger into His wounds. This doubting and unbelieving apostle was broken in his pride and unbelief, and encountering the risen Jesus he cried out in astonishment: “My Lord and my God!”

On the fiftieth day after Christ’s resurrection the Apostles were filled with God’s Spirit. Coward apostles turned into courageous witnesses of Christ’s death and resurrection. For this testimony they laid down their lives.

Saint Andrew, the Apostle of Rus-Ukraine, was hanged on the cross in the shape of X, and his brother Peter was crucified with his head down in the city of Rome. There Christians were later thrown before wild beasts and killed in masses. Owing to their hope and faith in Christ they faced death with joy, knowing that in the moment of death they will enter the eternal light.

As many of you as were baptized received new life and became children of God. You became heirs to the kingdom of God.

Physical death will not end this God’s life! This is not happiness that would last a hundred, a thousand, a million years, this is life without end. This is such happiness of which the Scripture says that eye has not seen it, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man (cf. 1Cor 2:9). Therefore the apostles did not hesitate for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s to sacrifice even their physical lives. For the sake of this eternal life, which is in Christ, hundreds of thousands of martyrs did not hesitate to suffer the hardest tortures.

For the sake of this eternal life missionaries left their homes and their homelands. Many paid for it with great suffering and often with life too. In the 9th century Saints Cyril and Methodius left Salonica and came to us, the Slavs, to preach Christ and the Gospel. They gave us so-called Cyrillic alphabet and translated the Scripture and liturgical books into the language intelligible to us. Through their mission they transmitted God’s life to us.

What is life? Let us imagine a little spruce seed and at the same time a big spruce tree. This tree grew from a small seed. In this seed were hidden the roots, which then grow under the ground, the trunk, the mighty branches as well as the power that draws water up to the height of ten, fifteen metres without any pump. This all is contained in the mystery of life of a small seed.

Such is the life of plants, but there is also the life of animals, thousands of various species. As for animals, these, in contrast with plants, have senses, they can see, feel, and even have an instinct. For instance, storks, which come here to Ukraine every spring, have no timetable, yet they know when to fly away and when to return. They fly hundreds of kilometres and are capable of right orientation, even though they have no reason.

Next, there is the life of man, which is the point of intersection between material and spiritual life. Unlike animals, man has not only physical but also spiritual life. This spiritual life becomes manifest through reason and free will, and moreover, this life in us does not end with death but passes to eternity.

A still higher than human life is the life of purely spiritual beings which we call angels. These have different levels of perfection. They are divided into angels, archangels, powers… The most perfect ones are closest to God and have the innermost part in His perfection, power and happiness.

We ask: Where is our life? If through faith and baptism we received God’s life, our new life is in Christ. Assuming our human nature, Christ at the same time passed on us God’s nature, God’s life, dignity that is greater than the dignity of angels. Our life is directly in God. Through Christ and in Christ we have part in the glory of God! We are God’s children and heirs to God’s kingdom.

How are we to obtain this eternal life and how to preserve it?

The condition for obtaining eternal life is baptism and faith: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom 10:9-10)

“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.” (Jn 1:12) Man has to say a clear word, or make a clear gesture, in the same way as it was done by our forefathers who were baptized in the Dnieper River 1000 years ago. To them, but to us as well, who have already been baptized and have believed in Christ, applies God’s Word: “He who has the Son has eternal life…” (cf. 1Jn 5:11-12) The Apostle adds to this: “These things I have written to you… that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1Jn 5:13) Yes, this we have to know that already now we have this eternal life, for this life is in Christ whom we received through faith. This receipt of Christ is the first precondition.

The second precondition is faithfulness to Christ until death, and therefore especially every Sunday we are to renew God’s life in us. On this day the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead. This day belongs to God and we are to celebrate it. The early Christians in Jerusalem built their life on four pillars. We too are to build the celebration of Sunday – the Day of Resurrection – on these four pillars.

The first pillar – the apostles’ teaching – is the interpretation of the Holy Scripture in the Apostolic Tradition. The Scripture of both the Old and the New Testament is accomplished in Christ.

The second pillar of Christians was common prayers. To them prayer was a living experience, contact with Jesus, for He said: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20) and also: “If two of you agree concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them.” (Mt 18:19)

The third pillar was fellowship. This meant sharing one’s spiritual experience of faith, of the battle with lie as well as mutual encouragement.

The fourth pillar is the Eucharist. This means receiving Christ not only through God’s Word but also receiving His true Body and Blood under the appearances of bread and wine, which requires living faith.

Conclusion

Today the Eastern Church in Ukraine and in Russia celebrates the glorious Resurrection of Christ. This year we also commemorate the jubilee of the baptism of Rus-Ukraine by St. Vladimir in Kiev. Through baptism we received new life. We are to renew and develop this God’s life in us through the celebration of Sunday – the Day of Resurrection!

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

The blessing from the bishops of UGCC

                                                            + Samuel Oberhauser

                                                            + Markian Hitiuk OSBM

                                                            + Metod?j Špi?ík OSBM

                                                            + Eliáš Dohnal OSBM

                                                                                                                      Pidhirtsi, 27th April 2008

Address: Monastery OSBM, Pidhirtsi 80660, Brody district, Lvov region, Ukraine

www.community.org.ua