Archpastoral congratulations from Metropolitan Irenaeus to the Orthodox residents of the region for the holiday of Holy Easter. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy accepted congratulations on the holiday of Easter
To take part in the bright Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, many believing citizens gathered at the Church of St. Luke of Voino-Yasenetsky in Berezniki. The temple greeted all believers in the resurrection of Christ with a soft and bright appearance, updated festive decoration and special silence, anticipating the Holidays!
Congratulations from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the bright holiday of Easter
Congratulations on Easter from Metropolitan Methodius of Perm and Kungur
“Dear brothers and sisters, I cordially congratulate you on the holiday of the Holy Resurrection of Christ! The Lord has vouchsafed us this year to reach this day and merge in common joy with the entire holy Church. We all prepared for this holiday in different ways. During Great Lent, the Church called us to reasoning, to introspection, to repentance and deep prayer. Some followed these calls, some did not, some tried, but did not succeed. However, today we are all here, and our souls and hearts are filled with rejoicing. This joy fills us because He who opened the way to eternal life has risen.
The Church calls Christ the new Adam. We know about Adam that he was the first and only, from God he was given many benefits and power over animals and birds. God gave him the right and opportunity to be close to Him, but... Our forefather was expelled from Paradise, and thereby marked the beginning of the sinful path of human nature. And this continued until the new Adam came, who sacrificed Himself to atone for the sin of the first Adam and all humanity.
That is why our soul rejoices so much, because the Creator has risen and destroyed the captivity of hell. Previously, we were all prisoners of hell, and there was no way out for us. But the Lord could not leave His creation in this dark and hopeless existence, because He created us out of love. And then he brings a great sacrifice - His Son, to atone for the sin that Adam committed. Christ brought Adam and Eve out of hell, and many people after them.
What would have happened if Christ had not been resurrected? Some consider this to be fiction or a myth. However, not a single fiction has existed in the world for as long as the Holy Church has existed. From history we know how long the forces of hell tried to overcome the Church and destroy Christians. And nothing worked out for them. After all, the Lord said: “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it until the end of the age.”
The Apostle Paul said: “If Christ has not been raised, then our faith is vain.” I will continue the thought: if Christ had not been resurrected, there would have been no Christian states, no Christian thinkers, writers, artists, composers, there would have been no Christian culture and art, there would not have been our civilization as we know it. What would happen to humanity if it lost the high ideals of morality built on Christianity?..
Yes, we do not always strive to follow Christ. But the path to Him is always open to us.”
Your Holiness! Holy Master and Father! Following the established tradition, on this holiday, Orthodox Moscow brings its congratulations to you as the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. God destined you to lead the Russian Orthodox Church at a fateful time, at a turning point in the history of our people. From a spiritual point of view, we are participants and witnesses of the revival of faith - the apostolic faith, the paternal faith, the Orthodox faith.
This year, in your Christmas message, you succinctly said about your past life: “The past year was both joyful and sorrowful for our Church at the same time.” If every believer knows how difficult it is to bear the trials of life, if every priest now struggles to overcome the problems of his ministry, if every archpastor is sometimes almost crushed by the weight of episcopal work, then it is difficult to imagine the multiple and incomparably greater weight of the patriarchal cross that the Lord places on his shoulders. High Priest. The mystical power of the Church lies in the fact that the Lord, to whom he entrusts high service, abundantly pours out His heavenly help and intercession.
On this day, the people of God and the clergy gather in large numbers at the Patriarchal Cathedral in order not only to glorify the Divine Infant Jesus, not only to receive your high priestly blessing, but also to receive instructions in spiritual and church life. And you invariably turn your word to the hearts of believers, inspiring not only those who are present during these congratulations in your cathedral, but your entire multimillion-strong all-Russian flock.
During the past anniversary of the 600th anniversary of the blessed death of St. Sergius, in his holy monastery on the day of his memory, you confessed before God, and St. Sergius, and the people all the infirmities and sins of us and the church people over the past time. You
called on all of us to “be renewed in the spirit of our minds” (Eph. 4:23) and with new effort, with new hope in God’s help, to go preach the Gospel to our suffering people.
Your inspiring and tireless works inspire the clergy in any conditions and circumstances, according to the word of the Chief Shepherd Christ - seeing the wolf coming, not to leave their sheep and not to run, but, serving them, to lay down their souls for them.
You, Your Holiness, also demonstrate the openness of our Church to accept any help from outside for the comprehensive revival of church life, but you invariably testify to the inadmissibility of non-Orthodox and non-Orthodox people buying living human souls for the “lentil stew” known from the Bible. And we are grateful to you for this principled Orthodox position.
Finally, against the background of all kinds of schisms and apostasies from the Church, committed by people with a seared conscience, you, with the hope of their repentance, show both humility and deep patience.
And it should be noted that the Russian Orthodox Church, together with its Primate - His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, becomes a spiritual symbol of the revival of Russia, its peoples, a symbol of hope that through the Orthodox faith our peoples will overcome all difficulties and confrontations, find calm and peace and become worthy of their glorious history, its rich religious and cultural heritage. We hope that bold faith will bring salvation to everyone.
Entering the New Summer of God's goodness, the Orthodox people hope for the primal prayers and spiritual support of Your Holiness in the coming trials, and await a firmly indicating word, guiding them on the path of salvation.
It was God's providence that your visit to Kolomna should take place on the eve of the third anniversary of your Patriarchal enthronement. And we have the honor, joy and privilege today to be the first to greet you on this great day.
In our fast-moving and explosive age, three years is already a big anniversary for the High Hierarch. All these years were filled with sacrificial, invisible daily service, and events -
we are bright and memorable. This is a pilgrimage to great shrines, and especially to the Holy Sepulcher, a visit to fraternal Local Churches and three dozen dioceses of the Moscow Patriarchate, which you visited, giving joy and blessing to the people of God and inspiration to the episcopate of our Orthodox Church.
Perhaps, Your Holiness, today we will be able to please you with little in the development of church life on Kolomna land against the backdrop of massive openings of churches and monasteries, the general spiritual revival of Russia. But I am sure that your visit will mark the beginning of a new stage and will be marked by a special manifestation of God’s mercy towards this ancient, traditionally Orthodox land.
However, what we have today cannot be compared with the period when for many years the only Epiphany Church was opened on the outskirts of Kolomna, which was then called a cathedral, accommodating only 300-400 worshipers. He was like the unfading light of a sacred lamp. This temple did not allow the Orthodox faith to fade away in the hearts of Kolomna residents.
Perhaps we are carrying out the restoration of church buildings too slowly, but the most precious thing for us is that all the restoration of shrines is not carried out with any foreign help, but exclusively, and I would like to especially emphasize this with gratitude, exclusively through the sacrificial labors of believers and many enterprises in Kolomna. This nationwide feat has enormous religious and moral significance. Children, boys and girls, participating today in the liquidation of the anti-religious tornado, we believe, will no longer be able to raise their hands to destroy church shrines. There is a spiritual revival of souls.
Thank God, already this year, with your blessing, the pilgrimage routes of the first children's Orthodox mission passed through Kolomna. In the monasteries of Moscow and the Moscow region, young souls came into contact with modern asceticism, the history and culture of their people and the inspiring enthusiasm of spiritual rebirth, which occurs everywhere with your primal blessing.
We are all still at the beginning of our journey in reviving the saving mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in the vast expanses of Russia. In every era, the Lord raises up in His Church such a High Hierarch who is able to bear the cross and the burden of the people. Three years of your Patriarchate convince us of the justice of this. Before God, before the people and before conscience, we, your unworthy co-servants, have a duty and sacred responsibility in one
with unity and unanimity to carry out their feasible labors for the good of the Church and the people of God. We ask for your holy prayers, so that the Lord will give us His Divine grace.
In memory of this historical day in the history of Kolomna, when for the first time in 400 years of the Patriarchate in Rus', the Primate of the Russian Church in the rank of Patriarch celebrated the Divine Liturgy here, we ask Your Holiness to accept this holy image of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God - Your Heavenly Patroness in life, and in the service of the Church, with prayerful wishes that under the protection of the Queen of Heaven your high priestly service will take place for the good of the Church and for the glory of our Fatherland.
(Kolomna, 1993)
Your Holiness! His Holiness Vladyka and High Hierarch of the Russian Land!
Today we solemnly remember and celebrate that blessed time when the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled and “God sent his only begotten Son” (Gal. 4:4) into this perishing world, and when “the grace of God bringing salvation appeared to all men” (Titus 2: 11). All people are now called to embrace this universal joy in their hearts.
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Nativity of Christ under special conditions. Your festive Patriarchal message paints a broad picture of the revival of church life in the vast expanses of our land. It pleased God's providence to mark your patriarchal service with the opening up of opportunities for the revival of evangelical preaching and many types of church service to others.
During this period we often hear the words of the ancient preacher: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven... a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather up stones” (Eccl. 3:1, 5).
When the outside world observes the “collection” of “stones” by Your Holiness, then, speaking about the return of shrines and the restoration of temples, it sometimes draws attention to what seems to be soulless, dead stones, thinking that the goal of the Church is the acquisition of material wealth.
With your message you reminded that the primary concern of the Church is the concern for the salvation of the souls of millions and millions of our fellow-
citizens, until the recent past, separated by an artificial wall from the Holy Church and its ministers. This concern is consonant with the call of the holy Apostle Peter, who addressed the followers of Christ: “Build yourselves into a spiritual house, like living stones” (1 Pet. 2:5).
It is difficult, Your Holiness, to sow on soil where everything is almost burned to the ground. However, history testifies to the immutability of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which also apply to the Russian Orthodox Church: “On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). As encouragement and inspiration, the Lord also gives Your Holiness special signs of His mercy when people who have sinned against the unity of Christ’s Church return to the church fold.
With zeal and zeal, with humility and dignity, you bear the patriarchal cross handed to you by the Providence of God. I wanted to specifically say about all this in the summer of 1994, which marks the 65th anniversary of your birth.
With these thoughts and feelings, allow me, Your Holiness, to congratulate you on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ and the New Year on behalf of the Holy Synod, on behalf of the Synodal institutions, of which there are now so many. I won't bother you by listing them. I will only say that they are all working under your leadership for the sake of the revival of the Russian soul, the Orthodox soul, for the sake of our Fatherland and the strengthening of Holy Orthodoxy.
Allow me to congratulate you from the episcopate, clergy and laity, from holy monasteries, from theological schools, from the Representations of the Holy Local Churches under your Patriarchal Throne.
Your Holiness! Let me sincerely and fervently wish that the strength that you give to millions and millions of believers, archpastors and pastors, monastics and laity through your sacrificial and inspired service increases a hundredfold in you, strengthening you for the patriarchal feat possible only with the help and grace of God.
Let me wish you that the joy that you give to the Church will fill your heart many times over. May the Lord, both in this coming summer and in many, many years, strengthen you in health, salvation in the service of the Holy Church and keep you for many and prosperous years. Amen.
Your Holiness! Christ is Risen!
In the past days of Holy Week, we deeply experienced the saving feat of the Calvary suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to turn my attention to the earthly side of the life of the God-man. Despite the fact that He taught with authority and heard an enthusiastic reception upon entering Jerusalem and cries of “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 21:9) - He, by His human nature, needed the communication and support of disciples close to Him. This is vividly narrated in the Holy Gospel. Let us remember how, during the Gethsemane prayer, Christ in spiritual suffering asked his disciples: stay with Me, pray with Me (See: Mark 14:38). And if the Son of God needed the empathy of the holy apostles, then all the more does every person need it.
Allow me, Your Holiness, to say with boldness: the High Hierarch of the Church of Christ especially needs this. Despite your friendly high priestly gaze, we often see on your linden tree traces of concern, sometimes sadness and anxiety. And your state becomes clear to us when, in your ardent sermons and messages, you call for unity, condemning divisions and lack of peace, when you say with alarm that attempts are being made to disrupt the unity of the Church of Christ.
It is appropriate to recall that back in the 4th century, Saint John Chrysostom condemned the schism as a great sin that cannot even be washed away by the blood of martyrdom. Repeating this often, he explained: “We say all this, we remind you of all this, so that you can no longer say on that last day: “No one told us this, no one explained it, we did not know this and did not consider it a sin at all.” .
Your Holiness! We really want to hope that, despite the many anxieties and worries that visit your heart, which cares about the life of the Church and the revival of Rus', you, of course, also have many joyful, inspiring impressions that give you strength.
Therefore, on this Easter holiday evening, allow me to deviate somewhat from the official style of addressing you, and, as a father, tell me about what I experienced in my heart today when I celebrated the Easter Divine Liturgy.
This happened in the Trinity Church in the city of Lyubertsy. At the very beginning of the service, there was an unusual noise because of the children who had gathered in large numbers in the church and, of course, everyone rushed forward,
to the altar to see and hear everything. Being in terrible cramped conditions, they were unable to calm down. Wanting to change something, I then asked all the children to go to the pulpit and solemn. But this place was still not enough. Then, departing somewhat from tradition, I invited the boys to enter the altar. The priests stood in the High Place, and the entire altar was filled with children studying at Sunday school. It immediately became quiet. All the children prayed reverently during the Divine Liturgy.
And at the end of the service, something touching and unusual happened... When I, not being able to go out to receive communion, began to give communion to the children in the altar, I saw one boy crying bitterly and not approaching the Chalice of the Lord. I asked him: “What is your name?” He said: “Seryozha.” - “Why are you, Seryozha, crying?” And he answered: “I was preparing to take communion, but now I have sinned and cannot approach Communion.” I asked what happened to him. And he replied that in this cramped space he was pushed, and he accidentally touched the Holy See. I answered him: “The Lord will forgive you, and I think that you will be a priest.” After this, he communed him with the Holy Mysteries of Christ. But the tears did not dry from his eyes! I have never encountered such reverence among adults who are conscious believers.
I thought: “This is the future of the Church, this is how Holy Rus' is growing and being reborn.” I remembered the words of the Lord: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37). And I wanted to repeat again and again the prayer of the holy righteous father John of Kronstadt: “Lord, eat zealous workers of Your grapes, give them prophetic zeal, apostolic power and wisdom, so that they tirelessly cultivate the fields of human hearts day and night.”
Your Holiness! What I witnessed today is experienced by many hundreds and thousands of ministers of the altar of the Lord and archpastors of the Russian Orthodox Church. And may this unusual form of my Easter greeting warm and delight your primate heart, so that you may be confident that the episcopate, clergy, monastics, laity and young children of the Church are devoted to you and are fervently praying for you. We are confident that with these holy prayers the Lord strengthens you in your selfless service to the Holy Church of Christ.
Please accept, Your Holiness, on behalf of the Holy Synod, the episcopate, clergy and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church, from the Synodal institutions, from the representative offices of the Orthodox Churches under your Patriarchal Throne, from all church institutions-
Denias, holy monasteries, educational institutions, from the Moscow diocese and the pilgrims present here, heartfelt congratulations on the great holiday of Holy Easter. And as a sign of our deep faith in the Resurrection of the Lord, Who is hope and strength for all of us, accept the Easter egg made for this solemn day for Your Holiness, and fragrant flowers as a symbol of your saving and diligent labors for the good of our Holy Church and all Orthodoxy !
Christ is Risen!
Your Holiness!
On behalf of the Holy Synod, Synodal institutions, representatives of Orthodox Local Churches, holy monasteries, theological schools, from the episcopate, the clergy and your multi-million flock, please accept heartfelt congratulations on the great holiday of the Nativity of Christ and the New Year.
Such a good tradition has developed that at this moment it is customary to talk about church life, which is inextricably, most closely connected with the life of the Primate of the Church. For the ministry of the Patriarch is included in the chronicle of church events.
We thank the Lord that in the past year you, Your Holiness, held the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, which will go down in history as one of the great Councils of the 20th century. Now that external obstacles in the life of the Church have disappeared, the Council of Bishops has, as it were, built a bridge between the Local Council of 1917-1918 and the present day, restoring the broken chain of many forms of service that were inherent in our Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Orthodox Church for centuries.
We thank the Lord that, inspired by the decisions of the Council of Bishops, we have entered a new summer of God’s goodness, so that, under your primatial leadership, we can revive Holy Rus', so that the voice and prayers of the Church reach millions and millions of our fellow citizens.
With thanksgiving to the Lord, I would like to say that the year 1995 began with a historically epoch-making event for the life of our Church and Russia, when you, Your Holiness, consecrated the first stone laid in the foundation of the reconstructed Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
lord - that temple with which both the glorious and tragic history of the Russian land and its holy Church are connected.
In the coming year we have two events to celebrate. I would like to say something special about them now.
This is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which brought grief and suffering and claimed millions of lives of the sons and daughters of Russia. For the first time, by decision of the Council of Bishops, on this lazy day we will perform funeral services for all soldiers and victims of the Great Patriotic War, along with those prayers for the departed, which, according to the Charter of the Church, are performed on parental Saturdays and other funeral days. With this, Your Holiness, you established the tradition, which, like a holy impulse of human hearts, began several decades ago in our country, when in suffering and sorrow people went to the temple of God on May 9 to remember the deceased soldiers and their loved ones. By this the Church wants to show that just as in the past, in days of trouble, it was together with the people, so after fifty years it wipes away tears from the faces of mothers, fathers, daughters and sons who sacredly preserve the memory of the dead.
This year will be a jubilee year for our Church, for Your Holiness, for we will celebrate the 5th anniversary of your Patriarchal enthronement. This is a short time in a person’s life, but for the history of the Church it is a bright, memorable page. It was with these years that great events for the Church coincided, when, after decades of suffering and trials, she received from the Lord the opportunity to resurrect many traditions and forms of ministry.
During these years, you, Your Holiness, carried out your leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church in a completely special way. First of all, you sought to motivate others to selfless, diligent service by personal example. You treated both repentant and unrepentant sinners in a very special way, showing patience and a pastoral approach.
Between the Councils of Bishops and the meetings of the Holy Synod, you devote yourself entirely to both everyday diocesan service and all-Russian service. The world has already become accustomed, under various circumstances, to hearing how the voice of the Primate of the Russian Church was heard repeatedly during the days of joyful and tragic events in the life of Russia. You did not call for bloodshed and revenge, hatred or violence, but for patience, harmony and the resolution of any disputes and conflicts in a fraternal, diplomatic way, with concern for the observance of rights and the protection of human dignity.
Of course, Your Holiness, we think about the secret that you possess, showing the inexhaustibility of enormous patriarchal energy. And again and again we are convinced of the truth of the words that you often repeat: “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Your faith instills in us, weak, unworthy and sinful servants of the altar of the Lord, the confidence that not with our own human strength, but with the help of God, we can work together with you in the great patriarchal service. We thank the Lord that we have such a High Priest.
On behalf of all those who came to this majestic cathedral today, I would like to address to you the words of the prayer that is addressed to the bishop before the start of the Divine Liturgy: “May your soul rejoice in the Lord.” You also need this joy as a person who has both sorrows and suffering in his heart, when the weapon of sorrow pierces your heart.
What can we bring to you on this day as the High Hierarch of the Russian land? Our sincere love, our loyalty to Christ, His Church, our prayers that the Lord will preserve you for the Church, Russia, Orthodoxy for many blessed and good years. Amen.
Your Holiness, Most Holy Lord and Father!
On this luminous day of Holy Easter, we comprehend the mysterious life of the Church and Its Divine Founder - the Lord Jesus Christ. The memories of Holy Week are still fresh in us: the betrayal of Judas, the humble washing of the apostles’ feet by their Teacher, His Calvary torment and death on the Cross. Now everything is full of light and triumph - Heaven and earth. We celebrate the rebellion of Christ, His Resurrection from the dead as a guarantee and hope for all of us for eternal joy in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The life of the Church is filled with humble service, constant suffering and the triumph of truth. Not only we, the archpastors, know this, but also her zealous servants - brother-co-pastors, and all the people of God. For me, during the awards ceremony for the clergy of the Moscow diocese, it was very touching to hear from one young priest his perception of what was happening around in recent years, when the forces of hell tried to disrupt the peace and break the unity of our Local Church. He confessed his conviction that
that the Church is unsinkable. Then I answered him that this is so, for the Risen Lord is the helmsman of the church ship. In the recent history of the Russian Orthodox Church we find living confirmation of this.
Now we often turn to the thoughts of the great Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Holy Confessor Tikhon, Patriarch of All Russia. At a time when it seemed that all the forces of hell were aimed at destroying the Church, he humbly and firmly resisted this with the strength of his indestructible faith. This is what he wrote about this to the priest of the Tomsk diocese: “Just as the leaders of the army, when attacked by enemies, do not pray to others for support and strengthening, but themselves encourage the soldiers, set an example of courage for them and are not afraid of wounds and death, so we, the leaders of the army of Christ , let us not fall into despondency, cry out for protection and help, but let us ourselves strengthen our flock and protect it from corruption and eternal destruction.”
Over the past five years, you, Your Holiness, have largely followed in the footsteps of your holy predecessor, accomplishing and leading the feat of the spiritual revival of Rus' and church service, and not only in patriarchal dignity. You have been serving as a bishop zealously and selflessly for the fifth decade. I would like to say about this today - on the day of your diaconal ordination and on the eve of your priestly ordination. Through all this time, the Lord led you along His Divine path, showing that the power of God is made perfect in weakness. And the higher your service, the greater the signs of God’s grace you receive. So yesterday, the words of the Easter prokeme took on special significance and meaning: “Who is the great God, as our God, You are God, work miracles.” Today we have gathered in this majestic patriarchal cathedral to glorify the Risen Lord together with you and bring you our heartfelt congratulations.
The great day of Holy Easter has arrived - the feast of holidays and the triumph of celebrations! All of Russia is filled with the joy of this great day. And in churches, and on the streets, and in houses - everywhere you can feel that the holiday of our hearts has come, truly a national holiday. And on this day, truly, your message went out into the whole earth.
Your voice, your prayers, greetings and well-wishes were heard in all corners of the universe.
Today, according to church custom and at the behest of our hearts, we have gathered in this majestic patriarchal cathedral to bring you congratulations on the holiday of Holy Easter.
Outwardly, it may seem that all our holidays and your service consist only of some kind of pomp and solemnity. But today, greeting Your Holiness, I would like to remind you that behind all this splendor lies the daily service of the cross for the sake of creating the good of the Church and our great Rus'. Perhaps only the episcopate and those around you know the hardships of the great patriarchal service that you selflessly bear every day.
Even at the beginning of this century, when the Patriarchate was being restored in Rus', one of the great hierarchs, Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky) prophetically predicted: “Now the time is coming that the patriarchal crown will not be a “royal” crown, but rather the crown of a martyr and confessor, who will selflessly lead the ship of the Church in its voyage through the stormy waves of the sea of life.”
This morning I celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the city of Domodedovo in an unfinished new church. And we can say that this is a miracle of modern life, because the temple in size and appearance resembles the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. A temple is being built in honor of All Saints, who shone in the Russian land, at the expense of the deanery. Orthodox people call it the “small Cathedral of Christ the Savior,” spiritually linking it with the construction, with your blessing, of the great Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Mother See of Moscow.
Similar miracles are happening all over our Russian land. And when destroyed monasteries and churches are restored, new temples are built, they receive your inspiring blessing. In this, Your Holiness, we see an expression of the inexhaustible faith that you testify to in the modern world.
In fact, just a few years ago people smiled skeptically when they were told that the Cathedral of Christ the Savior would be recreated on the site of the pool. But you deeply believed that this would be possible, arguing that it was in such difficult times that churches were erected in Rus'. For a non-believer, perhaps
It is difficult to understand where such faith in the possibility of fulfilling such daring plans comes from. In this holy cathedral, you often spoke about the indestructible faith that helps you to carry out your patriarchal service. This, after all, is the fulfillment of those words that Christ the Savior said before His suffering on the cross to His disciples, and through them to all of us: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will also do, and greater works than these will he do.” (John 14:12). We rejoice, Your Holiness, that your faith is changing the spiritual face of our native land.
Yesterday, while celebrating Easter Vespers in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, you addressed your native flock for the first time, using the traditional name Holy Rus'. This Holy Rus' is being recreated by your faith, your prayer, and on its behalf, from all those who love you, accept the heartfelt wish that the Risen Lord strengthens, inspires and helps you in your great patriarchal service. As a sign of our love, accept this Easter egg with a heartfelt greeting coming from the times of St. Mary Magdalene and the holy apostles - “Christ is Risen!”
Your Holiness, Most Holy Master and High Hierarch of the Russian Land!
At this blessed time, when the 70th anniversary of the Angel of the Russian Orthodox Church is solemnly celebrated, I cordially offer Your Holiness from myself and the entire Moscow diocese, its clergy, monastics and lay believers words of anniversary greeting.
The Lord Shepherd has placed you in the highest obedience that can be on Earth, and you carry it out, serving God and people with complete dedication, devotion and amazing efficiency. Like the holy Apostle Paul, who said about his evangelistic labors that he was “again in the pangs of birth until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal. 4:19) - You, Your Holiness, belong to everyone and bear the burdens of everyone, because your heart is in constant anxiety and concern for us. Repeatedly we have heard from you the words of the Psalmist: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your mercy, for the sake of Your truth” (Ps. 113:9).
The world, restless in vanity and sin, does not cease to fight against the Church, greedily waiting for an occasion, catching every flaw in order to discredit and denigrate it. Making efforts to revive church life and raising holy monasteries and churches from ruins, following your holy predecessor - St. Tikhon, Patriarch of All-Russia, you boldly and without fear repeat: “Let my name perish in history, if only the Church would benefit... »
Fervently praying to the Almighty for Your Holiness, the clergy and believers of the Moscow diocese sacredly believe that the Lord, the Giver of all blessings, will bestow upon you many years of wise and fruitful high priestly service for the consolation of the all-Russian flock, for the benefit of the Church and Russia. May the Lord grant you good health and a generous long life, and may your diligent labors bear abundant fruit, which “is not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power” (1 Cor. 2:4).
During the forty-day Great Lent, we all prepared ourselves for the holiday of Holy Easter. During the period of Holy Week, we experienced the sufferings of Calvary, which the Savior took upon Himself for our sake and for the sake of our salvation. The Lord gave us the opportunity to cleanse our souls and consciences through repentance and feel the joy of salvation.
On Holy Saturday, like a flash of lightning, our hearts received the first news of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ during the Divine Liturgy. The brief gospel narrative from Matthew succinctly showed the fate of both those who leave Christ, who betray Him, and those who remain faithful to Him. Their fearlessness and joy are shown - that joy that conquers all suffering on earth.
From the moment when Christ commanded His disciples and their successors to preach the Gospel to all nations, for two millennia, as in a mirror, the history of the salvation of the human race and the history of the Church of Christ were reflected.
The power of the Risen Lord gave courage and fearlessness during any deprivation and persecution. I especially want to remind you
how, at the end of the 20th century, Russian confessors and new martyrs, inspired by the power of the Risen Lord, not only conveyed in words, but also in the deeds of their lives testified to fidelity to Christ and His Church.
This morning I celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Krasnogorsk near Moscow. In response to my mention of the events in Yugoslavia, the Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Defense Roman Semenovich Popkovich, our honorary parishioner, addressing the people in the church, said that he had recently returned from Yugoslavia, where he was convinced that the people of this fraternal country were inspired by your constant, ever since a threat loomed over its people, calls to reason for state leaders: not to fight for human rights by force of arms, but at the negotiating table, through the wisdom of diplomats. He said that what is important for Yugoslavia now is not Russian military supplies, but calls emanating from the Russian Orthodox Church.
Your Holiness, every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy, we end it with an exclamation full of hope and faith in the Risen Christ. We pray: “Glory to You, Christ God! Our hope, glory to You!” And today, when we see much suffering on earth, the cooling of love in people, we again and again confess our hope, which for many now remains the only one, that the Risen Christ, both throughout two thousand years of history and today, will save the world through the prayers of the saints , the prayers of the Church, the prayers and calls of Your Holiness.
Your Holiness, Our Holiness, Lord and Father!
By the providence of God we have reached this day of spiritual triumph, when, after your return from a historical pilgrimage to the Holy Land, on behalf of the Holy Synod, the episcopate, synodal institutions, holy monasteries, theological schools, the clergy and the multimillion-dollar flock of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as from the representative offices of Local Orthodox From the Churches, we offer our heartfelt congratulations to you, our High Hierarch, on the upcoming Anniversary of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ.
In these joyful days for us, we recall with reverence the words of the holy Apostle Paul: “The great mystery of piety: God has revealed
being in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, shown to the angels, preached to the nations, accepted by faith in the world” (1 Tim. 3:16).
We, too, are called to participate in this great mystery of piety through our spiritual exploits. You, Your Holiness, inspire us to this with your tireless service to the Church of Christ and prayer for us.
How many holy, great and grandiose, and at the same time tragic, things have happened in the past century!
We see God’s special providence for us in the fact that many of the greatest shrines, as a sign of God’s mercy to Russia, have returned to our lives. The Nativity of Christ is the patronal church holiday of the recreated Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The prophet Haggai once predicted about the Jerusalem temple destroyed by the Babylonians and being rebuilt: “The glory of this last temple will be greater than the first... and in this place I will give peace” (Hag. 2:9). This peace is gained by Holy Rus' with the revival of its churches and monasteries.
This year, the Russian Orthodox Church will solemnly celebrate the tenth anniversary of your patriarchal service, which will be crowned by the holding of the Jubilee Council of Bishops and the canonization of a host of Russian martyrs and confessors of the 20th century.
The abundance of correspondence received by Your Holiness and the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints clearly demonstrates how much the entirety of the Russian Orthodox Church awaits this canonization.
Our Church will live with the spiritual joy of the coming of Christ the Savior into the world with your blessing, holding Jubilee celebrations throughout the year.
Before your trip to the Holy Land, at the Anniversary Meeting of the Moscow Diocese, you, Your Holiness, assured that you would pray there for the Russian Church and for the peoples of our land. And now, once again expressing to you our heartfelt feelings and prayerful wishes in connection with the great holiday of the Nativity of Christ and the New Year, we ask Your Holiness to give us all the blessing of the land, consecrated by the feet and redemptive feat of the incarnate Son of God.
Your Holiness, Most Holy Bishop and High Hierarch of the Russian Church! Christ is Risen!
In the liturgical circle of our Church there is no more solemn and more joyful holiday than the Bright Resurrection of Christ. Over the course of forty days of fasting, prayer and repentance, the Holy Church prepares its faithful children for this great day. And then the great celebration itself continues for forty days. And today, at the beginning of this celebration, which is called “the holiday of the holidays and the triumph of celebrations,” allow me to bring you, Your Holiness, heartfelt congratulations.
This year, together with the entire Christian world, we celebrate the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, and our Church celebrates both the 50th anniversary of your service in the priesthood and the 10th anniversary of the Patriarchal enthronement.
Lately, I have been remembering more and more often the words of your predecessor, Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of All-Russia, who in difficult times for Russia said: “The fact that people everywhere unite around their churches is the guarantee of the great future of our Orthodox Church and our entire people.” After many decades of persecution and humiliation, boundless freedom of activity has opened up for the Russian Orthodox Church in our days. Where should we begin in the spiritual ashes and ruins? By your primate will, the Church began its revival through the restoration of the churches of God: from the grandiose Cathedral of Christ the Savior to small wooden chapels scattered throughout Holy Rus'. By your example, you showed the episcopate and clergy the way to the spiritual revival of the Church, and through this of our Fatherland.
For this feat of yours, Primate of our Church, accept a low bow from the Orthodox people of the Russian land. We all understand how heavy the patriarchal cross is. You carry it courageously, not allowing anyone to make your service easier.
I would like to wish that the prayers of the Church and all the people who love you, as if on wings, carry you in the service of the Church and our Russian country. May the Lord keep you in health and prosperity for many years to come!
Your Holiness, our dear Most Holy Master, High Priest and Father!
On the first Christmas of the 3rd millennium, I had the honor and joy to congratulate you on this great holiday.
These days, people around the world are taking stock and reflecting on what they are entering the third millennium with. I think I will express a general opinion if I say that the faithful sons and daughters of the Russian Orthodox Church are entering the new millennium with a firm, living faith in the immutability of the words of Christ the Savior, Who said: “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” ( Matthew 16:18).
We welcome the new century with deep faith that God is with us! Many of us were brought up on the lives of holy ascetics, especially the martyrs of Christ, who lived in bygone eras. Now, by the grace of God, a countless host of holy new martyrs and confessors of Russia has been revealed to us, who are so close and understandable to us with their lives and their martyrdom. Let me, as an example, recall the thoughts with which our illustrious Russian new martyrs lived, served, suffered and edified their faithful children. Thus, Archbishop of Kursk and Oboyan Onuphry (Gagalyuk), who was shot on June 1, 1938, consoled and encouraged one of his spiritual sons, wrote to him: “You, dear friend, are asking me with alarm: “What will happen to our Orthodox Church in thirty years?” , when those believers, of whom there are now many, die, and they are replaced by the current generation of evil and malicious enemies of the Church of God. After all, then they will openly attack the Church of God. What can we oppose to them?” I must tell you, dear friend, that along with the enemies of the Church of God, its friends are undoubtedly growing; Let them be few, but they are strong in their truth. Under a hail of ridicule and oppression, they strengthen their faith in God and devotion to the Church of God. And so, together with the shepherds of the Church of God, they will stand up in defense of the faith and the Orthodox Church.
The blood of believers may be shed. Let it be a seed, as in the first centuries of Christianity, a seed from which another strong Christian squad will grow. For the Church of Christ, persecution and blood are nothing new. All this happened, and all this led not to the destruction of the Orthodox Church, but to its glorification and spread. Moreover, do not forget, dear friend, that holy examples always call for imitation: when the unbelieving persecutors see
the unshakable steadfastness of Orthodox Christians, sealed with blood, then some of them, free to perceive the truth of God, will undoubtedly become among the confessors of Christ, as was the case with the ancient pagans, who, seeing the faith of Christians, themselves became followers of Christ from tormentors.”
Your Holiness, many years have passed since these prophetic words were uttered, filled with living faith in the indestructibility of the Church of Christ on earth. Today, with thanksgiving to the Lord, we testify to the triumph of God’s work in our Fatherland, to the revival of church life and the growth of our Holy Russian Orthodox Church.
From this Church, which you lead wisely, courageously and with deep faith, we bring you our warm, heartfelt and filial congratulations on the great holiday of the Nativity of Christ. We thank Your Holiness for your tireless, sacrificial love and high priestly service and wish you many of God’s mercies, health, patience and good haste in everything, and we pray to the Lord that He will preserve you for many and prosperous years. Amen.
Your Holiness, Most Holy Lord and Father! Christ is Risen!
Today, when we prayed, and during this solemn Patriarchal Easter Vespers, the great prokeimenon was sung: “Who is the great God, even as our God! You are God, work miracles!”, then I felt with all my heart that this applies to our Holy Church. And when the verse was proclaimed: “Thou hast spoken Thy power among men,” this was completely attributed to your high priestly service. You, Your Holiness, as the wise and courageous helmsman of the Russian Orthodox Church, saved our Local Church into a new century, a new millennium. And today, when we congratulate you on the great holiday of Holy Easter, we cannot separate your name from the life of the Church that you lead. It is a pity that not all of our people know by what labors and exploits this Holy Church was preserved in the last century.
Last year we glorified an innumerable host of new martyrs and confessors of Russia. Their theological heritage, their sermons, their thoughts today remind us of the power of the faith of Christ.
that and about the indestructibility of the Church itself, which the Lord created with His Divine Blood. One of our Moscow holy martyrs, Hilarion (Troitsky), prophetically spoke about this when he was ordained bishop. And I would like to recall his thoughts now, because they also apply to the faith of all the new Russian martyrs. They also apply to you, who sacrificially and selflessly steers the ship of the Church. “When the old world is torn to the ground in order to build a fantastic world only on its ruins... The Church of God stands unshakable, only adorned with scarlet and linen with the blood of new martyrs. What we knew from church history, what we read about from the ancients, we now see with our own eyes. The Church wins when it is harmed. Enemies would like to consider us obsolete, dead, but here we are alive (2 Cor. 6:9) and our soul will live (Ps. 119:175). We not only believe, but we also see that the gates of hell are powerless before God’s eternal creation. Among the winds of false teachings, among the muddy furious waves of anger, lies and slander of frantic enemies, the Church stands like a rock, that Russian Orthodox Church, about which they so loved to repeat recently that it is in paralysis, that it is held together only by the police force of the state. But the forces of the state turned against the Church - and our Church gave more martyrs and confessors than traitors and traitors.”
On behalf of this Holy Church, which, according to our belief and according to the promise of the Lord, will remain on earth until the end of the century, accept, Your Holiness, Easter congratulations from its episcopate, clergy and monastic, synodal institutions, from the people of God, both those who are coming here and professing the holy Orthodox faith throughout all of Rus' and far beyond its borders. We fervently wish and pray that the power of God will invariably strengthen Your Holiness, that you will continue to steer the church ship just as selflessly, courageously and wisely for the glory of the Church, for the salvation of our believers, for the good and prosperity of our Fatherland! I especially wish you spiritual joy, health and a happy, prosperous life for many years to come!
This Easter is special - it is the first Easter that begins the century and the third millennium. Therefore, with special meaning, I want to present you with an Easter egg, which depicts the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, our stronghold of Orthodoxy, where You are the Hiero-Archimandrite, and an image of the Council of the New Martyrs of Russia, with whose prayers may the Lord strengthen you in your great primatial service.
Your Holiness, Most Holy Lord and Father!
On Christmas Eve, I would like to recall the Gospel story from Luke, which describes the circumstances of the coming of the Son of God to earth. The Bethlehem shepherds, to whom the Angel suddenly appeared, were afraid with great fear. And the messenger of God said to them: “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people, for today a Savior has been born to you in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). When you hear this, your soul is filled with both awe and horror, because every word of the Gospel has an enduring, eternal meaning for every person.
I would like to say that although at that time the Angel’s words were addressed to the shepherds of the sheep, now they, first of all, refer to the shepherds of the verbal sheep, for the Holy Church preserves nothing else but joy. Through the preaching of her humble servants, she gives people at all times and under all circumstances the opportunity to maintain the love of God, which overcomes fear and gives strength in any trial.
These days we often hear that people want to see a miracle. And we, Orthodox Christians, sing in our churches: “Who is the great God, like our God! You are the God who works miracles...” For us, the most obvious miracle is the very existence of the Church on earth, which, despite being surrounded by a hostile world, schisms, persecutions, is indestructible, according to the words of the Savior (Matthew 16:18), and leads people to Kingdom of Heaven. And now the Christmas joy that richly fills the hearts of shepherds, archpastors and the High Hierarch himself makes it possible to work miracles, because we, weak and sinful people, cannot with our human strength do what the Divine grace abiding in the Holy Church of Christ does.
And today we are amazed at the miracle of the revival of the Orthodox faith in our Fatherland. We cannot call your high priestly service anything other than a miracle, because it is humanly difficult to explain how it is possible to perform long patriarchal services so often and communicate with compatriots on a daily basis, hosting from great to small in our state and society .
I think that each of us, both archpastors and pastors, looking at your service, thinks: “Of course, we were not ready for the opportunities that opened up before us in the past decade.
tie." We recently, Your Holiness, held a meeting of the clergy in the Moscow diocese. And we thought: what else can be done under these conditions? We opened churches and monasteries and decided that we would try to open the rest, and build where there were none - well, then what? And our thoughts were turned to the many forms of the ministry that you lead and show us as an example. It was decided that starting this Christmas, in all our churches on holidays we will carry out, as they say now, acts of mercy among the sick, the elderly, soldiers, the disabled, the sick, and, especially, among children. We want to learn your love, your joy, which you bestow on a daily basis to everyone with whom you communicate and to whom your primal word is addressed.
Allow me, Your Holiness, to sincerely congratulate you on the Nativity of Christ and the New Year on behalf of the Holy Synod, from the brothers, archpastors and pastors, from Synodal institutions, holy monasteries, Theological schools, and from your multi-million flock, from representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches under your Primate See .
In such cases, wishes are expressed. When I was preparing for this meeting, I asked myself: what can I wish to His Holiness the Patriarch? He is surrounded by loving and devoted people. He has everything in life - high service, and, by the grace of God, health and prosperity, and universal love! And then I thought that this might be enough for an ordinary person. The Primate of the great Church, the High Hierarch of the Russian land, needs this in abundance, in abundance, as they say, “grace to bestow grace.”
Your Holiness, let me sincerely wish that everything that you have will increase, and all the thoughts of your heart will be directed towards continuing, as now, sacrificially and inspiredly, with much love, your high priestly service for the good of our Holy Church, for the benefit of our beloved Fatherland. May the Lord preserve you for this for many and prosperous years. Amen.
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On April 11, 2004, on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' celebrated Easter Vespers in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, after which the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church congratulated him on the holiday of Holy Easter. The service was attended by bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, clergy of Moscow churches and monasteries, and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches. Easter Vespers was broadcast on television.
On behalf of the Holy Synod and the entirety of the Russian Orthodox Church - bishops, clergy, monastics and laity - Metropolitan Yuvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna congratulated His Holiness on the Great Feast. In his response, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy thanked for the congratulations, shared his joyful Easter impressions and reported on upcoming events in church life.
The participants of the holiday received the Primate's blessing and exchanged traditional Easter gifts with the Primate of the Church.
Word from Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna
Your Holiness, Most Holy Lord and Father!
On this Easter evening you glorified the Risen Lord. Let me bring you heartfelt congratulations on behalf of the Holy Synod, Synodal institutions, holy monasteries, the episcopate, the clergy and your multi-million flock, in the Fatherland and in the diaspora.
Today the entire Christian world glorifies the Risen Lord. The Russian Orthodox Church and your Mother See of Moscow rejoice and triumph. Yesterday and today, on the streets of the city in front of the churches and near them, one could see thousands and thousands of people who, inspired by the holiday, came out of their homes to celebrate the Great and Saving Easter of Christ.
Rejoicing over the Resurrection of the Son of God, the human race cannot forget those redemptive sufferings that our Lord Jesus Christ accepted for our sake and for the sake of our salvation. In days past, we could learn from the media how horrified people were after watching the famous film about the Passion of Christ. It is good that they paid attention to this, but if they had delved into the eternal pages of the Holy Gospel, they could have seen that the torment of Christ was even stronger, because we are talking primarily about the moral suffering of our Lord. During the last liturgy, we read in the Holy Gospel how Christ came to his own, and his own did not accept Him. One of the apostles betrayed his Teacher for an insignificant price - for 30 pieces of silver. And the fiery apostle Peter denied Him three times, and all the apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane fled in fear. The Calvary Passion of the Son of God is close and understandable to our Holy Church, for in the last century the Russian Orthodox Church produced an innumerable council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia and at this immeasurable cost preserved on our land, in our people, the faith in Christ the Savior.
Today, in greeting you, I would like to say about your talent, which we constantly observe during your primatial administration of the Russian Orthodox Church. We know, Your Holiness, that believers from all dioceses, from hundreds and thousands of parishes, when things get very difficult, turn to you for your prayerful help. It is impossible to imagine how many human sorrows your Primate heart has compassion for! But to our surprise and our joy, we have never seen your face distorted with anger - it is always friendly, joyful, and especially when you discuss important church-wide problems. It is safe to say that you have acquired abundantly in your heart the spirit of peace, which you often spoke of as the commandment of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
On this great holiday, I would like to prayerfully wish you that the Risen Lord would strengthen in you the charisma of this spiritual joy for many years of your First Hierarchal administration, that our Holy Church would develop and strengthen, and that faith in the Risen Lord and prayerful memory of the price by which we were redeemed for The Cross, richly filled and enlightened the souls of millions and millions of our compatriots.
Please accept, Your Holiness, the traditional Easter egg, which depicts the Conqueror of death and hell, our Lord Jesus Christ. On the back of the egg you can see an old image of the Novodevichy Convent, as a reminder that in the month of August we are looking forward to you with joy and love at the celebration of our first small anniversary of the revival of monastic life.
I sincerely thank the archpastors, pastors, monastics, clergy, representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches and all the people of God who gathered under the arches of this Cathedral Church on Easter evening for the joy of jointly glorifying the Risen Savior of the world.
Thank you, Your Eminence, for the heartfelt word in which you reminded everyone of that atoning sacrifice on the Cross made by the Lord “for our sake man and our sake for salvation”. Indeed, in the 20th century, many of our compatriots confessed Christ through their ascetic lives and martyrdoms, remaining faithful to the Lord God and His Holy Church until their last breath.
Today the Great and Bright Holiday of Easter has shone for all of us - the Feast of Holidays and the Triumph of Triumphs. After Great Lent, after the Passion of the Son of God we experienced on the Cross ours for the sake of salvation, the soul of every Orthodox Christian rejoices in a special way when meeting the Risen Lord. The joy that fills the hearts of believers, as You, Your Eminence, rightly said, spreads among all people. On Saturday I visited six churches in Moscow. Some of them have just begun their liturgical activities, but everywhere I saw huge queues for the blessing of Easter cakes, Easter eggs and Easter eggs. This indicates that our people are gradually returning to the paternal faith, to the apostolic faith, by which our people have lived for a thousand years of history since their Baptism.
The Bright Day of the Resurrection of Christ gives us all strength and courage to endure difficulties, trials, illnesses, and to support our loved ones in their suffering and sorrow. You said that people turn to the Patriarch for prayer help from all corners of the Russian land. Yesterday, during Easter Matins, when I congratulated the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, he asked for prayers for those injured in a gas explosion at a mine in Kuzbass. At that time, 28 people were known to have died, and many people remained underground. I immediately turned to our Orthodox people, conveying this conversation with the President and his request to pray for those who carry out difficult sacrificial labor underground and often die in mine rubble as a result of gas explosions and other accidents. And how many other sufferings with which people turn to us, to the Church, as their last hope! But we know the power of prayers to strengthen, help and support people during difficult times in their lives. Last year, due to an illness that visited me, I was deprived of both the services of Holy Week and the Holy Feast of Easter. But the people of God prayed for my health, and the Lord allowed me to return to the High Hierarchal service. Therefore, I experienced the days of Holy Week this year in a special way and especially thanked the Lord for His mercy, and the entire Fullness of our Church for the holy prayers that strengthened me and gave me strength to return to liturgical activities and stand at the Throne of God.
I would like to wish everyone that the joy of the Bright Resurrection of Christ will help them overcome difficulties and life trials. Let everyone feel that the Lord is with us, and therefore we are not afraid of any troubles or circumstances. God has a lot of mercy and spiritual joy that will always support us in difficult times. And this year, if the Lord blesses, bright celebrations await us, which will give us courage and strength to bear our cross in life and help each other in sorrows and illnesses.
On June 9 of this year, by the grace of God, during the All-Night Vigil we will transfer from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra the holy relics of St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, during whose archpastoral ministry this Cathedral Church was built. The saint was a direct participant in the construction of the temple, but the Lord did not destined him to live to see the consecration of the Temple. In the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the relics of St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, rest in the shadow of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh - a mourner and prayer book for the Russian land, to whom pilgrims flock from all over our Fatherland and even from near and far abroad.
On June 23, God willing, we will celebrate the return to Russia of the miraculous image of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. For 5 days this shrine will be located in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, prayer singing will be performed in front of it around the clock, and many pilgrims will be able to venerate this shrine. After which, on June 28, in a solemn religious procession through Red Square, we will bring the icon to the Iverskaya Chapel, where Moscow will say goodbye to the miraculous Tikhvin icon, which will go first to St. Petersburg, and then, a week later, to where it remained before the tragic events of the revolution and war - to the Tikhvin Monastery.
I once again sincerely thank you, dear Vladyka Metropolitan, and in your person - the archpastors, representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches, the monasteries of the Russian land, the clergy of our Mother See and the people of God for congratulating us on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. In turn, I want to give you an Easter egg with the image of the Risen Lord and Savior as a prayerful memory. I want to greet all those who pray again and again with the eternal, imperishable, threefold greeting coming from the times of the apostles:
Christ is Risen! -Truly He is Risen!
Christ is Risen! - Truly He is Risen!
Christ is Risen! - Truly He is Risen!
"We celebrate victory over death"Metropolitan Barsanuphius congratulated the clergy, monastics and laity on Easter
EASTER MESSAGE
His Eminence Barsanuphius, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, Administrator of the Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, to the clergy, monastics and all faithful children of the Church of Christ in the St. Petersburg Metropolis
Beloved in the Lord, Your Eminence Bishops, all-honorable fathers, brothers and sisters!
On this luminous day, when the entire Universe rejoices, accept, dear fathers, brothers and sisters, heartfelt congratulations on the Feast of Holidays and the Triumph of Triumphs - Easter of Christ.
Today, all our churches are festively decorated, we prayerfully rejoice and chant: “Let us be enlightened by triumph and embrace each other. By rejoicing, brothers, and those who hate us, we will forgive all by the Resurrection.”
On this day we celebrate victory over death. No one could defeat death, but Christ did it. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, the Ethereal Spirit appeared in the flesh. The God-man voluntarily ascended to the Cross and died in great agony. But, having descended into hell, He destroyed the faiths and gates of the underworld and brought out from there the souls of those who believed in Him and brought them into the open Gates of the Kingdom of Heaven. The souls of the righteous who moved into Paradise became the first heirs of the Kingdom of God.
The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is not only the greatest and most majestic Christian holiday. This is the triumph of Divine love, which evokes in our hearts, in our entire being, a special, incomparable spiritual joy.
Easter joy is born from the consciousness of the greatness of the feat of the Son of God, an understanding of the price of our salvation and the idea of the beauty, glory and sweetness of the eternal Easter in the Kingdom of Heaven, to which we are all called and in which on this holy day we all want to assure each other.
Our lips today tirelessly exclaim the solemn victorious cry coming from the heart: “Christ is risen!”
Just two words, but what! How much of the brightest, purest, unspeakable joy there is in these two words! Every time they awaken bright and joyful feelings in us. I want to repeat them endlessly, hearing in response: “Truly he is risen!”
But how can we be part of this victory? After all, it was for the sake of our salvation that Christ suffered, died and rose again.
If we, dear brothers and sisters, turn to the risen Savior and do not do at least what we do not want people to do to us, the eternal Glory of the Heavenly Kingdom awaits us. And the Lord will pour out His immeasurable mercies on us, giving us health and success in holy work, life and deeds. We know that He can do everything, since the Risen Lord is immeasurably rich and powerful.
But not only in words we must praise the Lord Jesus Christ who rose from the dead, affirming that by His death on the cross and glorious resurrection He defeated the power of evil and opened the way to eternal life for believers. With our whole lives we must resist evil, violence and enmity, showing the love of Christ to those near and far.
We need to love the temple of God and try to sanctify every Sunday morning and holidays with prayer in it. We live in a city that has not only deep cultural traditions and an eventful history. St. Petersburg is named in honor of the holy apostle of Christ Peter, strong in his sincere faith, and is consecrated by the feat of many saints and the death of new martyrs of various ranks and classes. Not far from us in terms of their time of life, they showed how one can be saved in modern conditions, how one must love God and His Church. It is our duty as Orthodox Christians to be their heirs. We must strive to be worthy of their labors, to be links in one chain leading to the Lord God. We should not think that in order to be saved we need to look for shrines in distant cities and countries. Here, in every Orthodox church, where the great Sacrament of Communion is celebrated, there is everything we need for a righteous life and the salvation of the soul.
and Buried, and Risen from the dead, let us sing with the words: Establish Thy Church with Orthodoxy, O Christ, and pacify our life, for He is Good and Lover of Mankind.
Sunday stichera on “I cried to the Lord,” tone 1
Beloved of our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, venerable fathers, honorable monks and nuns, God-loving laity, dear brothers and sisters!
Christ is Risen!
How much joy we put into these words when we repeat them many times on Easter days! What spiritual delight and jubilation the entire Easter service is filled with, revealing the amazing beauty and greatness of the Orthodox faith!
In her hymns and chants, the Holy Church calls us to joy. Truly, how can one not rejoice when in His Resurrection the Lord gives us life and light (John 1:4). With the light of the Resurrection of Christ, everything is filled with the radiance of eternal life.
In order to become involved in the joy and light of the Resurrection of Christ, each of us must strive all the days of our lives to be "light of the world" And "salt of the earth"(Matt. 5:13–14).
Every Christian is called with his whole being to testify to faith in the Risen Lord, because, according to the words of the Apostle Paul, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain”(1 Cor. 15:14). On the days of Holy Easter, we especially clearly feel the real closeness and transforming love of God, calling us to life with Christ.
“What does it mean to live with Christ? - reflects Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) of Bogucharsky, a remarkable devotee of piety, the last pre-revolutionary rector of the Voronezh Theological Seminary, which this year solemnly celebrates its 270th anniversary. - To live with Christ means to be in unity with Him. And unity with Christ is nothing other than our love for Him, the desire of our heart to always think about Him, always prayerfully talk with Him and do only what is pleasing to Him: “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love... that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”(John 15:10–11). Let no sorrows darken our Christian joys flowing from the Resurrection of Christ. Let us never forget that Easter is deliverance from sorrow. The Risen Lord will remain with us with all the joys of His bright Resurrection, for His Divine words are immutable: “…behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:20).”
On the luminous Easter days, we solemnly celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Victory of our people in the Great Patriotic War. We owe our lives today to the feat of millions of our compatriots. To them we turn our heartfelt gratitude and gratitude. Glorifying the exploits of the glorious defenders of our Motherland, home front workers and all our fellow citizens, heroes of those terrible war years, we testify that they, having fulfilled the commandment of Christ that “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends”(John 15:13), showed us a true example of courage, honor, bravery, self-sacrifice and love for their Fatherland.
This year we solemnly glorify the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, the Baptist of Rus', who died 1000 years ago.
We believe and with contrition of heart we pray that the Risen Christ will send peace into the hearts of the peoples - the descendants of those baptized in the font of Chersonesus and the Dnieper at the call of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. May our common history, love, trust and brotherly love be the basis of the peaceful life of our fraternal peoples.
Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! Easter celebrations, which surpass any other celebrations and holidays, give people genuine heavenly joy. Let us, as children of God, spiritually rejoice in the Lord not only in these bright days, but all the days of our lives and be comforted by the saving joy of the sons of the Kingdom of Christ, constantly calling to each other, testifying to the whole world and confirming in human hearts the great truth of our faith.
Let us proclaim to all our neighbors, as the myrrh-bearing women once did to the apostles, the good news of the Savior of the world who trampled upon the power of death and the Risen from the dead and glorify Christ, for now “let the heavens worthily rejoice, let the earth rejoice, let the visible world celebrate.” whole and invisible: Christ is risen, eternal joy" (Easter Canon, tone 1, Song 1).
Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!
mMetropolitan of Voronezh and Liskinsky,
head of the Voronezh Metropolitanate
Easter
2015
Voronezh city
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