April 8, 2009
HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN ALEXIOS` REFLECTIONS ON HOLY WEEK
My dearly beloved in the Lord,

“Nevertheless we, according to His promise,
look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things,
be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”
2 Peter 3:13-14

I greet you today with love and joy in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in anticipation of His Passion and Resurrection. I give thanks and praise to our Almighty God Who has once again granted us the opportunity to experience this sacred and personal encounter with our Savior and Redeemer through the worship services of our Orthodox Church during Holy Week and Holy Pascha.

Both the Passion and the Resurrection have an important impact on our personal lives. Although from different perspectives, both focus on the same theme.

Through the services of Holy Week, we see the love that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, has for all mankind. In His suffering and death, we see the significance that the love of God has for our personal life in relation to salvation. God`s Love is all-powerful, overcoming fear, pain, suffering and even death! If we allow ourselves to embrace and be embraced by God’s all-emcompassing Love, all our actions and our entire life and being will be God-directed and God-oriented. “For God is Love” (1 John 4:8)

The other aspect of the Holy Season is the Resurrection. Through this event, we receive the promise to live in eternity. We see, we touch, we feel the joy of being connected with real life, that abundant life that our Lord promises us. We experience true harmony and the peace of the Lord as we are blessed to participate in the glorious Resurrection of our own lives, as well. And we have the eternal hope of salvation, coming from the empty tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray that we are able to open our hearts to experience His Passion during Holy Week, so that on that Feast of Feasts, that Holy Day of Holy Days, Holy Pascha, we are truly able to receive Him as He comes, the victorious Lord of All! May we all experience the abundant grace and bountiful blessings of our Living Lord and with one mind and one heart, proclaim,

Christ Is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!


April 9, 2009
PASCHAL MESSAGE FROM HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN ALEXIOS
“Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
so that we too might walk in newness of life”
(Romans 6: 4)

I give praise and thanksgiving to our Almighty God, Who, in His infinite mercy, has granted us the opportunity to celebrate once again this Feast of Feasts, this Holy Day of Holy Days, Great and Holy Pascha! “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”, St. Paul tells us, as we celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of His Only Begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This triumph is a triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil, of truth over lies and deception, of hope over despair. The good news, my beloved ones, even though we may think that we live in dark and uncertain times, is that as Christians, we have faith, based on Christ’s Resurrection – that is, a faith based on hope, on justice and on God’s ultimate power over the forces of darkness and evil. Christ’s victory over death is Reality - the very real destruction of the power that leads to death, and the bestowing of the gift of life eternal!

Our holy Christian Faith is more than a set of theological dogmas, or moral precepts. While useful and beneficial, creeds, moral teachings, church programs and buildings cannot save us or sanctify us. It is by the power of His saving death and holy Resurrection that the Sacraments, the teaching, and the good works of our Church become a life-giving spring. It is Christ Jesus alone who restores our fallen nature and lifts us up to become children of God.

As together we celebrate His Victory over sin and death, darkness and fear, I pray that we may love one another and receive His promise of salvation. May we rejoice in the abundant grace and blessings of our Living Lord, and with one mind and one heart, proclaim,

“Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!” Christ Is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!”

May the blessings of the Lord be with you always and may the light of His joyous Resurrection continue to shine upon you! I prayerfully remain,

Paternally yours with love in our Risen Lord,


+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta