April 23, 2009
HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN ALEXIOS` REFLECTIONS ON BRIGHT WEEK
My dearly beloved,

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

It is with a glad and joyful heart that I greet you in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! At this glorious time of celebration and renewal, I extend to you my paternal blessings and best wishes for blessed and joyous Paschal season!

Indeed, our Almighty God through His Divine Love and Mercy has blessed us so that once again we may experience the glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and His Victory over sin, death and the power of the Evil One. We experience this not as merely a commemoration of an historical event, but as a shining reality in our own lives and hearts.

Our Holy Orthodox Church has set aside times both for feasting and fasting, so that this week we observe “Diakaimsimos”, which is also called “Bright Week” or “Renewal Week”, for the spiritual renewal and joy brought to all Creation by the resurrected Christ, as “a new heaven and a new earth.” Thus during this blessed Week, the Royal Doors into the Sanctuary remain open, fasting is forbidden, and at funerals, we do not sing the customary Funeral Service but sing of the Resurrection. The light of Pascha illuminates us, as each day we celebrate the glory of His Resurrection in the Divine Liturgy, and greet each other joyfully "Christos Anesti! Christ is risen!” The time of sorrow is over; the whole creation sings and glorifies the Lord!

Also during this glorious week, we commemorated the name days of the great St. George, Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene, the Prophet Jeremiah, the nun-martyr Pelagia, Irene the Great Martyr of Thessaloniki, and the Feast of "The Life-Giving Fountain," the Zodochos Peghe. The story of this icon is that in 450, a soldier encountered a thirsty blind man who was lost. He told the man to wait there while he went to look for water. Then he heard a voice, calling him "Emperor Leo", telling him he did not need to look for water, because there was a neglected spring in a grove of trees with water and healing for the blind man. He was also instructed to build a temple on that spot for people to come to for healing. Leo obeyed the voice and the blind man was healed. Seven years later, Leo became Emperor and built a church there, naming it "The Life-Giving Fountain".

The Resurrection of Christ is the foundation of the Orthodox Christian faith. As St. Paul tells us: "If Christ be not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty" (1 Cor. 15:14). As we experience the joy of Pascha, we enter into that Heavenly Kingdom, with a foretaste of the endless joy of Heaven. Let us pray that we may remain steadfast and faithful in the service of our Risen Lord and Savior, witnessing and testifying always to His Resurrection, as St. Thomas did: “My Lord and my God!”

May God keep you and your loved ones under His Protection always and may you be spiritually uplifted and restored with the love, freedom and peace that our Lord’s Holy Resurrection offers to us all. As you are always in my thoughts and prayers and in my heart, I pray that I will remain in your hearts and prayers also.
Kalo Pascha!
Bishop Alexios


April 29, 2009
HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN ALEXIOS` REFLECTIONS ON THE SUNDAY OF THE MYRRH-BEARING WOMEN
My beloved in the Lord,

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Just as the Sundays before Holy Pascha each had a theme, or a lesson for us to understand, so do the Sundays afterward. This Sunday is dedicated to the Myrrh-Bearing Women, the Myrofores, and the miracle that they witnessed.

The Holy Scripture tells us that early in the morning on the first day of the week, these faithful women went to fulfill their last obligation of love and service to the dead body of their Teacher. Because of their faithfulness, they received the amazing blessing of being the first to see our Risen Lord. At first, they thought He was a gardener, but when their eyes were opened spiritually, they were able to discern the spiritual resurrected body of their Teacher. Then their Teacher gave them an order to go and tell the others the good news of His Resurrection, and that He would be with them.

Although we don’t understand the mind of God nor His will, we can certainly understand here that our Lord delivered His message and instruction to humans just like us, to women who were both courageous and faithful. For women were created to believe, as children of God, and once they believe, we can see that they become strong and zealous, ignoring all obstacles, even giving their own lives without hesitation, as we know from the lives of the saints.

When our Lord chose these women to communicate the good news of His Resurrection to the disciples, they were hiding in the locked upper room, from fear of the authorities. It was to this locked room of fear, hopelessness, grief and defeat that the women brought the astounding news that their Teacher was not dead, but alive! So in the same way does our Risen Lord bring His grace to the locked rooms of our own lives, releasing us from our pain, anger and grief, setting us free from sin, death and the power of evil, to receive His abundant blessings of love, life and hope.

On the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers, I honor all our beautiful women of faith, who take the responsibility of loving and following Christ, setting an example for those who are neglecting their Church out of ignorance, hesitation, laziness or other obstacles that society places in our path. Of course this is not easy, because, as we know, life is not without difficulties and there is no accomplishment without effort or struggle.

Let us resolve then, as we commemorate and celebrate the faithfulness of the Myrrh bearers, to emulate their example and, in humility and love, “Go and tell the others!”
ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta