The one-hour documentary filmed in Turkey and the United States, includes interviews with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Demetrios of America, Bishop Kallistos Ware, Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Christian Studies at Oxford University and other noted theologians and historians.  The use of dramatized voices brings to life primary texts from the early Fathers and Church writers; early texts are juxtaposed with visuals of today’s religious services including a Divine Liturgy celebrated by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Cappadocia.

Participants in addition to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Demetrios and Bishop Kallistos include: Rev. Dr. Robert G. Stephanopoulos, Dean of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, NYC; Rev. Dr. Demetrios Constantelos, Professor Emeritus of History and Religion, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey; Rev. Dr. Forrest Church, Minister of All Souls Unitarian Church, NYC; Dr. Helen Evans, Curator for Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Robert Ousterhout, Ph.D, Archeologist, Professor of Architectural History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and narrator, Robert Aubry Davis.

Produced by Frank Frost Productions in cooperation with the Greek Orthodox Office of News and Information and GOTelecom, the documentary was funded by the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund, The Aegean Free Trade Zone and Faith & Values Media.

DVD and VHS  copies of this program are available for purchase at $20 each, plus $6 shipping. Call GOTelecom at 1-800-888-6835. (Bulk orders available)

For more information and to find Hallmark stations in your area log on to: www.hallmarkchannel.com

Protocol No. 379

+  B A R T H O L O M E W,
by the grace of God Archbishop of Constantinople
New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch
To the plentitude of the church,
Grace, peace and mercy
from Christ the Saviour, Risen in Glory

 "O life, how can you die? How can you dwell in a tomb?"

Brother concelebrants and pious, God-loving children of the Church,

All of Nature, the choirs of angels, the multitudes of humankind: all are astonished and amazed.  The entire creation stands in fear and trembling in the presence of the great and unspeakable Mystery of the Holy Passion and the glorious Resurrection of Christ the Savior, and asks: "How is it possible that Life, true Life, Life itself, the source of Life, can die? How can a grave become the dwelling place of Life, of our Lord Jesus Christ Who said of himself, "I am … the life " (John 14:6)?  The answers are revealed to us in the Resurrection.

Many of the questions asked in days of old remain unanswered today. What happened then, once and for all, is repeated without ceasing.  The Mystery continues, as does our wonder. Christ remains for many in our own day "a sign that is spoken against" (Lk 2:34).  He is crucified, but He rises to life.  The Crucified One remains to some a stumbling block; to others, foolishness  (1 Cor 1:23).   Some scoff upon hearing of the Resurrected One (Acts 17:32); others slander Him (Matt 28: 11-15); but He reigns in the hearts of the faithful.

We,  the  faithful,  enjoy a foretaste of the Resurrection.  We live in the Resurrection, not fearing the physical death of the body because we believe in  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  and human beings.  We experience it as a reality  through  our  fellowship  with  the Saints who, although they died according  to  human understanding, in reality live on and communicate with us and help us in our lives.

The  shrill voice of fanaticism, however, which rang out then and which has been  ringing  out  unceasingly ever since, continues to cry: "Crucify him, crucify  him!"   The  powerful  ones of this world, who answered such cries with  cowardice  and denial of responsibility, continue to reply: "Take him yourselves and crucify him" (John, 19:6).

Life  is  risen!  Christ is Risen!  And we bear witness to His Resurrection not only by offering rational arguments and proofs but rather by living our lives  in  accordance  with  the  Resurrection.  Only then does our witness become  credible,  when  the  Resurrected  Christ lives within us, when our entire being radiates the joy, certainty and peace of the Resurrection.

Certainly,  our  lives  and  the  life  of  our  natural environment remain threatened  by  death.   We do not mean here decay and deterioration in the biological  sense,  but rather those types of death and destruction brought about  suddenly,  in  cruel  and  violent  ways;  ways  that  challenge our conscience, trivialize the human person, and mangle the beauty of nature.

We  mean,  among  other  things, that death which puts an end to human life before it even has the chance to see the light of the sun.

We  mean those countless children, who lose their lives because of poverty, hunger,  the lack of even the most basic medicine, the cruelty of those who have  the  power  to  do  but who do not do what is necessary to save these children,  the  impudence  of  the  exploiters and corrupters of children’s innocence.

We mean the victims of daily acts of violence, of religious, nationalistic, and  racial  clashes,  as  well as the victims of fanaticism and war.  Such acts  are  callously and uncaringly carried out by those who turn deaf ears to  humanity’s  call  for  the  end of hostilities and the establishment of peace throughout the world.

Finally,  we mean the plundering of the natural environment by human beings who,  driven  by  greed  and  the  lust for profit, violently and cunningly subordinate  and exploit it.   Such conduct not only distorts the beauty of creation  given  by  its  Creator  but  also undermines the foundations and conditions necessary for the survival of future generations.

We  mean,  in  short, those types of life that bear signs of death, be they spiritual  or  moral,  the  consequences of disordered passions and errors, deprivation or greed, the trivialization and oppression of life.

Beloved brothers and children in the Lord,

We  worship  once  again  this  year  the  Holy Passion of our Savior Jesus Christ.    We  know  that the teaching about His death on the cross remains foolishness  for  those  who  remain  unbelieving  and  who  go  the way of destruction.  It is, however, the power of God for us who walk in faith the way of salvation (1 Cor 1:18) in the brilliant light of the Resurrection.

In this power and joy of the Resurrection of Christ, we respect the life of our fellow human beings.  We call for an end to the killing of one another, and  we  denounce  the  violence  and  fanaticism  that threatens life. The victory  of  the  Resurrection must be experienced as a victory of life, of brotherhood, of the future, of hope.

"Christ is Risen, and life reigns.
To Him be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages."

Holy Pascha 2006
+ Bartholomew of Constantinople
your fervent  intercessor of all
before Risen Christ

To  be  read  in  Church at the Divine Liturgy of the Feast of Holy Pascha, after the reading of the Holy Gospel.