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