“-Christ is Risen! -He is Truly Risen!” This wish starts to be heard since Saturday night in all the places where the orthodox faithful celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The glamorous celebrations which took place in different areas in Albania conveyed the message of Resurrection from all the corners. As it is also said in the Paschal Sticheron, “[Today is] the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant for the festival, and let us embrace one another. Let us say, brethren, even to those that hate us. ‘Let us forgive all things on the Resurrection’, and so let us cry… “Christ is Risen from the dead: by death he has trampled on death, and to those in the graves given life’
In Tirana, the Resurrection Service and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated at the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral, and were presided over by His Beatitude Anastasios, the Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, who was assisted by His Eminence Nathanail, the Metropolitan of Amantia, Bishop Asti of Bylis and the clergy of the archiepiscopate. The church and the area around were packed with thousands of believers and citizens from Tirana, who eagerly waited to receive the greatest news of all times, which is the news of the Resurrection of Christ, and also to get “the Light that Never Sets” which they would take to their homes, as a blessing for their families and the entire city. In addition they cracked their red eggs and congratulated one another saying “Christ Is Risen!” a greeting which will continue to be exchanged in the forty upcoming days.
In his Paschal Message entitled “A Stunning Invitation”, Archbishop Anastasios addressed the Orthodox faithful emphasizing that, “The dynamics of the Christian message is summed up in these two words “Christ Is Risen”. The Resurrection of Christ powerfully declares the victory of life over death “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Rom. 6:4) The resurrected Christ, who crushed the power of death, continues to dissipate any kind of fear, injustice, hatred, disappointment … and particularly in today’s difficult time when deep despair and distress spread throughout the society and delusion frustrates the heart…therefore, in days like this, each of the faithful is invited to receive the paschal message of joy, love, and peace, and transmit it to those who live near or far away.”
