Pascha 2025
The Victory over Death
I
Pascha is the commemoration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fundamental truth of our faith and life. If there had been no Resurrection, if death had not been conquered, then, as the great Apostle emphasizes, our preaching and our Christian faith would be in vain (1 Cor. 15:14), because only through the Lord’s Resurrection did our human nature receive its true value and meaning. His victory over death is a universal victory, for all times and for all peoples, a victory in which every person can rejoice. Every other victory in the world has created division and continues to separate people from one another. When one wins, another loses. One rejoices, another mourns. But in the victory of Christ’s Resurrection, all are called to rejoice, because death, the common enemy of all people, has been conquered.
This Easter, we do not have our beloved Archbishop Anastasios amidst us. But our hearts are comforted knowing that he now intercedes for us before the Lord, because “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Mat. 22:32). We believe that death is not the end, but the beginning of a new life in God. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19).
The Resurrection of Christ strengthens us and gives us all faith. It gives us life from His Life – a holy life, a life that conquers death itself, a life without end, where the earthly power of death no longer has authority. We have faith, and our faith is not simply an emotion or a wish, but a certainty founded on the rock, who is Christ. His Spirit and His Word sowed the seed of life where death had ruled, spread light where there was darkness, and brought joy where there was fear and sorrow. He passed through the desolate wilderness of humanity, sowing the flowers of eternal life.
II
Nevertheless, we are aware of the difficulties of this life. In the world there exists injustice and war, poverty and toil, sickness and death, all of which can often drive a person to despair. Egoism and greed have poisoned and distorted relationships between people, alienating and isolating them from one another. The departure from values – from love, justice, compassion, and especially from the presence of God in our daily lives – creates a spiritual darkness, clouding the human mind and confusing the meaning of life. This spiritual darkness is the greatest obstacle to entering into true life and freedom.
Nonetheless, the greater the darkness, the more light is needed. On this holy day, we are all invited to take part in this joy, because only by experiencing the liberating light of the Resurrection within our lives can our very being be transformed and reach its fullest dimension. We possess the certainty that His love is stronger than hatred, that life in Him is stronger than death, and that our hope in Christ is stronger than despair. He is our hope, and those who hope in the Lord – says the Prophet Isaiah – “shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Is. 40:31).
If the light of the Resurrection is kindled in our lives, then relationships among people will also be illumined. We are created as communal beings and are called to live in community with one another, and to help one another, preserving the dignity of every human person, especially those in need and in difficulty. Sacrifices, like arduous treatments, are not easy, but they are necessary for our healing. Because if we do not experience the pain of the Cross, we will not experience the joy, the life, and the light of the Resurrection.
III
Dear brothers and sisters! During Pascha we sing: “Run and proclaim to the world how the Lord is risen, destroying death; He is the Son of God, the Savior of the human race!” Perhaps today, more than ever, our world needs this Paschal Message, because the Resurrection is not simply a past event, but a continuous experience for every epoch, every generation, and every person, bringing hope, light, and joy into our lives and preserving us from drowning in the sea of sorrow. No matter how difficult our problems may be, the Resurrection of Christ promises us a completely different future.
The Resurrection of Christ is not an event or a celebration that concerns only Him, but also us, because He made us partakers of His Resurrection through the fullness of His human nature. His Resurrection touches and transforms all people, giving human existence a new life and becoming the sign of the final fulfillment of our human nature. He who is risen today – writes Saint Gregory the Theologian – shall renew me in spirit and clothe me with the new man. Each Easter, we are called to embrace one another, and for the sake of the life-giving Resurrection of Christ, to forgive one another in everything, so that with a pure heart we may cry out together: Christ is Risen!
With love in the Risen Lord,
†Joan
Archbishop of Tirana, Durres, and all Albania
