Easter Message of His Beatitude Sviatoslav

Christ is risen!

Yesterday we were buried with Thee, O Christ, -

Get up now risen with thee,

Because yesterday we were crucified with You.

Therefore, glorify us, our Saviour, In Thy Kingdom

(Song 3 Canon, Resurrection Matins).

Dear in Christ!

Despite this year's trial and uncertainty, Easter - "the day which the Lord hath made" (Ps. 117, 24) - is the time for us of unspeakable joy and hope. In the light of the Resurrection Feast the holy Church sings the mystery of the combination of opposites: burial and resurrection, death and life, crucifixion and glory, sorrow and joy. In that lies the great Paschal mystery that the Son of God became one of us, dies, just like us, that we may rise again, as He has! Christ is passing his Way of the Cross for us and for our benefit, giving us His bright resurrection and new life in God. Thus, the cross and resurrection are inseparable. They relate not only to Christ: in the sacramental way affect all the humanity and all of us in particular. The event, which took place in the life of Jesus Christ - His death and resurrection - has incorporated the history of mankind, all the suffering, both past and future, and transfigures them into a new life, a new joy. The Risen Christ enters the heart of the personal history of each of us, He, can say, going through our suffering and humiliation: we also crucified with Him and convicted, and with him mount out of the tomb and resurrect. Yesterday we were buried with Him, and today - we get up with him, resurrected.

Yesterday we were buried with Thee, O Christ... yesterday we were crucified with You.

Jesus Christ is the power and action of the Holy Spirit is present in the history of our Church and our nation. We know that is His and our Way of the Cross. In the recent past, our church and our people were tortured and crucified, falsely testified against, we were shot and thrown into prison. But we all survived and, thank God, reborn to a new life of the community of Christ's disciples. Just this year, is passing the 25th anniversary of the legalization and the revival of the Church in its native land. So we send prayers to the throne of the Almighty, thanking Him for the grace and strength that has helped our people to stand among the awful trials and suffering. This victory – is a sign of the effective presence of the risen Saviour among us in the distant and recent past, and at the same time is the guarantee of the invincibility of our people in the future.

Today Christ is with us! He takes our pain as though He was personally wounded. It was He, despised by youth beating on Maidan ... It's He - the first victim of Heavenly Hundred

Today again we are threatened and intimidated by weapons, the separation of the country and the seizure of churches. But Christ today is with us! He takes our pain as though He was personally wounded. It was He, despised by youth beating on Maidan ... He was made needy when the people’s property was looted by the corrupted government. He was imprisoned and unjustly condemned, exposed naked in the cold and tortured stolen. It is He - the first victim of Heavenly Hundred. His words on the cross, that sound today in the conscience of Ukrainian believers - "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23,34) - especially relating to those government and church leaders, ours and neighbouring, which incite people to hatred and blind aggression, "Crucify him, crucify him" (Luke 23,21). However, the power of human malice, lies and violence is nothing compared to the power of God's truth and love. It is Christ, who raises us today, and as a church and as a people. Like good overcomes evil in the Resurrection, and in our history love will win malice and hatred, and peace - all sorts of threatening by war.

Get up now risen with You.

Power arms droop before the honour of Risen, because "we now stand up with thee risen". We all feel it on our native land and in the settlings. The power of Christ's resurrection is our hope today in church, social and personal life. We have no more certain and more powerful help - in international diplomacy or military force, in human powers or agreements that are ready for thirty pieces of silver to put a price for Invaluable. In his resurrection, Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit has united people who once opposed each other: "There is neither Jew nor Greek..., neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3, 28).

Let’s respect and love a person that is different from us: thinks differently, follows other customs or speak a different language - that it is a testament to the glory of the Risen!

A sign of our "rising" with the risen Saviour who brings us out of  the "grave" sin, let become our renewed with God's love attitude to all people without exception. Let’s love and embrace everyone who is near in our village, town, city, and our region and throughout our Earth. Let’s respect and love a person that is different from us: thinks differently, follows other customs or speak a different language - that it is a testament to the glory of the Risen! All people, even those with malice in their heart and those who unjustly accuse us, today we proclaim the good news of the Resurrection. For the sign of resurrection is to conquer the forces of evil and hatred with God's love and mercy.

Therefore, glorify us, our Saviour, in Thy Kingdom

According to ancient church retelling, St.Andrew, standing on the hills of Kyiv, predicted great glory of God for our country: "Do you see those mountains? The grace of God will shine on them, there will be a large city, there will be many buildings and the God will raise many churches". The radiance of the grace of God, which is mentioned by our apostle, is the light of Christ's resurrection, which never ceased to shine over our land, even in the darkest periods of our national and church life. We were filled with evangelical words that we hear in the Paschal Liturgy: "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it" (cf. Jn. 1, 5). The reflection of the heavenly glory of the risen Saviour is our Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, which we have blessed the last year. It is for us the living testimony of Christ's victory, the key to immortality of our people and a sign of unity of all the children of the Church - in Ukraine and the settlings.

Wherever we were - whether in Ukraine or in the settlements - remember our calling, stemming from our Christian and national experience, namely, to indicate the irresistible power of Christ's resurrection, the inevitable triumph of truth over falsehood.

Today, on this joyous day of Resurrection, let’s beseech our Saviour, so that the light of his resurrection with a new force shine over our land, overcome the darkness of sin, disagreement, fear, discouragement and strengthen all of us with the power of the Holy Spirit to build a truly free and blessed by God state. Let us pray especially for the gift of unity and unanimity for our people. And this spiritual unity will allow us to restore and update all state institutions on the basis of God's truth and God's law. Wherever we were - whether in Ukraine or in the settlements - remember our calling, stemming from our Christian and national experience, namely, to indicate the irresistible power of Christ's resurrection, the inevitable triumph of truth over falsehood, love over hate, good over evil, life over death.

With such thoughts I unite with you in prayer and Easter joy, love and hope, wishing all of you a peaceful and blessed Resurrection. With Easter greeting I hug you all! Let this upset day be glad, alarmed feel certainty of Christian hope. With the prayer I flow to the wounded and pained, imprisoned and expelled from their native homes, our soldiers and all who are on the lookout of the dignity of the human person in Ukraine. I wish all of you generously presented by Lord Easter gifts.

Let the grace of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the Eucharist of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Christ is risen! - He is risen indeed!

+ SVIATOSLAV

Given in Kiev

At the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ

The feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

April 7, AD 2014