Epiphanius congratulated Ukrainians on Resurrection of Christ: "It is still night, but day approaches"
Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of OCU, addressed Ukrainians with a message dedicated to Resurrection of Christ.
Epiphanius address was posted at the OCU official website, informs Censor.NЕТ.
"Dear brothers and sisters!
Christ is risen!
These joyful and life-affirming words are heard again as a continuation of the angelic message first heard at dawn by the myrrh-bearing women at the empty tomb of the Lord: "Why do you seek the Living One among the dead? He is not here, he has risen" (Luke 24:5-6).
Three days ago, they accompanied the burial of the crucified and dead Lord Jesus Christ with weeping, heartache, and terrible grief. They saw a large stone laid against the door of the tomb. The myrrh-bearing women were hurrying early in the morning on the first day after the Sabbath to fulfill their duty to the deceased - to anoint the body of the deceased with incense, according to Judaic custom. But they find the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, instead of human guards they are greeted by heavenly angels, instead of sorrow their hearts are filled with joy and hope.
All of this happened almost two thousand years ago, but again and again we recall the resurrection of Christ, and year after year we celebrate this event with special solemnity in order to be inspired by this joy and hope.
It is symbolic that, according to church tradition, Easter services begin when it is still dark and end when the sun is already rising. Our current celebration is preceded by Lent, which begins in the days of nature's winter sleep and ends when it comes to life with spring renewal, symbolized by the branches of Palm Sunday, with which we celebrate the Lord's entry into Jerusalem. All of this reminds us of the transition from darkness to light, from death to life, from weeping and mourning to joy, from temporary existence in this world to eternal blissful life in the age to come.
The Resurrection of Christ is a turning point in all of human history. From the very beginning, when death entered our existence through the fall of our forefathers Adam and Eve, the desire to defeat it and overcome it accompanied humanity. The inevitability of death was a fact known to everyone, but everyone also felt its unnaturalness, its impropriety. After all, God did not create man for death, which would end several decades of existence in worry and sorrow, but for eternal life. So, the very fact of mortality is deeply contrary to our nature, and we feel it especially when we face it. Sadness, crying, the pain of separation, grief of loss - all these are signs of the unnaturalness of death for a person.
That is why humanity has long sought and continues to seek ways to overcome death. Sacrifices to idols and magical rituals, special funeral rites, attempts to preserve the body in every way possible or, conversely, to scatter the ashes of its remains as quickly as possible, the erection of memorials and the construction of buildings that will exist for centuries, reminding us of the builders-all of this was intended to give a sense of eternity and hope for it when death came and took a new victim.
No rituals or spells, no human effort can bring the dead back to life. This requires divine power and authority, which only our Creator has. In order to overcome death, the Son of God incarnates, unites two natures in His Divine Person, the true God also becomes the true Person, not to save one or a few and only for a certain time from death, but to destroy its very foundation, to deprive it of its tyrannical dominion over all mankind and to open the door to eternal life for all.
Today, with such solemnity and enthusiasm, we celebrate not only the resurrection of Christ as a historical event of the return to life of the Savior whom the wickedness of man crucified on the cross, but we celebrate the death of death itself, we glorify the destruction of the gates of hell and the destruction of eternal chains. Christ rises not only as a man who was dead and miraculously returned to life, like Lazarus of the Four Days, but He rises as the ancestor of a renewed humanity, immortal and eternal. A humanity over which death has no power, a humanity that is not bound by the chains of hell and that is not doomed to eternal suffering in the darkness of evil.
It is still night, but the day is near. The surrounding nature is still bound by sleep, but it is already awakening, revealing the joy of renewed life. Grief and suffering still fill our being, and death takes new victims from us every day, but the resurrection of Christ gives us confidence that separation from the dead is a temporary phenomenon, and the time will come when those in the graves will be revived for eternity.
This realization and faith in the victory of life help us to fight for truth and goodness even when this struggle is extremely difficult and may seem hopeless. The Myrrh-Bearing Women lost their beloved Teacher, who was crucified on the cross and laid in the tomb, but they did not lose their love and hope, so they heard the good news of the resurrection and were blessed to become the first preachers of it.
And we, as Christians, do not lose our love and hope in the darkness of this age. We await the general resurrection of the dead and confess that Christ conquered death and gave humanity eternal life. At the same time, this makes us realize our own responsibility, because eternal life will not be the same for everyone. And it is up to each of us to choose the kind of eternity we will have: the blissful one intended for the righteous, to which Christ calls us, or the suffering intended for the devil and his servants.
Such considerations should always accompany us, dear brothers and sisters, but it is with a special feeling that we reflect on the meaning of Christ's resurrection at this time, when the Ukrainian people are experiencing the consequences of a war brought by strangers to our home. The enemy brought suffering, destruction, and death to our peaceful land, wishing to return the Ukrainian people to the slavery in which they had kept us in previous centuries.
The power of evil is temporary, but the victory of truth and goodness is eternal. We are convinced of this and affirmed by the resurrection of Christ, so amidst grief and suffering, amidst pain and loss, we celebrate today. We cry for our fallen heroes, for our brave defenders who gave their lives on the battlefield for the freedom and independence of Ukraine, for you and me and for the future of future generations of the Ukrainian people, but our crying is soothed by the certainty of the resurrection, when our heroes will receive an unfading crown of glory for their exceptional sacrificial love.
Today we remember in our prayers all the victims, the wounded, those expelled from their homes, all those who celebrate Easter under temporary occupation, in captivity, under the control of the enemy. May the joy of Christ's Resurrection shine the light of hope for victory and restoration on you in this difficult time.
We remember with gratitude today those who show compassion, help refugees and all those in need. We are grateful to all our allies and people of goodwill, because thanks to their support, Ukraine is successfully resisting Russian aggression and continues to fight for its own freedom and for a better future for the whole world.
From the shrines of Golden-Domed Kyiv to all corners of Ukraine and around the world, we extend our greetings on the Holy Resurrection of Christ and share our joy with everyone.
Our special greetings go to the defenders of Ukraine, the brave warriors who bring our victory closer. May the Lord help you in your struggle for truth and bless you with victory!
We congratulate the President of Ukraine and all those who serve the Ukrainian people in the capital and in the regions. May your work be successful and fruitful!
I greet all of you, dear brothers and sisters, and wish that the light of faith and hope in our souls will always be nourished by the spiritual light that the myrrh-bearing women saw and felt in the empty tomb, where the angels proclaimed for them and for the whole world and for all time:
Christ is risen!" Epiphanius greeting reads.
