Priest Andrii Kudriavtsev

Easter Message 2022

Christ is Risen!

Today our souls are filled with indescribable joy in the Risen Christ. The same joy almost two thousand years ago filled the souls of the disciples of our Savior - the apostles, who fled from their persecutors in fear, but the Resurrection of Christ conquered fear. A little earlier, the joy of the risen Christ filled the souls of the myrrh-bearing women, who came in sorrow and sadness to the tomb of Jesus to honor the dead, but who met the source of life, the Resurrection of Christ conquered sorrow and sadness. Even earlier, Paschal joy filled the souls of all the righteous, starting from the forefather Adam. Filled the souls consumed by death and hell, but longing for life and salvation the Resurrection of Christ conquered hell and death.

The world lying in evil (see 1 John 5:19) cannot live without fears, sadness, sorrows, death, which are born of sin. The world lives by them, giving birth to them again and again. The resurrection of Jesus Christ breaks this vicious cycle. And today, together with the apostles, the myrrh-bearing women, with all the saints and the righteous, we rejoice, glorifying the Lord, and God, and our Savior Jesus Christ. And from our souls the Risen Lord drives away fear, sorrow, sadness. And most importantly, our Savior Jesus Christ made us participants in the victory over death, heirs of eternal life. Now we see "the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending to the Son of Man" (John 1:51). And we rejoice that the ascent of this ladder has become available to us, like the angels, by the Resurrection of Christ. We rejoice that the Son of Man Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, helps our ascent along this spiritual ladder “to the Son of Man”, granting us grace-filled courage in prayers, comforting and rejoicing with grace-filled gifts in church services, defeating in us all defilement of body and soul, conquering death itself, entering us with His Most Pure Body and Blood in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Not according to our merits, but according to His love, Christ made us conquerors of death, He Himself trampled down death by death. Our task is to enter into the joy of our Lord as good and faithful servants (see Matt. 25:21, 23), who are destined to be children of the Creator of Heaven and earth. Our task, God who is helping, is to overcome sin in ourselves. "Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts" (Gal. 5:24). “He who overcomes,” says the Lord, “he will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son” (Rev. 21:7) and daughter.

In this is our joy, in this is our hope. “Therefore, we too, having such a cloud of witnesses around us” - the Mother of God, the apostles, martyrs, prophets and all the saints, “let us cast off from ourselves every burden and sin that stumbles us and with patience we will go through the field that is set before us, looking at the leader and accomplisher of faith Jesus, Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1,2). Let us therefore stand, having girded our loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod with preparation of the gospel of peace; and above all, let us take up the shield of faith, with which we will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one; and let us take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (see Eph. 6:14-17).

Truly, Christ is Risen!

Easter 2022. Archpriest Andrey Kudryavtsev