Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
Holy Metropolis of Oropos and Phyle
Message
on the Occasion of the All-Glorious Resurrection of Christ our Saviour, 2018
“I am come a Light into the world.”
“Rejoice, thou who ineffably gavest birth to the Light!”
Glory to Thee, O Christ our God, our Saviour; O Lord, glory to
Thee! We thank Thee, Who lovest mankind, for the abyss of Thy
compassion.
“Unable to prevail is every hymn that striveth to comprehend the
multitude of Thy many tender mercies; for if we were to offer unto Thee,
O Holy King, odes equal in number to the sands, we will have done
nothing worthy of that which Thou hast given unto
us, who cry to Thee: Alleluia.”
Yea, O our Lord, God, and Saviour Christ, all of our hymns prove
to be inadequate and insignificant, however much they attempt to rise to
the abundance of Thy boundless compassion. For even if we were to offer
to Thy love, O All-Holy King, hymns equal
in number to the sand of the sea, we would accomplish nothing
commensurate with Thy benefactions toward us sinners, who cry: Praise ye
the Lord!
* * *
My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Blessed is the conjuncture whereby we celebrate together this year the crowning events of history: the Annunciation of the
Theotokos and the Resurrection of Christ our Saviour!
Our God is the Light that has come. Through the Theotokos He
has clothed Himself with history. He transforms the world through the
Church. By His Resurrection He inaugurates the eschatological Feast of
the Kingdom of God. He invites us to participate
in the Nuptials of the Lamb with His Bride, the Church.
“We honor and magnify in hymns” the All-Blessed “Mother of the
Light.” She is the “Lifting-up of men.” She is the “Tabernacle of God
the Word.” She is the “Ark made golden by the Spirit.” In her
all-venerable person is reflected the true human person
amid the Light poured forth by the Holy Trinity.
* * *
My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Today, in this twofold Paschal celebration, through the Theotokos and
in the light of the Resurrection of our Saviour, we have also a twofold
revelation: we come to know our genuine personhood, and, moreover, to
know it in relation to .....our
brother and our neighbor.
The Tradition of our Holy Fathers is truly a Resurrectional
revelation: “You have seen your brother;.... you have seen your God!”
“After God, regard every human being as God!”
Just like every revealed teaching of our Church, so also does this
teaching concerning our brother—and our love for him—have a
Resurrectional and astounding character.
Through repentance, the only genuine “Rising-Up from Sin,” the
Christian is clad in Light. He is united with the Risen Christ; he is
initiated into the mystery of love and oneness with his brother; he
accepts others through Christ, in Christ, with Christ,
Who is present within his heart; he becomes aware of himself and
....remains awestruck before the heavenly dignity of his neighbor.
* * *
My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The shining Light of the Resurrection, through our All-Holy Mother, the
joy of a twofold encounter with our Saviour .....and our brother, ought
to be present in every aspect of our lives, even in the most ostensibly
insignificant aspect.
Then shall we be a place wherein God is present. Then shall we be a
fount of sanctification for the world. Then shall we be a locus of
Divine manifestation. Then shall we mystically conceive the Kingdom of
God. Then shall we contribute to the transformation
and renewal of Creation. Then shall we be truly sons of Light and of the
day.
* * *
May the prayers, acceptable to God, of our ever-memorable Elder
and Father Metropolitan Cyprian († 2013), by the intercessions of the
Most Blessed
Theotokos and of all the Saints, vouchsafe unto us that our whole life be a continuous celebration of our two-fold encounter with Christ, Who
is ever coming and is already present,
and with our ever-present brother, amid the inundation of the Light of the Resurrection. Amen!
Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen!
The Holy Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior, 2018
Your humble intercessor before our Risen Lord,
† Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Phyle
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