The resurrection of Christ strengthens us and gives us all faith

The Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and all of Albania, Joan, has shared his message on Easter, to Orthodox believers.

The full message of Archbishop Joan:

Expensive sons in God,
Passover is the commemoration of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fundamental truth of our faith and life. If there were no resurrection, if death had not been defeated, then our Christian preaching and faith would have been futile (of Cor. 15:14), the great apostle points out, for only through the resurrection of God, our human nature took its true importance and meaning. His victory over death is a universal victory, for all time and for all peoples, the victory that anyone can enjoy. Every other victory in the world has created division and continues to separate people from one another. When one wins, another loses. One rejoices and the other is angry. Whereas in the victory of Christ’s Resurrection, everyone must all enjoy, because death can be, the common enemy of all people.

This Easter we do not have among us our beloved Archbishop Anastasios. But our hearts are comforted knowing that He now intercems for us with God, for God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Mt. 22:32). We believe that death is not the end, but the beginning of a new life in God. Hopefully in Christ only in this life, we are the worst of all people (1 Cor.15: 19).

The Resurrection of Christ strengthens us and gives us all faith, gives us life from His life, a holy life, a life that defeats death itself, a life without end, where the earthly power of death has no more power. We have faith, and our faith is not just an emotion, or just desire, but it is a certainty founded on the rock, which is Christ. His spirit and word planted the seed of life where death reigned, spread the light where darkness was, and gave joy wherever there was fear and sadness. He passed through the human cemetery, spreading the flowers of eternity.
But we are aware of the difficulties of this life. There are injustice and wars, poverty and hardship, illness and death in the world, which can often lead one to despair. Selfishness and greed have poisoned and distorted relationships between people, alienating and lonely from one another. Removal from values, love, justice, compassion, and, especially from the presence of God in our daily lives, creates a spiritual darkness, blurring the human mind and perverse the meaning of life. Spiritual darkness is the greatest obstacle to entering true life and liberation.

But the greater the darkness, the more light needs. On this holy day, we are all invited to participate in this joy, because only by experiencing in our lives the liberating light of the resurrection can our being transform and reach its complete dimension. We have the assurance that his love is stronger than hatred, life in it, stronger than death, and that our hope in Christ is stronger than despair. He is our hope and those who hope for God, – says the prophet Isaiah, – will renew their strength. They will fly over the wings like the eagle; will run and not get tired, walk and not faint (Is.40: 31).

If the light of resurrection in our lives is lit, then interpersonal relationships will also be illuminated. We have been created as community beings and called upon to live in communities with one another and to help one another, maintaining the dignity of every human person, especially of people in need and in difficulty. Sacrifices, like treatment, are not easy, but are indispensable for our healing. For if we do not experience the pain of the cross, we will not experience the joy, the life and the light of the resurrection.
Dear brothers and sisters! During Easter we sing: Run and proclaim the world how God was revived, destroying death; He is the Son of God, the Savior of the Human Race! Perhaps today, more than ever, our world needs the Passover message, because the resurrection is not just a past event, but an constant experience at all times, for every generation and for every man, which gives hope, light and joy in our lives and does not allow us to drown in the sea of ​​grief. No matter how difficult our problems can be, the Resurrection of Christ promises us a completely different future.

The Resurrection of Christ is not an event and a celebration that has only to do with Him, but also to us, because He made us members of His Resurrection, through the fullness of His human nature. His resurrection affects and transforms all people, giving the existence of man a new life and becoming the indicator of the ultimate fulfillment of our human nature. The one who aroused today, – writes St. Grigor Theologian, – will renew me in my soul and wear me with the young man. For Easter we are called to embrace one another and, because of the life-long resurrection of Christ, to forgive one another in everything, so that they can call with a pure heart: Christ is resurrected!

With love in the raised God, Joan

Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and all of Albania