Eminent Brother-Archpastors, Reverend Fathers, Dear Brothers and Sisters, CHRIST IS RISEN! With the joy of God’s Kingdom, as we are “divinely glad, for Christ is risen” (from the Paschal Canon), I offer my Paschal greeting to all: both to those who have successfully completed the reclusion of their quarantine, celebrating now in the churches and communing of Christ’s Holy Mysteries; and also to those who yet abide in the desert of solitude and various restrictions, dedicating the better portion of their time to private prayer, spiritually beneficial reading, and interaction with friends and relatives. May the former and the latter both, in the words of St. John Chrysostom, “honour the day,” receiving in their hearts the riches of God’s goodness! As I began to compose my greeting and sought pre-Paschal inspiration in the works of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky), who reposed 55 years ago, I opened a compendium of his writings and found the following words: “In the silence of the desert, your Paschal joy can be fuller, brighter, and more complete than ours, for it is not stolen away by the brilliant tumult with which we fill the Feast, rather than spending it in quiet and thoughtful contemplation…
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