On the bright night of the Holy Easter, we are gathered around the churches to know, "to live and to confess the truth that Christ rose from the dead, that He overcame death and opened the way for us to eternal life," says the Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bucovina, Teofan, in his pastoral letter to the Romanians on the occasion of the Holy Passover.
In his Pastoral letter, Metropolitan Teofan recalls that "the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith, a truth on which our entire life is based."
"On the day of Resurrection, the first words that the women of myrrh-bearer and the Holy Apostles hear are words that give much hope: 'Do not be afraid!', 'Do not fear', 'Rejoice!', 'Peace be unto you!'. These words, spoken by angels or the Savior Himself, are carriers of light and a source of power for the people of yesterday and for those of today. They express the joy of victory over our last enemy, which is death, and, at the same time, the confidence that, through Christ and in Christ, we too can rise from the hell of despair, from the excruciating hell of meaninglessness, from the hell of loneliness and of slavery of many kinds, no matter how deep and dark it may be," the Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bucovina says.
In the same Pastoral letter, Metropolitan Teofan reminds us that the teaching of our Church testifies that Christ, dying on the Cross, descended with His soul united with the divinity to hell, and adds that the act of Christ's descent into the depths of hell is the continuation of the same redemptive act of the Incarnation and immersion in the waters of the Jordan.
The Metropolitan reminds that "confessing the truth that the Risen Christ has defeated the power of death and hell is of great importance for us".
Teofan affirms, at the same time, that we know that we meet God in the Church, in the Eucharist, in joy, in humility and in peace of heart, in the relationship with others. He also mentions that, throughout the history of mankind, the escape or the solution to deep crises on a personal or community level has been God and that He is also the solution to the situation in which we find ourselves.
"From God we receive the strength of patience in troubles, the source of joy and eternity. With the light received from the Light of the Resurrection, we go to our own, we embrace everyone, testifying to everyone that 'Christ rose from the dead treading death upon death and giving life to those in the graves,'" the Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bucovina adds through the Pastoral letter for the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord.
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