Christ Is Risen! Truly He Is Risen!

From the Patriarchal Proclamation for Pascha (Easter) of Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch of the world's Orthodox Christians:

Once again, the sacred day of Pascha has dawned in full delight and splendor, dispersing joy, comfort, gladness and assurance of life to all faithful, despite the heavy atmosphere that prevails in our world on account of the multidimensional crisis with all its familiar painful consequences for our daily life.

Christ has risen from the tomb as divinely human; and humanity has risen with Him! The tyranny of death belongs to the past. The hopelessness of hades' captivity has irrevocably gone. The only powerful Giver of life, having through His Incarnation voluntarily assumed all of the misfortune of our nature and all that it entails, namely death, has already "brought death to hades by the lightning of divinity," granting us life – and "life in abundance." (John 10.10)

This abundance of life, which was granted to us by the Risen Lord, is ceaselessly slandered and assaulted by the devil – indeed, these actions are the source of his very name – although he is now weakened, completely powerless, and entirely ridiculous. The devil slanders Life by means of the hubris that still prevails in the world against God, humanity and the creation. The devil assaults Life by means of the sinful tendency that exists within us like "old rust," using this to entrap us either into tangible sin or delusional belief. Hubris is the offspring of that "rust", while both comprise the sinister couple responsible for disrupting relationships within ourselves, with others, as well as with God and the whole creation. Accordingly, it is imperative that we purify ourselves of this rust with great attentiveness and carefulness in order that the profuse life-giving light of the Risen Christ may shine in our mind, soul and body, so that it may in turn dispel the darkness of hubris and pour the "abundance" of life to all the world.

Read the full text at the Greek Orthodox Archdioces of America Web site