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Πέμπτη 19 Απριλίου 2012
CHRIST IS RISEN! Paschal Epistle of St. John Maximovitch, 1940, translated by Nun Cornelia (Rees).
Vol. 10,
Issue 03-04
Orthodox
Heritage
Pascha,
1940, Shanghai: A large Russian diaspora, forced to leave behind their
homeland; many had lost their dear ones, and everything they owned, and now
lived in want, in a foreign land. But God gave them a saintly bishop to comfort
them, and keep them in remembrance of the grace and strength of Holy Orthodoxy.
A member of
St. John's Shanghai flock, Nicholas Feodorovich Tsepitov, ofRevda, Russia,
preserved this Pascal Epistle all his life, even after his return to the Soviet
Union in 1947. It gave him comfort there also, where more trials awaited him.
He gave this epistle for publication to the Fund for the Canonization of St.
John Maximovitch in Russia, and it is presented here, in English translation,
as a comfort to all.
Let us
arise in the deep dawn, And instead of myrrh offer a hymn to the Lord.
We
forestall the rising of the sun, and hasten in the depth of night to meet the
Sun of Righteousness. The present night is not an ordinary night! Brighter than
day, it fills our souls with light! The rays of the Sun of the world illumine
us and the whole universe, enlightening all who come to His light. The warmth
poured out through His rays penetrates all our members, filling our souls with
deep peace, even healing our bodily illnesses. This warmth melts away our
sorrows, and our passions are burned away as by fire.
Enmity and
hatred disappear from us, we forget our bitterness, and we do not feel our
impoverishment. The whole world becomes different in this holy and only night!
All nature
is changed, and everything is filled with warmth and light. Just as birds of
prey hide at the rising of the sun, and wild beasts disappear into their dens,
so does evil flee from every heart illumined today by the Light which radiates
from the tomb.
Like the
morning dew, now are our tears dried away! As blossoms unfold at the onset of
day, enlivened by the sun's rays, so do virtues return to us as the Sun rises
upon us this morning.
Let us
strive to be wholly illuminated by this wondrous light! When spring comes, we open
all the windows and doors of our homes, that the warmth may enter and dry the
dankness within. Now the Divine Light can also enter; but it cannot shine
within souls that have closed themselves, and do not want to be illumined by
that Light.
Let us open
our souls and hearts! Let us hasten with the myrrh-bearers, let us come bearing
our lamps to Christ, Who has come forth from the tombl Even if you are burdened
by sins, do not turn away; for today even those in the bonds of hell hasten to
the Light with joyful feet. Even if you are poor and haven't the means to buy
candles and myrrh, do not turn away. Let our hearts and souls burn in place of
candles. There is no impoverishment in the world!
In these
past days, we were all called to bring our material offerings and bodily
ascetic labors as myrrh. Now we all are called to partake of spiritual joy.
Tins is the day which the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in id
Instead of
myrrh and material offerings, let us bring a hymn to the Lord. Let us sing the
praise of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God!
Let us open
now the doors and windows of our souls and hearts, that they might be warmed by
the rays of the Sun of Righteousness!
From the
outermost border of heaven is His going forth, and His goal is unto the
outermost part of heaven, and there shall no man hide himself from His heat
(Pss 18:6). Now all things are filled with light: heaven and earth and the
nether regions (Ode 3 of the Paschal Canon). Only we are impenetrable if we do
not want Him!
If you do
not feel this radiant joy today, seek the reason within yourself only.
It would be
insane for a man to claim that the sun does not exist, only because he does not
see it from within his tightly closed and shuttered dwelling. Pitiable is the
blind man who keeps telling everyone that there is no such thing as light, only
because he does not see it! It would look very foolish for a man to insist that
spring has not come, only because no warmth has penetrated into his locked
cellar!
We praise
the gentle light, the holy glory of the immortal Heavenly Father—the
Resurrected
Lord, crying out to Him from the depth of our souls, meet it is for
Thee at all times to be hymned!
Then the
light of Christ that enlightens all will enlighten even us, and we shall behold
Christ the Sun of Righteousness, Who shines upon all life!
Christ is
Risen!
The Bright
Resurrection of Christ, + JOHN, Bishop of Shanghai
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