BOSTON – His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America officiated at the Service of the Holy Resurrection of Christ followed by the Divine Liturgy on Holy Saturday at midnight in New York. The service and Liturgy was held in St. Paul’s chapel located at Archdiocesan headquarters in Manhattan. The Service was conducted behind closed doors with only the clergy who are members of the Archbishop’s Monastic Brotherhood.
They are young men, ordained deacons and presbyters, who followed the Archbishop from the Theological School of Halki where he was the Abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery. They are educated in theology, ecclesiastical music, liturgics, and teleturgics, speak Greek and English fluently, and are assisting Archbishop Elpidophoros in various areas of his ministry.
On Holy Saturday they chanted in the well-known Patriarchal musical tone the beautiful hymns of the Resurrection service which was broadcast via electronic outlets.
After the reading of the Holy Gospel Archbishop Elpidophoros proclaimed the following message to the Faithful of Holy Archdiocese throughout the United States:
“My Beloved Christians,
Now all things are filled with light… (Paschal Canon, Ode 2).
In this time of darkness: through the most difficult Lent in memory, through a radical reduction of our lives and livelihood, through the threat of sickness on an unprecedented scale, and through the grievous loss of family, friends, and neighbors taken from us too soon, we have finally arrived at the dawn.
Like the Myrrh-Bearing Women going to the Tomb “very early in the morning, in the deep of the dawn” – we are yet in the depths of a darkness from which we pray to be delivered. But we hold fast to the promise of this night:
And the light shines on in the darkness, never overcome by the darkness. (John 1:5).
Indeed, and in very truth, now all things are filled with light!” The Light of Christ, Who is Himself the Light of the world, can never be extinguished. It chases away the shadow of even the darkest soul, and it burns most brightly in the human heart, which with every beat sings praises to the Lord of Glory.
He fills the world with His Light, enlightening our souls through love, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy. And if this year we cannot pass that light from candle to candle, we can still pass that same light from heart to heart. The holiest fire that burns without destroying is love, for our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). Indeed, God loved the world so intensely that there was no suffering that He would not embrace in order to enfold us in His love. On His Precious and Life-Giving Cross, He showed us with one word that His Passover, His Pascha from death to life, would be the fulfillment for us all: Τετέλεσται! “It is accomplished!”
“But now Christ is risen from the dead! (I Cor. 15:20). He is the first fruits of them that slept in death, and as Lord of both the living and the dead,” He is the promise, the “Amen,” of our future life in eternity.
Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, let us rejoice in the light of the Resurrection that shines across the Heavens, around the globe, and in our hearts. This dawn knows no horizon line; it shines even in the depths of hades.
Embrace the light with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Share it with everyone in gratitude and gentleness. Recognize its power to transform you and transfigure the world. And know, by faith, that the shadows we experience today are fleeting, cast by the Light Who is come upon us to dispel every darkness, and to raise us up with Him to everlasting light and life!”
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