On the eve of Easter, the Primates and Hierarchs of Ukrainian Churches addressed the faithful and clergy with messages dedicated to the Great Feast of the Resurrection of Christ.
"Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, On this bright, joyful day, I congratulate all of you on the Lord's Easter. Especially in this year of St. Joseph The Betrothed, I congratulate our male fathers. I wish you to be a light of faith, hope and love for your families, an example and icon of God's love, loyalty, courage, creativity, hard work, patience, openness to your beloved wives and children. Christ is the only icon of God the father, but children, growing up, create their own image of him on the basis of family experience and the example of their father.
Congratulations to those who feel lonely and abandoned at this time of the pandemic. Remember: when you pray, the Risen Lord is always with you, and by the power of Christian prayer, you are united with the entire community of his church. You're not alone!
I congratulate all the sick and infirm, as well as the health workers and your family and friends who take care of you. On this holiday of the victory of life over death, I ask you: cherish the gift of life and embrace physical patience in prayer as a sacrifice because this is "a pleasant spiritual smell" for the Lord.
I send my sincere Easter greetings and assurances of prayers to our military and those in the occupied territories and Crimea.
The Lord strengthened your spirit and kept you alive and well.
I embrace all the clergy, all the consecrated and laity in Ukraine and in the settlements with parental love and sincerely wish you blessed Easter holidays, delicious consecrated eggs and bright Easter joy!
The grace of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit may be with you all!
Christ is risen! Indeed He is Risen!" says Patriarch Sviatoslav of the UGCC.
"On the lightsome Resurrection of Christ, I cordially congratulate all Orthodox Christians in Ukraine – the fullness of the local Ukrainian Orthodox Church and those who are prematurely out of communion with it. All of us – children of the United Church of Christ – profess one Orthodox faith. We have one earthly homeland-Ukraine. Therefore, in a God-blessed time, we will overcome obstacles that were artificially introduced from outside, and in peace and love, we will all unite around the Eucharistic chalice, as defined by the canonical order of the church and the Tomos of autocephaly. Let us pray for this and work to bring this day closer!
I greet all Christians and the entire Ukrainian people on Easter of the Lord. May Christ, who rose from the dead, overcome the power of the devil and death itself, fill our souls and hearts with the hope of victory in the current trials, strengthen our faith, help us cherish and increase love for our neighbors, and show it in word and deed.
"Enter all into the joy of your Lord," St. John Chrysostom calls us. "Rich and poor, celebrate together! Reserved and lazy, celebrate the day! Those who fasted and those who did not fast – have fun today! The meal is ready: enjoy everything!"(from the announcing word). Just as on Easter night we light a fire from candle to candle, multiplying light and warmth, so we carry this common joy from heart to heart, proclaiming to everyone the Savior's victory over sin, evil and death, because truly Christ is risen!", reads the greeting of the Head of the OCU Epifaniy.
"On these holy Easter days, we especially thank our Savior and the Lord for coming down from Heaven, incarnating, suffering and rising from the dead for the sake of us, people, and for our salvation; for the honor of the Lord giving us the honor of believing in him and bearing the high name of a Christian. We humbly pray that the Risen Christ will give us the determination and courage to build our lives on his Holy covenants and laws, which are essentially expressed in two commandments of love: love for God and love for our neighbor — that we may be Christians, not only in name but also in life.
Once again, I congratulate all of you, dear brothers and sisters, on the Great Day of the bright resurrection of Christ. I wish you all health, peace, joy and salvation. May the Risen Christ, Our Savior and Lord, protect you all and fill you with the spiritual power that every person strives for, but which only God has, the power that is necessary to overcome the difficulties, diseases and fears that the world is filled with today and that meet on the path of our earthly journey.
For the sake of the Holy Resurrection, let us forgive one another, as God forgave us, let us embrace one another with love, as God embraced us, and let us sing the victorious Easter song: "Christ is risen from the dead, he has corrected death, and he has given life to those who exist in the grave" (Troparion of Easter). Amen to that. Indeed Christ Is Risen!", said Metropolitan Onufriy of the UOC-MP.
"Celebrating the feast of all feasts, with our prayer, the precious thing is that today your hearts will tremble with the power of Resurrection, which is also yours. Not everyone is called to preach, but we are all inspired by the grace that can and will help us use this power. We can all touch the lives of those whose lives overlap with ours. We can be peacemakers when we see hatred in a word or deed. We can speak positively, perhaps even changing the point of view of the person who looks at the situation as a heated argument. This power given to us also allows us to be merciful, pure in heart, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, meek and unselfish.
The road to salvation is given to us by our Risen Lord throughout his earthly ministry, and especially during Holy Week. Let's now go down this road again, entering a bright Week. The world needs us! There is nothing more certain in life than the promise of salvation for those who live in sincere faith and hope in their Risen Christ. May the grace of the Risen Lord, the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all as you follow the "narrow road" leading to salvation," reads the Easter message of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Beyond the Borders of Ukraine.
"Our Easter is Christ" greetings of senior bishop Mykhailo Panochko of the Church of Christian of Evangelical Faith of Ukraine on Easter 2021.
Beloved servants in the Lord, brothers and sisters!
On behalf of the All-Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches, please accept my sincere congratulations on the glorious day of Christ's Resurrection!
After his death, Christ did not remain in the tomb – and this brought the world unwavering hope and God's peace to our hearts. We overcome all disorder, fear, and uncertainty by the power of his resurrection. During the celebration of the great victory, we wish you to win in your daily spiritual struggle. We wish you zeal in your ministry and new achievements in the name of the Risen One. The resurrection of our Lord prompted his followers to preach the Gospel and bring reconciliation with God. For "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit descends upon you and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8).
May your word and deed increase the glory of the one who rose from the dead! "I am the resurrection and the life... If you believe, you will see the glory of God "(Jn. 11:25-40)
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!
With love and prayers for your ministry – Valery Antonyuk and the brothers-ministers of the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists (AUC ECB)