Ukrainian Church Hierarchs Release Easter Messages

In the last days of Lent, the heads and senior bishops of the Ukrainian churches issued Easter messages to their faithful and the clergy.

In the last days of Lent, the heads and senior bishops of the Ukrainian churches issued Easter messages to their faithful and the clergy.

“Christ is risen! This means that in Him we found the true God. In Christ, our Savior, we can again love Our Creator, we can live for Him and in Him find meaning in our existence...

This year the Ukrainian people experienced great trials. Our peace-loving people who voluntarily gave up their nuclear weapons face Russian aggression. A country that guarantees the integrity and security of our territory has committed aggression. God cannot be on the side of unrighteousness, so the enemy of the Ukrainian people is doomed to failure. On Calvary, Christ the Savior suffered and died, but he rose again and defeated evil. And so it will be with all unrighteousness and evil. The Lord will help us resurrect Ukraine.

I greet you, dear brothers and sisters, on the occasion of the light and joyful Resurrection. I wish a happy Easter to the Ukrainian authorities and the armed forces of Ukraine, who have a great responsibility before them – to protect the Ukrainian state from attacking foreigners. I greet all Ukrainians in all countries on all continents on this great Christian holiday,” Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko) said in his greeting.

With the blessing of MetropolitanVolodymyr of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Locum Tenens of the Metropolitanate of Kyiv Metropolitan Onufry Berezovsky addressed the clergy and faithful with an Easter message:

“The Holy Apostolic Orthodox Church, completing its apostolic ministry today, asks and prays to the risen Savior to bring peace to the whole world, and today especially we pray for the Lord to send peace and harmony to our Ukrainian land… Forgive us, our Lord and Savior, for thy light and glorious resurrection. Grant us, O Lord, Thy peace, and help us to live on earth so that Your Most Holy Name was glorified in our lives.”

In his message, Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church recalled that it has been 25 years since the legalization of the UGCC and touched important social and political topics: “In the recent past, our church and our people were tortured and crucified, were falsely testified against, were shot at and thrown into prison. But we survived and, thanks to God, were a new community of Christ's disciples has been revived... Today we are threatened with weapons and our country is at risk of division and churches at risk of being seized. But Christ is now with us! He takes our pain as though it strikes Him personally…He was the first victim of the Heavenly Hundred. His words on the cross, which today sound in Ukraine in the conscience of believers – “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34) – relates especially to state and church leaders, ours and our neighbors’, who incite the people to blind aggression and hatred, “Crucify him, crucify him” (Luke 23:21). However, the power of human malice, lies, and violence is nothing compared to the power of God’s truth and love. Christ exalts us to today, as a church and as a people. Like good overcomes evil in the resurrection, in our history love overcomes malice and hatred, and peace overcomes all sorts of threats of war.”

In his Easter greeting, Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, head of the Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine, noted that the first gift which comes to us by the Risen Lord is peace.

"If we do not turn away from Christ in others, in the church, if we let the Lord come into our daily lives, into our problems, difficulties, fears, he will have the power to change our reality. Only the Risen Christ can change our lives, the lives of our families, our city, our country.

Beloved in Christ, with these words, the Good News of Easter, I appeal to you to celebrate and enjoy this great victory of Jesus Christ over death and sin! Open your heart to God's gift of peace.”

“Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! How nice it is to know in one’s heart this precious truth which was revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God that Jesus Christ was put to death for our sins and was resurrected again for our justification.

The bright Resurrection of Christ obliges all of us to live in a new way, to live according to the Spirit, to live in truth, to live in love. It will be the best flavor, precious myrrh to honor His resurrection,” Senior Bishop of the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith Mykhailo Panochko said in his greeting.

“Thanks to God’s grace and the warm and sweet fragrances, spring brings to the life of Christians and of our people a special time for trials and hopes, revaluation and spiritual renewal. With these simple, yet great word of our Easter greeting we proclaim a solemn sermon about the mighty victory of life over death, of righteousness over lawlessness, holiness over sin,” reads the Ukrainian Baptist Union’s Easter message.

“Beloved in the Lord, brothers and sisters, I sincerely congratulate you on the bright day of the Resurrection!

Let the Easter victory of life over death fill our hearts with the lasting joy of the blessed coming and firm belief in the inexhaustible grace of God in the present.

Let the light of the Resurrection of Christ light our towns and villages with peace and love and shine with renewed hope on the aspirations of the faithful in our homes and communities,” Bishop Serhiy Mashevsky of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church said to his faithful.

“On this great celebration of the victory of life over death, good over evil, I wish you and your loved ones, your family, your church a happy Easter!

Let the power of Christ's resurrection fill your heart and inspire victory! May you have peace, joy, and love! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church Leonid Padun said in his greeting.