Pascha 2024 - Archpastoral Letter

​Beloved in the Lord,

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

“Now He Who has raised Him from the dead will raise us also, provided we do His will, make His commandments our rule of life, and love what He loves...” St. Polycarp of Smyrna On this radiant day of our Lord’s Resurrection, we celebrate the triumph of life over death, and the promise of eternal life for those who believe. As we have heard in the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on the Sundays of Great Lent and on Great and Holy Thursday and Great and Holy Saturday, Christ “became the first-fruits of the fallen asleep, the first-born of the dead, so that he is first all things in all.”

In our celebration of our Lord’s Pascha, let us remember the words of the Holy Apostle Paul, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we too are made new and given the possibility to live a life of righteousness and eternal life.

In greeting our Lord’s Pascha, let us also remember the importance of living a life that honors God as his new creation. We are called to love one another, to serve others, and to share the Good News of the Resurrection with all who have “ears to hear.” Let us embrace this season of Pascha with open hearts, ready to receive the blessings and grace that God offers us, as we look forward to the promise of eternal life.

With love in the risen Christ,
+Alexander
Archbishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese