Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord,

Christ is Risen!

Again and again, we read in the Gospel the prophecy of Christ that He will be betrayed, condemned to death, and delivered to the Gentiles who will mock Him, and spit upon Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him. But three days later He will rise again (Matt.20:18; Mk. 10:34; Lk. 18:32).

 And He rose indeed! Today, with great joy we celebrate the fulfilment of this promise. The Lord did not put His first disciples to shame, those who believed in Him as the Son of God; and neither shall we be disappointed, even though our faith is weak. No matter what happens to us, no matter how harshly life treats us, no matter what sickness, sorrow and sighing overwhelms us, the light of our only hope -- the light of Christ -- should glow within us. We must not let it be extinguished in our souls, and then, in the final account, everything will be good.

As long as we keep our eyes set upon this "one thing which is needful" (Lk.10:42), as long as we remember that the sure promise (Rom. 4:16) of Christ is "eternal life" (1 Jn. 2:25), we are alive. Then our proclamation that Christ trampled down death by His own death will be not just a testimony to a certain historical event, but the rule of our faith and the criterion of all our life. If death is truly no more, then there is no fear of death. And if we are not afraid of death, then why should we sin? (Rom. 5:12) We are freed from death, we are liberated from sin. "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).

On this glorious feast day of our liberation and salvation in the Risen Christ, I send my whole hearted greetings to the Primate of our Holy Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America, His Beatitude Metropolitan THEODOSIUS, to our Right Reverend Archpastor, His Grace TIKHON of San Francisco, to my brethren and fellow ministers at the Throne of the Lord, to my co-laborers on the Parish Council, to our sacrificial and tireless Sisterhood, to all those who sing and work in our holy temple, to all our God-loving donors and benefactors, and to all of you, my beloved parishioners of Holy Trinity Cathedral. May our Risen Savior grant you all firm strength and good health for Many Years!

Indeed, He is Risen!

Priest Victor Sokolov
Rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral
Pascha of the Lord 1998

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