METROPOLITAN ARCHEPARCHY OF PHILADELPHIA
Ukrainian Catholic
827 North Franklin Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123-2097
Phone (215) 627-0143 Fax (215) 627-0377
ukrmet@catholic.org
No. 114/2008 O _____________________________________________________________________________Office of the Metropolitan
This Number Should be Prefixed to Your Reply
EASTER PASTORAL LETTER
OF THE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHS OF THE U.S.A.
Reverend Clergy, Venerable Religious, and Beloved Faithful of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States;
“Christ is risen from the dead
trampling death by death
and to those in the tombs giving life.”
Tropar of Easter
We sing these words again and again during the Easter season, perhaps hundreds of times. We also contemplate and venerate the Resurrection icon, which sings this very same truth – except it uses colors instead of words and music. In this icon, which is also referred to as “The Harrowing of Hell”, we see that the crucified Christ has indeed become “the firstborn of dead” (Rev. 1:5): He is shown descending to Hades, the realm of the dead, to free those held captive there. Because of Christ, death no longer has a hold upon those who have died. Adam and Eve, who had been waiting for His coming, are raised from the open coffins by the Conqueror of death: “to those in the tombs giving life”. The coffin lids, now lying in such a way that they form a cross, serve two functions. On the one hand, they serve as a platform upon which Christ stands, a platform from which He reaches down to lift them up. It is, after all, through Christ’s life-giving death on the Cross that we, in the person of our first parents, are raised from death to life. On the other hand, the crossed lids cover the abyss of hell where the now-powerless devil is crushed, along with the broken chains which had held humanity captive for so long: “trampling death by death”. The icon which we see and the words which we sing proclaim the same truth.
“Christ is risen from the dead!” Such is our faith, such is our song, such is the truth depicted in the Easter icon. However, the icon treats the Resurrection very differently from the way it is handled in most western art. While the Resurrecton icon does not focus on the event of the Resurrection, this is exactly what Western artists usually show us: they focus on the moment of Resurrection which no mortal eye witnessed, and then they translate that vision into marble of paint or stained glass. The emphasis is on the glory of the Risen Christ, Who stands near the empty tomb and Who holds a banner of victory. Sometimes there are angels kneeling in adoration, or perhaps there are terrified Roman soldiers who had been guarding the tomb, but their inclusion in the scene is far from necessary, and their relationship to the Risen Christ is different from that of Adam and Eve in the icon: if angels or soldiers appear in a western depiction, they focus on Christ – the angles with adoration, the soldiers with fear; in the icon, it is rather Christ Who focuses His attention of Adam and Eve, offering them mercy and salvation. In the icon, the glory of the risen Christ is not for Himself alone, but rather is shared with all people who allow themselves to be raised. The Christ of the icon is in relationship with humanity by His own choice.
Is this not indeed very consistent with our faith? After all, the creed tells us that it was “for us men and for our salvation” that Christ came down from heaven, that He took upon Himself our human condition, that He lived among us, that He died and rose and ascended to glory, and that He now sits in glory at the right hand of the Father? By taking human flesh, Christ has irrevocably thrown in His lot with ours; where He is, there we too are called to be; wherever we are, we know that He is present as well. The echo of the Great Compline of Christmas reverberates in the Paschal mystery as well: “God is with us!” After all, Incarnation and Resurrection are but different aspects of the same mystery, of a God Who loves us so much that He constantly finds new ways to be with us: at His birth, Christ took upon Himself our nature and raised it up, making us forever capax Dei – “capable of God”; by the Paschal mystery of His death and Resurrection, He joined us once-and-for-all in our death so that He might definitely lead us through death to life.
The Risen Christ is still present to us in marvelous ways. We see this in the Divine Liturgy when the Body and Blood of Christ, separate at their consecration just as they were separated on the Cross, are once again reunited in the chalice, thus providing us with the great sign of the Resurrection. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we recognize Him “in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:35). However, if this is the only place where we look for the Risen Christ, we are liable to miss Him is the many other places where He wants us to seek Him.
In many of our churches, one can find crosses which point to this mysterious presence of Christ in all of life. Perhaps you have seen such crosses – either as a processional cross standing behind the altar, or as a blessing cross in the hand of a priest. These crosses have two sides: on one side is pictured the Crucifixion, while on the other we are shown the Resurrection. These crosses tell a profound truth: death and resurrection are but two sides of the same reality, for there is no death without Resurrection, but neither is there Resurrection without death. Every day we are confronted with many deaths, some small and some great. These deaths range from minor disappointments and inconveniences to major losses – including the apparent victory of evil, the violence inflicted daily upon the born and the unborn alike, and the inevitability of our own mortality. Yet Christ has sown the seeds of victory in all these deaths. Only with eyes of faith can we recognize the Resurrection which Christ seeks to bring to these moments – indeed to every moment of our lives.
May we have eyes of faith to recognize the Risen Christ present and powerful in our lives, in our families, in our parishes, and in our world which is so desperate for His presence. May we know His glory in the beauty of the Church services, may we know His joy in our family celebrations, may we know His peace in our daily activities, and may everyone we meet find in us a convincing witness to the truth and power of Christ’s Resurrection!
Христос Восрес! Воїстину Воскрес!
Yours in the Risen Christ,
Most Reverend Stefan Soroka
Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the U.S.A.
Archbishop of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
Most Reverend Robert M. Moskal
Bishop of the St. Josaphat Eparchy in Parma
Most Reverend Richard Seminack
Bishop of the St. Nicholas Eparchy in Chicago
Most Reverend Paul Chomnycky, OSBM
Bishop of the Eparchy of Stamford
Most Reverend John Bura
Auxiliary Bishop of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia
Easter, 2008