EASTER EPISTLE<\/p>\n
To the clergy and God-saved flock of the Diocese of Canada
\nBeloved brothers and sisters in Christ!<\/p>\n
CHRIST IS RISEN!<\/p>\n
With all my heart I greet you with the Feast of Feasts, the Glorious Resurrection of Christ,
\nand pray for each of you to be granted Paschal joy, peace and wellbeing.
\nOf all the feasts celebrated by the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the most joyous,
\nmost triumphant is the Feast of the Pascha of the Lord, the Unconquerable Victory over the
\npowers of hell and death. So that we all, after Christ\u2019s Resurrection, set our trust in our own
\nresurrection, and life everlasting. And \u201ctrust\u201d, as St John of Tobolsk puts it, \u201cis higher than
\nhope, it transcends hope\u201d.<\/p>\n
This year, however, our Easter joy is inseparably linked with the \u201cgodly sorrow\u201d, as St
\nPaul says in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians: \u201cFor godly sorrow works repentance unto
\nsalvation\u201d (2 Cor 7:10).<\/p>\n
By order of the civil authorities all public worship in our churches is temporarily
\nsuspended. We follow this order, since, if we were to break it, we would, besides running the
\ndanger of falling victim to the illness ourselves, risk becoming an unwitting cause of
\nmeaningless death of our kinsfolk \u2013 may God preserve us from this! We ourselves are doing
\nall we can to stop the pestilence from entering the homes of our parishioners. But this does not
\nmean the services in the churches of our Diocese have ceased. They are continuing, but only
\nthe clergy who celebrate them are allowed in (not more than two celebrants in some
\nprovinces). Through God\u2019s providence, many people are able to follow these on the internet,
\nand thus, in these difficult circumstances, are given a chance to create house Churches in their
\nhomes. Therefore, beloved brothers and sisters, do keep in mind the words of Our Risen Lord
\nJesus Christ: go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who
\nis in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly (Mt 6:6).<\/p>\n
At this time it would be good to speak of miraculous events which took place in the
\nisland of Corfu long time ago. The black plague that was raging in neighbouring Italy and
\nother countries of Europe, reached Corfu in 1629. The terrible news spread quickly across the
\nisland. Despite strict quarantine, the number of people stricken with the disease grew. Then
\nthe Orthodox, having assembled in the church of St Spyridon, prayed for the deliverance from
\nthe cruel pestilence. And the plague retreated. By Palm Sunday of 1630 the epidemic has
\nceased completely, while elsewhere in Europe thousands were still dying from the disease.
\nOn the same day of the Feast of the Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem a solemn procession
\nwent through the streets in gratitude for the miracle wrought by the Supreme Physician of our
\nsouls and bodies through the prayers of the Holy Hierarch Spyridon.<\/p>\n
Let us implore Our Risen Lord to be swiftly delivered from this cruel pestilence,
\nremembering the words of St John of Kronstadt: \u201cWars, illnesses and other calamities are but
\nmedicines in the hands of most merciful Heavenly Father\u2026 When the Lord strikes you with
\nsore affliction, or sickness, or misfortune, then be assured that He will also truly send you
\nconsolation, and will afterwards bestow upon you the grace of peace, strength, and joy
\ncorresponding to your previous sufferings. For \u2018the Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
\nlong-suffering, and of great goodness. He will not always be wrathful\u2026 He hath not dealt with
\nus after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our wickednesses\u2019 (Ps 102:8-11)\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dear brothers and sisters! May Our Risen Lord grant us all, in our present condition, to
\ncelebrate this Glorious Feast in good health and spiritual joy.
\n\u201cLet Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have set our hope on Thee\u201d (Ps 32:22).
\nChrist is Risen indeed!<\/p>\n
GABRIEL
\nArchbishop of Montreal and Canada
\nChrist\u2019s Pascha, 2020<\/p>\n