We pray for peace based on justice, settlement and solidarity, the wintering Middle East and long-suffering Ukraine, was the message of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, after the Resurrection Divine Liturgy at the Lantern.

In this spirit, he continued, “we support the initiative “Nash Vyhod – Our Exit” for the exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine on the occasion of the great Easter holiday.” This would be a very concrete expression of the power of the Resurrection, the head of the Church emphasized.

“The Resurrection of Christ is the supreme gift that frees us from confinement in ourselves, and reveals to us that life is sharing, it is “we”, not the ego, it is “common freedom”, participation, love, peace, solidarity. In all aspects of life, the truth is not a possessive attitude, it is not the having but the sharing, community and society” said the Ecumenical Patriarch among others.

Specifically, the Ecumenical Patriarch said:

“From the all-illuminated Center of Orthodoxy, the all-resurrecting Lantern, we address to all of you present and to the children of the Mother Church throughout the world, an Easter greeting of love, joy and hope.

The “Passover of the Lord” is the proud victory of life and love over death. Anastas Christos is the truth for man and all of creation, he is the beauty that saved and saves the world. It is, as we sing in our temples, the “great miracle” that heals the “great trauma”, man, it is the revelation of the ultimate meaning of our lives and our mission in the world. It is the certainty that the God of love directs history, where evil cannot possibly have the last word.

That is why “Christ is Risen” is the summary of the Gospel. Nothing in the world and in our lives is the same after the Resurrection. Everything is renewed, full of dynamism, momentum, movement towards its definitive end in Christ. And the life “according to the way of the Resurrection” is the “good change”, the beneficial change that fills our existence with truth that liberates, freedom that is true as love. The Resurrection of Christ is the supreme gift that frees us from confinement in ourselves, and reveals to us that life is sharing, it is “we”, not the ego, it is “common freedom”, participation, love, peace, solidarity . In all aspects of life, truth is not a possessive attitude, it is not the having but the sharing, community and society. This gift of freedom as a relationship establishes each of us as a unique and irreplaceable person before God and men.

It is a fact that people discover many “small truths” in their lives, but, as the Church says through the mouth of its Fathers, true life is “union with God” (N. Kavasilas, About life in Christ, G΄, 6). The experience of resurrection freedom does not allow man to limit himself to “worldly absolutes”. The longing for eternity is rooted deep in our souls and is not satisfied by earthly goods, by prolonging life and by promises of false paradises. These do not redeem. The denial of the mystery does not liberate man. Rather it shrinks our existence. Faith increases the mystery of the world and opens up new existential possibilities for man.

The promise and gift of the Risen Christ is complete existence, fullness and completion, eternal life. In this spirit, freedom is revealed as an eminently Christian concept. The experience of faith teaches us that everything in the life of man and the world reveals its deepest truth and full meaning when it is included in our relationship with God, when it is approached under the perspective of eternity.

We address this blessed moment to our young men and women, here and everywhere on earth, the inheritors of our tradition and its spiritual values, who will be the continuers and defenders of our resurrected civilization. It is certain that young people have a highly developed sensorium for the experience of the Resurrection. Live, dear young men and women, your life incompatible with evil and negativity, contributing to the transformation of the world, on the way to a world of peace, justice and solidarity.

With these thoughts and feelings, certain that the Orthodox Easter will forever preserve its special character, which does not allow “rationalizations” and “modernizations”, we praise the Risen Christ for His saving gifts.

We pray for the needy and grieving brothers, that the wintering Middle East and long-suffering Ukraine may find peace based on justice, settlement and solidarity. In this spirit, we support the initiative “Nash Vyhod – Our Way Out” for the exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine on the occasion of the great holiday of Easter, the link of “peace above” and “world peace”. This would be a very specific expression of the power of the Resurrection.

We beg the Lord of mercy to enlighten our minds and hearts so that we may forge the path of truth and true freedom, full of Resurrection and hope, with “Christ is Risen!” on the lips and with the conviction that, if Christ is with us and we with Christ, “no one among us”.

Christ is Risen!”.