“My dear Christians, in the events of the resurrection the stone was moved not for the resurrected Lord but for us, so that we too could meet him. The tomb was opened for us to enter it by burying the man of sin and selfishness”, emphasizes the Archbishop of America Elpidophoros in the Archdiocesan Encyclical for the Great and Holy Easter.

And he exhorts: “And let us sing together with the psalmist in the Easter liturgy: “Yesterday I sympathized with you, Christ, today I rise up against you” (Rule of the Resurrection, ode 3). The grave is the Tabor of our transformation. The grave is the center of our heart, where the saying of the Neptic wisdom is fulfilled: If you die before you die, you will not die when you die!

In detail, the archdiocesan circular for Easter:

To the reverend and theophilest High Priests, the reverend priests and deacons, the monks and nuns, the presidents and members of the Community Councils, the invoicing Lords of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the members of the Leadership of 100, the day and evening schools, the Philoptochos Fraternities, the youth, the Greek Orthodox Organizations, and the entire Christ-named crew of the Holy Archdiocese of America:

“Will the stone dislodge them?” (Mark 16:3)

Dear brothers and sisters in the risen Lord,

We have arrived at the mystery of mysteries and are approaching the monument with the myrobearers. And we ask ourselves with them: “Did we turn the stone away from them”? The guardians are gone, the garden is empty, and we offer myrrh and perfumes to anoint the precious dead. But this is the One already anointed, the Christ, and he does not need our own offering! The stone doesn’t even have to be moved to come out of the grave. But the angel that day said to the women who arrived at the monument: “He is not here, but he has risen”! Then why was the big stone moved?

My dear Christians, in the events of the resurrection the stone was moved not for the resurrected Lord but for us, so that we too could meet him. The grave was opened for us to enter by burying the man of sin and selfishness. And let us sing together with the psalmist in the Easter liturgy: “Yesterday I sympathized with you, Christ, today I rise up against you” (Rule of the Resurrection, ode 3). The grave is the Tabor of our transformation. The grave is the center of our heart, where the saying of the Neptic wisdom is fulfilled: “If you die before you die, you will not die when you die”!

So, then, my dear brothers, let us not ask ourselves, “Let us roll away the stone.” Let’s make every effort to move him with our strength! God will help us in this struggle! And let’s be sure that in the grave we bury our bad self, we bury worldly things, to be reborn with the resurrection of Christ! The stone is unliftable because of our sorrows and sins, but God forgives us in all things and asks us to do the same for our fellow men. Forgiveness is the power that moves the stone of sin and paves the way of love. This is also the real resurrection in this life, which leads to eternal life. Let love, forgiveness and charity for all be resurrected in our hearts, and let us thus become genuine children of the Resurrection. Let this Easter become for all of us the mystery of mysteries, the gateway to eternal life through our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is Risen!