Dear Friends
Christ is risen!
First Corinthians chapter 15 (link) is really important in how we understand the Resurrection—I strongly encourage you to read it and reread it. The Apostle starts by explaining what the Gospel is: it is not “a philosophy by which to live our lives” nor “a comfort to support us through life in this world,” it is the proclamation that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. Christ is alive! Actually, bodily, truly risen. And ancient people understood the impossibility of this perhaps to a greater degree than we do—we produce excuses, “he was resuscitated” or “he was unconscious,” but this does not explain it. Without tricks, without mental gymnastics, without wishful thinking, Christ fully rose from the dead. Not returned to this life but a transfigured Life, a changed Life, a Life no longer subject to death and decay.
But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?’
verse 35
And while we may perceive this as a very modern question, it was asked from the start. The Apostle is blunt in his response.
Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
verses 36–38
And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.
But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
For while an acorn and an oak tree are very different, they are in fact the same. The acorn, appearing dead, is buried into the earth, its burial springs forth life—a transfigured life, no longer looking the same and yet is the same. So too with Christ and so too with us.
Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
verses 12–14
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.
And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
Since Christ’s Resurrection has consequences, if Christ is risen then that means we too will rise. We have been set free from death. Death no longer holds us unjustly; we can be released from our slavery to sin and can turn away from all the powers which mean to oppress us. Christ is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,” (verse 20) that as Christ has been raised so too will we all.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ is risen! This is not just wishful thinking but the appropriate response to the evidence before us—that eyewitnesses, even more than five hundred at one time (verse 6) would prefer suffering, torture and cruel execution rather than say this was a lie or that they had been deceived. And if Christ is risen then we must live differently, with love for one another even to death.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34–35, 15:13–14
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. …
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
Let us, therefore, live the life of the Resurrection, let us live in love and fellowship for one another and let us offer ourselves as witnesses to the transformation and transfiguration which comes through the Gospel. Let us be born of the will of God and thereby behold the glory of God, full of grace and truth.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
John 1:12–14
who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
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Paschal Letter
Paschal Letter of our Father in Christ, Metropolitan Silouan.
Dear Reverend Fathers, beloved sons and daughters in Christ,
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
With great joy in the light of the Holy Resurrection, I extend to each one of you, to your families, and to all our parish communities my heartfelt greetings and paternal blessings on this most radiant and life-giving Feast of Pascha.
On this holy and glorious day, the Church proclaims with triumph that death has been overthrown, sorrow has been transformed into joy, and the darkness of the tomb has been filled with the unwaning light of Christ’s victory. As we chant with the Church: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
Before the joy of the Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ willingly endured His holy Passion, the Cross, and the suffering of Golgotha. In the solemn hymns of Holy Week, the Church leads us to stand before the Cross in awe and gratitude, beholding the One who out of boundless love stretched out His hands for the life of the world.
Through His sacred Passion and precious Blood shed upon the Cross, He granted us forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the Father. By His wounds we are healed, and by His self-offering in love our transgressions are washed away. The Cross is therefore not merely a sign of suffering, but the very fountain of divine mercy and forgiveness.
Yet the Passion does not stand alone. On the third day, Christ rose gloriously from the tomb, and through His Resurrection He bestowed upon us salvation, victory over death, and the promise of eternal life. If the Cross reveals to us the depth of God’s forgiving love, the Resurrection reveals to us the fullness of His saving power. Through the Passion we receive forgiveness; through the Resurrection we receive salvation and new life in Him.
As our father among the saints, Saint John Chrysostom, proclaims in the holy Paschal Homily: “Let no one fear death, for the Saviour’s death has set us free… Christ is risen, and life reigns!” These words fill our hearts with the victorious joy of Pascha and remind us that the tomb is empty, death is conquered, and the grace of eternal life has dawned upon the world.
This divine truth is also a great consolation for our own lives. Many among us carry heavy crosses: illness and health difficulties, family struggles, uncertainty, grief, wars and conflicts that wound nations and hearts, and the many burdens that weigh upon daily life. At times these sufferings may seem overwhelming, and yet the Resurrection of Christ teaches us never to lose hope.
Just as the Passion was followed by the Resurrection, so too every trial borne in faith can become a path to renewal, healing, and spiritual victory. The Bridegroom who entered voluntarily into suffering for our sake also enters into our suffering today. He does not abandon His people in their pain but walks with us through every dark hour until the dawn of resurrection.
Therefore, I encourage all of you, beloved in Christ, to keep your minds and hearts fixed upon the Risen Lord. Let us place our trust wholly in Him, believing that He is able to bring peace where there is conflict, healing where there is sickness, reconciliation where there is division, and hope where there is despair.
The Resurrection is not only an event we commemorate; it is the living power of Christ active in our lives today. If we believe in Him and in His holy Resurrection, He will strengthen us, guide us, and in His wisdom resolve all things for our salvation.
May the joy, peace, forgiveness, and hope of the Risen Christ fill your homes and remain with you and your loved ones throughout this blessed Paschal season.
With my paternal love and prayers for you all,
Your Father in Christ,
+Silouan
Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland
Services this week
Friday 17th April
Discussion on the Book of Job, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 18th April
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 19th April
Matins & Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Online session is via Google Meet: please get in touch for the details.
Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.
Attending Church
We meet at 3rd URC Scout HQ, Kings Rd, Chandlers Ford SO53 2EY. The Scout hall is behind and to the left of the URC Church. Come and See.
Can I help you?
I am here for you, you need only ask. Is there a way I can support your life of faith? Get in touch.
Can you help the parish?
Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.
Your prayers!
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
webenquiry@orthodoxeastleigh.uk