Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

On this Holy Feast of Feasts, as we celebrate our liberation from bondage to sin and death, we recall that our beloved worldwide spiritual father, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, reminds us that “for us Orthodox, the entire mystery and existential treasure of our piety is condensed into Pascha.” He states that “faith in the Resurrection is the deepest and clearest expression of our freedom,” and that “the Resurrection of Christ is the good news of freedom, the gift of freedom.”

And indeed, freedom is the core and center of our mission as Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. As we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we bear in mind that this glorious Feast is the heart and foundation of our commitment as Archons to protecting and defending religious freedom for our Ecumenical Patriarchate and people of faith the world over.

Let us then redouble our efforts to support the worldwide ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the longest-serving and one of the most consequential Ecumenical Patriarchs in history. His All-Holiness continues to stand before the entire world as a unique prophetic voice that never fails to stand for the truth about Russia’s unjust and unprovoked war in Ukraine, our duty to protect the natural environment, our sacred responsibility to foster unity among peoples, including Christians of differing faith traditions, and much more.

We likewise are honored to stand for freedom with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, and remain grateful for his tireless ongoing efforts to strengthen our Holy Archdiocese of America. As Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we are also deeply blessed and highly fortunate to be able to assist in the ministries of the holy and venerable hierarchs of the Holy Eparchial Synod and of our visionary Spiritual Advisor, the Grand Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne, Father Alex Karloutsos.

As we celebrate Great and Holy Pascha, we also remember that there is a great deal more work to do. I thank our Risen Lord that He has brought together as Archons so many accomplished, capable servants of God who have a profound devotion to our Holy Mother Church.

By His grace, we will continue and expand our multifaceted efforts to support and protect the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the sacred Center of our Faith.

Maria and our entire family join me in wishing all Archons and your beloved families a Pascha blessed with the holy joy and peace of the Lord and His All-Holy Mother the Theotokos.

Χριστός Ανέστη! Ἀληθῶς Aνέστη!

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Христос воскрес! Воістину воскрес!

!المسيح قام! حقا قام al-Masīḥ qām! Ḥaqqan qām!

Yours in the joyful service of our Holy Mother Church,