Archpastoral Message of His Grace Pascha 2026

To the Clergy, Monastics, and the Faithful of the Diocese of the West, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters in Christ:

Christ is Risen!  Indeed He is Risen!

“Let us go with lamps in hand to meet Christ who comes from the tomb like a Bridegroom! And with the festive ranks of angels let us celebrate the saving Pascha of God!” (Paschal canon of St John of Damascus, ode 5).

Today, on the sacred day of Pascha, we gather as the Church, as the disciples of Christ, to proclaim with joy the good news of our salvation: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:20). Today, we celebrate the saving Pascha of God, our Passover, our passage from death to life, from our enslavement to sin and corruption to the freedom of the new life in Christ, crucified and risen.  Today, the mystery of our salvation is revealed to us through the blood of the Paschal Lamb, shed upon the cross.  

Our father Gregory the Theologian boldly speaks: “We needed a God made flesh and made dead, so that we might live” (Or. 45.28): out of his love for us, the Master and Lord of all willingly emptied himself, suffered and died for us, and thus as our high priest he offered himself as sacrifice once and for all, for our redemption. He came to Jerusalem to die, so that we may live with the life that is in him, and he rose from the dead for it was not possible for him to be held in the power of death and corruption (Acts 2:24).  Sharing in his victory over death, with tears of joy, again we hear the angelic message: “He is risen, he is not here!” We behold the new divine life pouring from the empty tomb of Christ, the life of incorruption and freedom, of knowledge and truth, of forgiveness and reconciliation – full of light and sanctification.  

Having received the gospel of truth, we preach Christ crucified and risen, Christ who is the light of the world, Christ who is our joy and our peace, who descended even into the lowest regions to fill all with himself.  On this ”holy day of holy days”, we especially rejoice seeing so many people being received in faith to the Church, in this diocese and throughout the world. We give thanks to God for calling His new children, in these dark and difficult times, to the light of divine truth and the Christian gospel.  May the same light guide us all, and may we always remember that we were all called – washed, sanctified, justified in the name of Christ, and now we all must now strive to live our lives in accordance with this truth.

Truly, “now all is filled with light” and all creation celebrates the arising of its Master.  May we celebrate this Pascha with true spiritual joy, nourished with the true spiritual food – the body and blood of our Master Christ.  Fed upon this divine Paschal Lamb, may we receive strength to offer our Lord our true spiritual worship – our whole lives, renewed and transformed by the grace of his resurrection.  

The great mystery of salvation has been revealed to us all, for Christ is risen from the dead, and “life reigns… and not one dead remains in the tomb”.  To Him, our Lord and God, be glory, thanksgiving and worship forever.  Amen.  

Christ is risen!

Yours in the risen Christ,

†Vasily
Bishop of San Francisco and the West