The tomb, crucifixion, and death were not the end, but the beginning of something new and unknown. Where God is, there is always forgiveness there. Always a new birth is where there is the Risen Savior … Therefore this moment means the new birth of man, a new creation in Christ. I want to remind everyone that the Passover of Christ is the moment of a new beginning and creation.
This was emphasized by the Father and the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in an interview for the radio “Maria”, which was broadcast on April 25. The Primate was asked about the challenges facing the Ukrainian society on the eve of Easter, as well as the questions we should ask ourselves and answers we should expect to hear in the period of Easter holidays.
“I think that the path to the Risen Christ is a way for every person, at all times, and for all nations. Why? Because the apostles and the whole community of the disciples of Christ by the time of His Resurrection, when they saw His suffering, crucifixion and death, they thought it was an end. And everyone ran away. Not everyone had the courage to come to the tomb, for there were Roman soldiers there. Not everyone had the courage to be close to Mary and John when the Son of God was dying on the cross. That is, we can say that everyone betrayed Jesus, even Peter, but only Judas is regarded as a traitor. Why? Because he thought there was no hope. There is no hope for him for forgiveness. And this is why he, having fallen into disbelief and disloyalty, committed suicide,” shared his reflections the spiritual leader of the Greek Catholics.
According to him, the moment of Christ’s Resurrection is changing everything, because everybody is beginning to return. The Risen Christ is gathering everything back and people see that there is hope.
“As you can see, all the characters I have mentioned symbolize different callings and choices for each of us. We should not be like Judas, who thinks that everything is gone, there is no hope for forgiveness, there is no possibility of remission of sins and a new life. If you think so, for instance when looking at hopeless circumstances, in particular the socio-political, then we become traitors of Christ and our Christian faith. Let’s take an example from the Apostle Peter, who became the first to convert,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
According to the Head of the Church, it is worth taking a step towards the Risen Christ, since everything is possible with Him.
Department of Information of the UGCC