Basilica News Agency – Aurelian Iftimiu – 1/5/21

In a video message for Holy Pascha 2021, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel points to the final destination of man, namely the Kingdom of Heaven. His Beatitude also conveys best regards to Romanians everywhere, urging them to keep the Orthodox faith and the values of Romanian spirituality.

Message by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania on the Feast of Holy Pascha 2021: full text

Beginning with Easter night, for forty days, we sing the troparion: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!”

This solemn hymn of victory is a confession of faith and a prophecy about the ultimate future of humankind and the universe.

The Resurrection of Christ shows us the victory of His humble and merciful love over sin as a selfish existence and over death as the separation of the soul from the body, in order to give the world a new life, the eternal heavenly life. So, man’s final destination is not the grave, but the Kingdom of Heaven.

Because in the Romanian Patriarchate the year 2021 is especially dedicated to Romanians outside Romania, we address to Romanians everywhere a fatherly message of appreciation, as well as the urge to keep the Orthodox Christian faith together with the values ​​of Romanian spirituality and also to appreciate the hospitality of the countries where they live now.

May Holy Pascha bring to all Romanians, in their souls and in homes, peace and joy, health and much help from God in all good deeds.

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

† Daniel
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church

Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu

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