PASCHAL ENCYCLICAL 2025

PASCHAL ENCYCLICAL 2025
Russian True Orthodox Diocese of Western Europe


Christ is Risen!


Beloved faithful in Christ Who is Risen from the dead,
With great spiritual joy, we proclaim once again the victory of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ over death: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” This is the foundation of our faith, the fulfillment of the divine economy, and the radiant light that shatters the darkness of sin and corruption.
The Resurrection of Christ is not merely an event of the past, nor a mere symbol—it is a present and living reality in which we are called to partake. St. Gregory the Theologian proclaims, “Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him. Yesterday I died with Him; today I am made alive with Him. Yesterday I was buried with Him; today I rise with Him.” (Oration 1.4)
In the Resurrection, we see the restoration of fallen man, the renewal of creation, and the promise of eternal life. St. Athanasius the Great teaches us: “By death He destroyed death, and by the Resurrection, He lifted up man to incorruptibility.” (On the Incarnation, 9.5) The dominion of the devil, which began with Adam’s fall, is broken, for as the Apostle Paul says, “the last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26).
St. Ephraim the Syrian tells us, “The grave was rent asunder, not to let Christ out, but to let us see that He was not there.” (Hymns on the Resurrection 1:8) and St. Methodius of Olympus expresses a rare and beautiful thought: “The Resurrection is the birth of the new man, who is no longer subject to corruption but is arrayed in the robe of immortality.” (Banquet of the Ten Virgins 8.16).  Thus, in the light of Pascha, we understand that the Resurrection is not only Christ’s triumph but our own calling to transfiguration and deification.
The Apostle Paul exhorts us: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” (Col. 3:1) The Resurrection is not only an event we confess but a life we must live.
St. Symeon the New Theologian reminds us: “If a man does not find the risen Christ within himself in this life, neither shall he find Him in the age to come.” (Hymn 1)
Beloved children in Christ, we live in an age where many distort the truth of the Gospel, reducing the Resurrection to a mere tradition or celebration devoid of power. But we, as the True Orthodox Church, must stand firm in the unchanging faith of the Apostles and Fathers.
Let us guard this holy inheritance with vigilance, remembering that “if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (1 Cor. 15:14) But because He is risen, our faith is victorious, our life is transformed, and our hope is unshaken.
Let us then rejoice with the whole Church, with the Saints and the Holy Angels, for “this is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad therein” (Ps. 117:24)


Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!




+ Philaretos
Bishop of Pallini and Western Europe