Paschal Encyclical 2026
Paschal Encyclical
To the Reverend Clergy, Monastics, and Pious Faithful
Beloved Fathers, Brothers, and Children in the Risen Lord,
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
In this holy and radiant night, the Church calls us to partake of a mystery beyond nature and understanding:
“Come, let us drink a new drink, not miraculously brought forth from a barren rock, but from the fountain of incorruption, which has poured forth from the tomb of Christ, in Whom we are established.”
Through these sacred words, we are led into the very heart of Pascha. No longer do we drink from the rock in the wilderness, as did Israel of old. No longer do we thirst for the passing waters of this fallen world. Instead, we are called to partake of something truly new: the life that flows from the empty tomb.
This new drink is the grace of the Resurrection—the incorrupt life of Christ Himself, poured out abundantly upon His Church. The tomb, once a place of fear and death, has become a fountain of life, joy, and immortality.
Beloved faithful, we who have received and strive to preserve the unaltered Faith of the Holy Fathers—the Faith once delivered to the saints—are called in a particular way to guard this divine gift. For this life-giving fountain is not found in innovations, nor in the spirit of this age, but in the living and unchanging Tradition of the Church—in True Orthodoxy.
Let no one remain in the dryness of sin. Let no one fall into despair. The fountain of life has been opened to all, and grace is given abundantly; yet it is received through faith, repentance, and a purified heart.
Let us drink this new drink not only with our lips, but with our whole life: through fervent prayer, sincere repentance, and sacrificial love. And let us remain steadfast upon the royal path, turning neither to the right nor to the left.
In a world filled with confusion and spiritual thirst, we are called to become bearers of this living water. Let your homes be illumined with the light of the Resurrection, and let your lives proclaim that Christ has trampled down death by death.
With paternal love in the Risen Lord,
Philaretos, Bishop of Pallini and Western Europe
