DIOCESAN PASTORAL LETTER 2025

The Paschal Flame, Here Pictured from Last Year, Held by My Dearly Departed Son, Owen Luke Laiyin Boyd, a Testimony of the Faith and Joy that He Spread to Us, Deeply Missed this Pascha. We Pray that His Soul Rests with Christ and the Saints, as We Continue to Work that He Wanted Us to Do! 

FROM HIS GRACE, JOSEPH, BISHOP OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE WEST 

To the faithful clergy, monastics, and laity of the Ancient Church of the West, grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and bestowing life upon them that lay in the tomb. 

+ PASCHA 2025 +

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, 

Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! 

On this most glorious Feast of Feasts, we stand once more at the threshold of eternity, beholding the empty tomb and the victory of our God. No power of hell, no scheme of man, and no darkness of this fallen world could prevail against the boundless life of Christ. The grave is shattered, the reign of death is ended, and the Kingdom of God has broken forth in glory. The same Lord who was crucified in weakness now reigns in power, and He calls us to share in His triumph. 

Let the words of the ancient hymn be inscribed upon our hearts: “Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered! Let them also that hate Him flee before Him!” For this day the ancient curse is undone, the gates of paradise are flung wide, and all who cleave to Christ with faith and love shall walk in the newness of life. The Risen Lord comes forth as the Sun of Righteousness, shining upon all, filling the Church with His divine light, and calling His people into the radiance of His Kingdom. 

Yet, my beloved brothers and sisters, Pascha is not only a feast to be celebrated, but a life to be lived. The triumph of Christ over sin and death is not only an event of history but the very foundation of our hope, the wellspring of our courage, and the pledge of our eternal inheritance. Let us, then, cast off the old leaven of malice and wickedness, and let us keep the feast in sincerity and truth. Let us walk as children of the Resurrection, bearing witness to the life of Christ in a world still groaning under the weight of sin. The light of Pascha is not for this night alone, but for all the days of our pilgrimage. 

To you, my dear shepherds of Christ’s flock, I commend the charge given to the Apostles: Preach the Resurrection with boldness, confirm the faithful in holiness, and extend the mercy of the Gospel to all who hunger for the truth. To you, beloved monastics, I bid you keep vigil in prayer, that the joy of the Resurrection may take deep root in your hearts. And to all the faithful, young and old, I say: Rejoice, for Christ is truly risen, and in Him, you shall never die! 

May the Light of the Risen Christ shine brightly in your homes, in your parishes, and in your hearts, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. 

Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

✠ JOSEPH

Bishop of the Ancient Church of the West, Secretary to the Holy Synod in the Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Ordinary for the Missionary Diocese of East and Southeast Asia, Pascha, April 20TH, AD 2025.

Let the Little Children Come Unto Me, For Such is the Kingdom of Heaven!