PASCHAL GRAMMATA

PASCHAL ENCYCLICAL AND APOSTOLIC GRAMMATA

Of His Eminence, ++Rogelio

By the Mercy of God, Presiding Metropolitan of Manila and Luzon

To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, Reverend and Beloved Clergy, Honored Monastics, and all the Christ-loving Faithful of the Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church of the Philippines, the Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in East Asia, and the Ancient Church of the West:

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Beloved in the Lord,

“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

With one heart and one voice, we proclaim the victory which no power of earth or hell can overthrow: “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.” (Matthew 28:6). Christ is risen from the dead, and by His rising He has trampled down death, despoiled Hades, and restored our fallen nature to life and incorruption. The Apostle testifies, “Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” (Romans 6:9).

This mystery is not a remembrance only, but a present and living participation. For as many as have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into His death and raised into His life; and in the Holy Eucharist we partake of His glorified Body and Blood, becoming by grace what He is by nature. Thus the Resurrection is the very life of the Church, the fountain from which all grace flows.

Therefore, with the holy Fathers, we cry aloud in the joy of Pascha. Hear the voice of the golden-mouthed Chrysostom: “Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free… O death, where is thy sting? O hell, where is thy victory?” In these words the Church does not merely rejoice; she proclaims the overthrow of the last enemy and the liberation of mankind.

This same victory we encounter and receive in the holy and apostolic Liturgy entrusted to us. In the ancient rite of St. James, the inheritance of the undivided Church and the fountain of all liturgical tradition, we proclaim with boldness that Christ “hast destroyed death by Thy death, and hast given life unto the world.” This sacred worship, preserved and restored among us, is no innovation but the living continuity of the Apostolic Church, handed down in faithfulness and offered now in our own tongue and culture, yet unchanged in its essence . Here heaven descends to earth, and the faithful are lifted into the heavenly places, becoming truly “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Beloved, in this radiant season we give thanks with trembling joy, for the Lord has not left His Church without witness in our days. We behold with our own eyes the signs of His resurrectional power at work among us. Many souls, long scattered in confusion and spiritual hunger, have come home to the Apostolic Faith. Communities once small and hidden have grown into living parishes, shining as lamps in their cities. The monastic life has taken root and begun to flower, offering unceasing prayer before the throne of God. Our Holy Synod abides in unity and charity, not by compulsion or worldly order, but through the grace of conciliar love. Doctrine has been clarified, and canonical order strengthened, not as a burden, but as a healing medicine for the Body of Christ, for the canons themselves are given as instruments of restoration, guiding the faithful into communion and wholeness.

These things are not of man. They are the work of the Risen Christ in His Body. They are the signs that life has conquered death.

We must also recognize the hour in which we stand. The world around us is at once newly pagan and deeply wounded by a forgotten Christianity. In some places Christ has never been known; in others He has been obscured or abandoned. Yet the truth remains unchanging: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8). In such a time, the calling of the Church is neither to conform nor to retreat, but to manifest the life of Christ with clarity and peace. The faith once delivered to the saints must be lived in its fullness, neither diluted nor distorted, but embodied in such a way that every culture may receive it, be purified by it, and be transfigured through it.

For the Church is not bound to one land or language, but is the living Body of Christ extended into every nation. As our theological inheritance teaches, the divine life flows outward from God, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, drawing all creation back into communion. Thus every people and culture may be baptized into this life, not erased, but fulfilled in Christ.

In this light, we give thanks for the restoration of our Western Orthodox patrimony. What we have received is not novelty, but continuity—the faith of Ambrose and Augustine, the worship of the ancient Western and Celtic Churches, the clarity of the Caroline Divines, and the fidelity of the Non-Jurors. We have not invented a new way, but returned to the old paths, as the Prophet commands: “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein.” (Jeremiah 6:16). What God has revealed, the Church receives; what the Church has received, she faithfully transmits.

Therefore, beloved children, let us not grow weary in well-doing. Let each of us enter more deeply into the life which has been given. Let prayer be constant upon your lips, repentance ever present in your heart, and charity the bond of your life together. Approach the Holy Mysteries with reverence and faith, for in them is life everlasting. Let your homes be sanctified by prayer, your families strengthened in love, and your communities bound together in truth and peace. If we have been raised with Christ, let us seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

And now, in this most holy and radiant feast, we proclaim again the invitation of the Church to all mankind: “Enter ye all into the joy of your Lord; receive your reward, both the first and the last.” Let none despair of mercy; let none remain in darkness; let none fear death. For Christ is risen, and in Him all things are made new.

May the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, who by His death hath destroyed death and by His rising hath restored life, grant unto you peace of heart, steadfastness in faith, unity in love, and perseverance unto the end. And may the Holy Spirit guide and preserve this growing communion of Churches, that we may remain faithful to the Apostolic Tradition, radiant in holiness, and fruitful in mission, until we behold the glory of His Kingdom.

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Given under our hand and seal,

in the holy and radiant season of Pascha,

from Manila and Luzon,

++Rogelio

Presiding Metropolitan