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The message notes that, as human beings, we have experienced times of war and darkness throughout our history. “In our personal lives as well, we sometimes fall,” reads the message. “We believe that, through his death, Jesus physically carried the burden of our fall.”
Yet that fall did not crush him: he stood back up, he rose again, the message notes.
“This marvelous light guides and empowers God's faithful people to show forth the Almighty's wondrous deeds of mercy to the poor, the downtrodden, and the oppressed,” reads the message. “With deep gratitude for God's redeeming grace in Christ, we embrace this mission, especially as we seek to respond pastorally to all who have suffered so grievously in our region over the past eighteen months.”
The message calls upon Christians and others of goodwill from around the world to recommit themselves to working and praying for the relief of the afflicted, the release of all captives, and an end to the wars and assaults that have led to immeasurable human suffering, death, and destruction throughout the beloved Holy Land—as well as in other parts of the world similarly stricken.
“While offering this Easter message to Christians everywhere, we would like to convey our special greetings to our faithful clergy and people taking refuge over the past year-and-a-half inside St Porphyrios Orthodox Church and Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza,” reads the text. “We likewise express our solidarity with the staff of the Anglican-run Ahli Arab Hospital, who have courageously persevered in extending God's healing hand to the critically wounded in the midst of unspeakable hardships.”
Finally, the message notes with gladness that this year the eastern and western celebrations of Easter fall on the same date. “Providentially, this coincides with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first of the great ecumenical councils that brought together Christian leaders from around the world,” the message reads. "We pray that this happy confluence of events may inspire our churches to increasingly strive for greater unity in Christ.”
