PASCHA – The Resurrection Day of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
- This is the day the Lord made; let us greatly rejoice and be glad therein!
“Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling down upon death,
and to those in the tombs He has granted life.”
One of the joys of living in an Orthodox land is to hear the Paschal greeting used every day on the street, throughout the forty days of the Resurrection. And to those in other countries, joy bursts into the soul at the unexpected sound of the greeting in one's own language. To our Friends of Mount Sinai Monastery around the globe:
Kristus vstal z mrtvých! Christ is risen! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Христóсъ воскрéсе! Христос васкрсе! Kristus er opstanden! Christus ist auferstanden! Kristus er oppstanden! Le Christ est ressuscité! Christus is opgestaan! Kristus är uppstånden! المسيح قام! حقا قام! (al-Masīḥ qām! Ḥaqqan qām!) Cristo è risorto! המשיח קם! Hristos a înviat! ¡Cristo ha resucitado! 基督復活了! Si Kristo ay nabuhay! ქრისტე აღდგა! Xristos Kuxwoo-digoot! المسيح قام! Kristus on üles tõusnud! 그리스도 부활하셨네! Christ daaztsą́ą́dę́ę́ʼ náádiidzáá! ハリストス復活 Christus het opgestaan! Kristo Amefufukka! Kristus nousi kuolleista! Ua ala aʻe nei ʻo Kristo!
“Angels in the heavens extol Your Resurrection, O Christ our Savior. Count us worthy who are here on earth to glorify You with a pure heart!”
On Renewal Wednesday, April 19th: the Feast of All Sinai Saints:
First we would like to comment on the ongoing situation in Sinai, close to St. Catherine’s Monastery: We at FMSM are receiving inquiries about the well-being of the Monastery brotherhood in light of the Tuesday, April 18th events. It’s in times like these that every expression of support assumes its full impact upon the Sinai community - a small group of monks working to maintain one of Christianity’s most important monuments - not for themselves but for the world - without benefit of any major support system.
We hope that many will recognize the unique value of St. Catherine’s and be concerned about it in these dangerous times. Your help and support for the Monastery will be appreciated.
The Saints of Sinai: The Living Legacy
'Standing out majestically above the waters, and even more powerfully above the cool upland plain', Mount Sinai is the place where union with God was understood as the objective of life.
Moreover, it is the place where countless holy ascetics, martyrs, and teachers summited the goal by pursuing purity of heart, recording their revelations for all generations to follow.
Not surprisingly, this legacy grew on the roots of the Burning Bush where God revealed His name to humankind, and has flourished ever since ‘at the foot of the Mountain' where the first and greatest commandment manifested the path: love God first, above everyone and everything.
Thus, in the light of the risen Christ, both the lawgiver and the fulfillment of the law of love, Renewal Wednesday, the first Wednesday after Holy Pascha, is devoted each year by the universal Orthodox Church to the commemoration of All the Saints of Sinai.
A total of 181 recognized saints include the 3rd c. Martyr-Saints Galaktion and Epistimi, the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sinai and Raitho in the 4th and 5th, St. John Klimakos in the 6th and his disciples throughout the following centuries, theologians and ascetic writers Hesychios, Philotheos, and the two Anastasios of Sinai, Nikon and Moses of Raitho, and St. Gregory of Sinai (of 13th-14th c.) who is credited with translating Sinai’s ancient tradition of hesychasm, or ‘prayer of the heart’ to the Slavic lands, and a cloud of others whose names and struggles in the formidable desert remain hidden in God.
… In whose understanding, to paraphrase St. Hesychios of the Monastery of the Bush, ‘the holy name of Jesus shone without ceasing, bringing to it riches and fullness of light in all its thoughts.’
On Renewal Friday, April 21st: The Monastery Situation Update:
Christ is risen! Christos anesti! Христос воскресе!
In response to all the friends who’ve written asking after our brothers the monks in Sinai, glory to God, they are all well. Draconian security measures are in force throughout the area, but pilgrims are still able to come and go. There are already many checkpoints on the asphalt roads leading to St. Catherine’s, which were put in place decades ago mainly to check id’s, watch for narcotics etc. Now there is added security and the local Bedouin, who are fervent supporters of the monks, are assisting.
As the Light shines in the darkness and is not overcome by it, may the joy of this week of peace and brightness remain untouched in the hearts of the faithful!
Christ is risen! Christos anesti! Христос воскресе!
