Pascha Encyclical of His Eminence Archbishop of Toronto and Metropolitan of Canada Mitrofan

EASTER MESSAGE OF HIS EMINENCE,
ARCHBISHOP OF TORONTO AND METROPOLITAN OF CANADA, MR. MITROFAN
ON EASTER 2026

Dear spiritual children in Christ,

I greet you all with the most joyful words:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

He is truly risen!

The holy and great feast of the Resurrection of Christ brings us together again in the joy of the Church, to celebrate the victory of life over death, of light over darkness, and of truth over every lie of this world. On this bright and saving day, when heaven and earth rejoice, when angels rejoice, and the human race receives the hope of eternal life, we hear the words of the holy Apostle Paul that echo through the centuries:

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14) .

These words of the apostle are not an expression of doubt, but a testimony to the profound truth of the Christian faith. For the Resurrection of Christ is not one of many events in the history of humanity, but the very foundation and heart of our faith. Everything that the Church preaches, everything that she lives and witnesses, everything that the apostles preached and the martyrs witnessed with their blood, stands and has meaning precisely because Christ truly rose from the dead.

If Christ had not risen, the Cross would have been a sign of defeat, not of victory. If Christ had not risen, the suffering of the righteous would have been in vain, and man's hope for eternal life would have been only a comforting passing thought. If Christ had not risen, then death would have had the last word in the history of the world. But the Church throughout the centuries has confessed with unwavering faith that the incarnate Son of God rose from the dead.

The Resurrection is not just a spiritual lesson or a symbolic story. It is a real and saving event. The Lord Jesus Christ, who voluntarily suffered on the Cross for the salvation of the world, rose from the grave on the third day, destroying the power of death and opening the way of resurrection for every person.

Therefore, the Holy Apostle Paul continues his testimony with the words: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20) .

In the Risen Christ, the true meaning of human life is revealed. Man was not created for transience and nothingness, but for eternity. He was not created for the darkness of death, but for the light of the Kingdom of God. For through His Resurrection “the justification of life came to all men” (Rom. 5:18) . For man has found the meaning of his existence.

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the world we live in, we often encounter doubt, fear, and spiritual emptiness. Many people today live as if death has the last word. Many seek the meaning of life in fleeting things, in wealth, fame, or power, but they soon realize that anything that is fleeting cannot fill the depths of the human heart.

Only the Risen Christ gives true hope. Only He reveals that love has a greater power than death. The Resurrection of Christ also reveals a new way of life. It calls us to live as people of the resurrection. This means that in our lives we overcome hatred with love, injustice with mercy, and selfishness with sacrifice for our neighbors.

Saint Gregory the Theologian says: “Yesterday we were crucified with Christ, today we are glorified with Him; yesterday we died with Him, today we are resurrected with Him.”

This holiday reminds us that the Christian life is not just a belief in an idea, but a participation in the life of the Risen Christ. When we forgive one another, when we reconcile with our brothers and sisters, when we help the poor and comfort the grieving, then we testify that the Resurrection is not just a holiday we celebrate once a year, but a life we ​​live every day.

Especially in this time, when many people feel loneliness and spiritual uncertainty, we are called to be witnesses of hope. The Church of Christ is not a community of fear, but a community of risen joy. That is why the feast of the Resurrection calls us to be spiritually renewed. To return to prayer, repentance and love. To return to one another as brothers and sisters.

The tomb of Christ, which was sealed and guarded, became a source of life. The stone that was placed at the entrance of the tomb could not hold back the Giver of Life. So even the darkness of this world cannot extinguish the light of the Resurrection. Throughout the history of the Church, many have tried to extinguish that light – through persecution, injustice, and suffering. But faith in the Resurrection has always renewed the Church and given strength to believers to remain faithful to Christ.

Today we are called to the same fidelity. To preserve the faith of our holy fathers, not to allow the spirit of this world to distance us from the truth of the Gospel. For without the Resurrection there is no Church, no salvation, no true hope.

Therefore, today, with the apostles, martyrs, and all the saints, we joyfully confess the truth that forever changed the history of the world:

Christ is risen from the dead, by death he has destroyed death and to those in the tombs he has granted life!

May the joy of this great holiday fill your homes, your families, and your hearts. May the Risen Lord strengthen the sick, comfort the grieving, strengthen the faint-hearted, and grant peace to the entire world.

We pray that the light of the Resurrection will always guide us on the path of faith, hope, and love, so that we too, after this transient life, may be participants in eternal joy in the Kingdom of God.

Once again, we greet you with all our heart and soul:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

He is truly risen!

With archpastoral love,
your prayer before the Risen Christ,

ARCHBISHOP OF TORONTO,
METROPOLITAN OF CANADA
MITROPHAN