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

PASCHA ENCYCLICAL OF HIS EMINENCE
ARCHBISHOP OF TORONTO AND METROPOLITAN OF CANADA DR. MITROFAN
ON PASCHA 2026

Beloved spiritual children in Christ,

I greet you all with the most joyful words:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

INDEED HE IS RISEN!

The holy and great feast of the Resurrection of Christ once again gathers us in the joy of the Church, that we may celebrate the victory of life over death, light over darkness, and truth over every falsehood of this world. On this radiant and saving day, when heaven and earth rejoice, when the angels exult and the human race receives the hope of eternal life, we hear the words of the holy Apostle Paul resounding through the ages: “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 merely one of many events in the history of humanity, but the very foundation and heart of our faith. Everything the Church proclaims, everything she lives and bears witness to, everything the apostles preached and the martyrs testified to with their blood, stands and has meaning precisely because Christ has truly risen from the dead.

If Christ had not risen, the Cross would be a sign of defeat and not of victory. If Christ had not risen, the suffering of the righteous would be in vain, and the human hope for eternal life would be only a passing and comforting thought. If Christ had not risen, then death would have had the final word in the history of the world. But the Church throughout the ages confesses with unwavering faith that the Incarnate Son of God has risen from the dead.

The Resurrection is not merely 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 tomb on the third day, destroying the power of death and opening the path of resurrection to every human being.

Therefore the Holy Apostle Paul continues his testimony with the words: “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become 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). In Him, humanity has found the true meaning of its existence.

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the world in which we live, we often encounter doubt, fear, and spiritual emptiness. Many people today live as though death has the final word. Many seek the meaning of life in passing things – in wealth, fame, or power – but soon realize that everything that passes away cannot fill the depth of the human heart.

Only the Risen Christ gives true hope. Only He reveals that love has 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 neighbor.

Saint Gregory the Theologian says: “Yesterday I was crucified with Christ; today I am glorified with Him. Yesterday I died with Him; today I rise with Him.”

This feast reminds us that the Christian life is not merely belief in an idea, but participation in the life of the Risen Christ. When we forgive one another, when we are reconciled with our brothers and sisters, when we help the poor and comfort the sorrowful, then we bear witness that the Resurrection is not only a feast 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 resurrected joy. Therefore the feast of the Resurrection calls us to spiritual renewal: to return to prayer, repentance, and love; to return to one another as brothers and sisters.

The tomb of Christ, which had been sealed and guarded, became the source of life. The stone placed at the entrance of the tomb could not contain the Giver of Life. In the same way, the darkness of this world cannot extinguish the light of the Resurrection. Throughout the history of the Church, many have attempted to extinguish that light – through persecutions, injustice, and suffering. Yet faith in the Resurrection has always renewed the Church and given strength to the faithful to remain devoted to Christ.

Today we too are called to the same faithfulness: to preserve the faith of our holy fathers and not to allow the spirit of this world to distance us from the truth of the Gospel. For without the Resurrection there is neither the Church, nor salvation, nor true hope.

Therefore today, together with the apostles, the martyrs, and all the saints, we joyfully confess the truth that forever changed the history of the world: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

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

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

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

CHRIST IS RISEN!

TRULY HE IS RISEN!

With archpastoral love,
your prayerful intercessor before the Risen Christ,

ARCHBISHOP OF TORONTO,
METROPOLITAN OF CANADA
MITROFAN