May 17, 18, and 19 Ascension Cathedral once again presents the annual Oakland Greek Festival! (Check the main website of the Festival for more information!

HOURS: Friday & Saturday – 10am-11pm
Sunday – 11am-9pm

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension
4700 Lincoln Avenue
Oakland, California 94602
510-531-3400

www.OaklandGreekFestival.com

† BARTHOLOMEW
By God’s mercy
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome
and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the Plenitude of the Church
Grace, Peace and Mercy from Christ Risen in Glory

Beloved concelebrants and devout, god-loving children of the Church,

Christ is Risen!

The proclamation of the Resurrection by the myrrh-bearing women to the disciples of Christ was considered delirious. Yet, the word, formerly conceived as delirious, was confirmed as Truth. The risen Lord appeared to His disciples on several occasions.

In our time, the proclamation of the Resurrection is again considered delirious by rationalists. Nonetheless, we faithful not only believe in but also experience the Resurrection as a profoundly truthful fact. Indeed, if necessary, we seal our testimony with self-sacrifice because in the risen Christ we transcend death and are liberated from its fear. Our hearts are filled with joy when we repeat: The Lord has risen. Our saints, who have died according to the world, continue to live among us, responding to our petitions. The world that follows death is truer than the world that precedes death. Christ has risen and dwells among us. He has promised to be with us to the end of the world. And so He is – as our friend, brother, healer, who bestows all good things.

Blessed is our God, who has risen from the dead, granting eternal life to all people. O death, where is your sting? Christ has risen, revealing and ridiculing the one who formerly boasted without end to be a mockery. (See the Canon of St. John Damascene, 4^th tone, 9^th ode) Everything is filled with light and our hearts are replete with limitless joy.

And more than joy, they are filled with strength. For whoever believes in the Resurrection is unafraid of death; and whoever is unafraid of death is spiritually unyielding and unbending inasmuch as what may be the most terrible threat for the majority and for the disbelievers is of little significance to the Christian; for it is the entrance to life itself. The faithful Christian lives the Resurrection even prior to his or her natural death.

The consequence of experiencing the Resurrection is the transformation of the world. It inspires the soul. And an inspired soul also attracts other souls to its ways, when these souls are moved by the genuine joyous experience of immortality. Christ’s Resurrection and our own resurrection are not simply an abstract truth. They are a dogma of faith. They are a tangible reality. They are a force that overcomes the world despite the extremely harsh persecutions waged against it. “This is the victory, which has conquered the world, namely our faith” (1 John 5.4) in His Resurrection. Through the Resurrection, humanity is called to divinity through grace. Through the victory of the light of Resurrection over the impure passions, divine eros and a strange love, which surpasses human boundaries, are established in our souls.

Therefore, Christ is Risen! Our hearts are filled with the light and joy of the Resurrection. We approach the Risen Lord with authenticity and simplicity. For, as the royal Prophet David says, our God, who supervises our hearts from above, “will not despise a broken and contrite heart.” (Psalm 50.19)

The Resurrection is our strength, hope, joy, and delight. Through the Resurrection, we transcend pain and sorrow for all the evils of this natural, worldly life. The Resurrection is God’s response to the helplessness of wounded humanity before the suffering of worldly humanity.

We do not surrender to the difficulties and challenges of the modern world. The gathering of the Lord’s fearful disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem encourages us. We are not afraid because we love everyone, even as He loved us and gave His life for our sake. Mysteriously and invisibly, the Lord accompanies us. We only need to have – and we do have – love. For though love, we understand the power of the Mystery; we know the Mystery itself.

If others hesitate, “garnering their actions in thick sheaves” (Vespers of the Prodigal Son), yet we boast. And if we do not “winnow the chaff of our [sinful and passionate] actions with the wind of His loving-kindness or on the threshing floor of repentance,” the Risen Lord is Love and disperses all forms of darkness and fear that surrounds us, entering our hearts and our world, even when the doors are closed. He “remains with us” permanently through the cross of love. His calling is peace, and He grants us His peace. The powerful of this world pledge and promise peace, but can never produce or realize it. Whereas the power of divine Love, Peace and Wisdom remains beyond all human panic. It is not found on the margins of reality or the surface of human convictions. Instead, it is the heart of humanity, the center of life, the lord of life and death. It is Truth.

The incontestable transcendence of Power invisibly controls the reigns and directs all things, especially at a time when “the minds of so many lie in darkness.”

At this time of widespread dissolution throughout the world, the hope of all throughout the universe, the Wisdom of God, is the presence of the heavenly solution and harmony. At a time of collapse and anticipated death, we have the reality of Resurrection and the strength of our conviction in Christ.

The peace that derives from Him who trampled down death by death through his self-emptying, together with the joy of love, flow and heal our contemporary humanity that sighs and suffers as well as all of creation that groans and laments with us, who “await adoption and redemption” as well as “the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8.20-23)

Truly the Lord is Risen, beloved fathers, brothers and sisters!

Holy Pascha 2013

† Bartholomew of Constantinople
Your fervent supplicant before God

Source

May 5, 2013

Holy Pascha

The Feast of Feasts

Now all things are filled with light; Heaven and earth, and the nethermost regions of the earth.  Let all creation, therefore, celebrate the arising of Christ, whereby it is established.

(Hymn of the Canon of Pascha)

To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this glorious Feast of Feasts filled with the brilliant light and exhilarating joy we find in the presence of our Risen Lord, I proclaim with you,

Χριστός Ἀνέστη! Christ is Risen!

As we gather to worship and give thanks to God for His abundant grace and the manifestation of His power in conquering death and restoring us to life, we affirm in hymn and words the universal impact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. From the Canon of this Holy Feast and the services of the Paschal period, we proclaim, “Now all things are filled with light;” “Christ the Savior of the world…has filled all things with fragrance;” and “All things have been enlightened by His Resurrection.”

Through the power of our Lord’s Resurrection and the revelation of Him as the Source of true and eternal life, all of creation has been filled with the presence of God’s grace.  The light of the Resurrection infuses all things, and no darkness remains.  Nothing remains hidden—the consequences of sin are exposed, and the victory of the Cross is revealed.

The entire universe is also presented with the sweet fragrance of the Gospel through Jesus’ Resurrection.  It is a fragrance of life.  It is fresh and new, permeating creation with hope.  It is a balm that turns despair into anticipation, offers peace in the midst of great turmoil and tragedy, and promises renewed strength and salvation both now and for eternity.

In the light and fragrance of the Resurrection of Christ, all things are enlightened.  Truth is revealed.  The way to life is shown.  The Resurrection calls all people to see the power of Christ over death and to receive in faith the grace of God.  He has now fulfilled His promise to redeem what He created, and all people are asked to open their spiritual eyes to the ultimate power of the Cross and Resurrection.

On this blessed of days, we can clearly see and know the impact of the Resurrection and the Feast of Holy Pascha on our lives.  Through our celebration and our faith in the Risen Lord, we are filled with His divine light, and we see the truth concerning our need for redemption and salvation.  The sweet fragrance of the Gospel fills us with hope and offers healing.  In the completed and perfected victory of our Lord, we see God’s promises fulfilled.  Every part of our being, every aspect of our lives, every relationship, every thought and word encounters the Risen Lord.

As we joyfully celebrate this Feast, may we embrace the Risen Lord and bathe in the light of the Resurrection.  May we see that the power of the Resurrection has a tremendous impact on the universe, on our world, and on our lives; and may we receive the grace and life offered by Christ so that we are led out of sin and death into blessed and eternal life in His glorious presence.  I wish you, your community, and your families a wonderful and beautiful Feast filled with the light and joy of Pascha.

With paternal love in the Risen Lord,

†DEMETRIOS

Archbishop of America

Source

This night across our Metropolis our communities are overflowing. We have put on our best attire and gathered as a parish to celebrate our Lord’s Resurrection. Everyone is excited and in good spirits, anticipating the announcement of the Good News. We greet one another with joy. All of this reminds me of the verse from the great Doxastikon of Pascha, “Let us be glorious in splendor for the festival, and let us embrace one another.” I too, join you in this celebration and greet you in the name of our Resurrected Lord.

Most of you have gathered this night to hold a lit candle, to proclaim the Resurrection of Christ, and to sing the joyous hymns of our Church. A candle was placed in your hands at your baptism when you first proclaimed your faith in Christ the King and Lord of your life and you were united with Him. You became a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God, who became one of us for our sakes. And, as Saint Paul writes to the Philippians , “Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” (Philippians 2:8-11).

Tonight, as you hold the lit candle, you recommit yourself to that baptismal faith. In the Church you experience the Resurrected Christ. Tonight, as you sing the hymn “Christ is Risen!” you are proclaiming the single most important dimension of your Orthodox Christian faith. As Saint Paul writes, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain,” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Our belief in the Resurrection is the centerpiece of the Gospel. The teachings of the Apostles of Christ begin with this event. The Resurrection is the ultimate victory of God over the power of sin, Satan, and death. This victory is not just of Christ Himself but also a victory for all those who are united with Him. As the Apostle Peter writes “By His great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3).

Our Paschal faith is more than an experience of lit candles and joyful singing for just one night, or the repetition of an ancient ritual of long ago. If all the candles were missing and all the rituals and customs of our heritage were put aside, we would still proclaim the Resurrection with great joy. The Apostles were filled with the experience of the Resurrection and spread this Good news throughout the world. They established a Church where the experience of the Resurrection was translated into actions of service and ministry. We are today’s apostles. We have accepted the call to continue their mission in our time. The Doxastikon of Pascha commands us to speak and engage those “who hate us” and to “forgive all things.” These are the actions of reconciliation, of restoring relationships and of recognizing our solidarity and equality with all. Our faith in the Resurrection should compel us to share our faith with others and to work for unity and harmony among all people. Our baptismal Faith on this most glorious Feast of Feasts calls us to become servants of all and spread the Good News of God’s power over death and all adversaries that would keep us from His love and Goodness.

May the unwaning light of His Resurrection be your guide now and forever.

Truly He is Risen!

The Ascension Cathedral Fellowship Gathering and Pascha Picnic following the Agape Services is being at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. You can reserve your tables in advance or just come! No admission fee and parking is free.
Picnic photo © 2006 Dustin M. Ramsey