Patriarch Daniel, April 19, 2020: ‘Christ’s Resurrection today is for us as always a source of light and peace, a source of joy, but also a source of spiritual power to fight the hardships of life, including to fight with the disease, the fear of death, and suffering, with everything that severely befalls us and worries us these days, everything that makes us thoughtful and instils uncertainty for our present and future.’
Patriarch Daniel proclaimed the resurrection of Christ from the doorsteps of his patriarchal residence in an empty courtyard, which usually welcomed more than one thousand believers every year for the Easter Vigil.
Millions of Romanians from home and abroad, however, joined the Patriarch of Romania through television, radio, and other digital platforms, to hear the Easter proclamation resound once again in their hearts, in their homes, and the entire world.
During the live-streamed Easter Vigil on Saturday night, the Patriarch of Romania started his sermon with the first words spoken by Jesus Christ after his resurrection: ‘Don’t be afraid!’, ‘Rejoice!’, and ‘Peace be to you!’
Patriarch Daniel referred to Jesus as a Saviour, Healer and Liberator of humankind in a time when ‘people around the world are in a state of fear, trouble and anxiety.’
Under current conditions, ‘Christ the risen One from the dead meets mystically with us on the path of our lives, in our homes, and especially in the habitation of our soul and tells us “Do not be afraid,” “Rejoice”, “Peace be with you!”‘
‘The crucified and risen Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, that is, the Healer and Liberator of humankind from the sin of disobedience of our first parents Adam and Eve. He is our Redeemer and Healer of sickness and death,’ Patriarch Daniel said adding that death is first understood as a separation of the soul and body, but also as man’s driving away from God.
The Patriarch noted that Jesus’ name means ‘God delivers’ or ‘God saves,’ and highlighted that in both Greek and Latin, the term Saviour has a double meaning: healer and redeemer.
Referring to the world which is now afraid of sickness and death amid coronavirus pandemic, His Beatitude quoted the Book of Wisdom of Solomon 1:13 saying that ‘God did not make death, neither does He have pleasure over the destruction of the living.’
‘So, death is the consequence of the protoparents Adam and Eve’s deception by the devil who told them you will be like God, but without God or against God. Through disobedience they separated themselves from God, the source of life,’ Patriarch Daniel said at the midnight Easter vigil.
“Sin attracted many diseases, a lot of suffering,” the Patriarch of Romania went on saying. “And Christ the Lord, the New Adam, becomes a mortal Man to heal us from sin and death.”
The Patriarch noted that by repentance, Christ wants to heal the sinful man from his selfish, arrogant and possessive lifestyle to be able to become generous, humble and merciful.
Christ healed many people, the Patriarch recalled. He performed miracles either in response to the faith of those who were healed or their fellows or even just out of merciful love for any suffering man.
‘The Lord Christ is a merciful Physician. He does not make miracles to assert Himself, but because He loves those who suffer with humble and merciful love.’
Ending his speech, the Patriarch prayed to God to give “good health to the sick, patience and skillfulness to all doctors and medical staff, comfort to the bereaved and rest to the departed souls.”
He mentioned priests and volunteers who had an intense activity under crisis conditions and all those who work for the welfare of the Romanian people.
Patriarch Daniel wished all those isolated in their houses due to the pandemic to spend “the Easter holidays with good health and peace, joy and much help from God.”
