On the eve of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, the hierarch of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, archbishop George of St. Michael and Kosice, sent Easter greetings to His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Onuphry and the flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“For more than a year now, the coronavirus epidemic has been raging and tormenting the whole world. God-saved Ukraine has a cross at the same time. We all in the world confess the Way of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, going through this difficult time. But relying on the word of God, pronounced at the appearance of the Holy Cross of the Lord under the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great: “In this you conquer!” – we firmly believe and know that if we manage to crucify our sufferings to the Cross of the Lord, then after each Cross there is a Resurrection. Only after suffering, when a person is crucified to Christ, does the Resurrection come.

On this occasion today, on Great and Holy Monday, at the very beginning of Holy Week, we here in Slovakia, in the cathedral of the Orthodox city of Kosice. We want to congratulate His Beatitude, His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Onuphry, the canonical Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – and his flock, entrusted by God, with the upcoming Serene Triumph of the Victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over death, fear, illness, sin.

We rejoice together with you and hope together with you, we look forward to meeting again and serving together, concelebrating you, Your Beatitude, and being blessed with your words.

On this occasion, already anticipating the coming of the Celebration, we take off the mask and happily say to you and everyone: Christ is Risen!”.