απο τ η ν π ε ρ ιφ ε ρ ε ια
Εξωφυλλο
fr o m the d i s tr i ct
10
KPHTH | April 2014
I
1
2
3
1. New board members of the Cretan Brotherhood of New York.
2. New board members for the Minos chapter.
3. New board members of the Omonoia and Labrys chapters.
f there are any amongst you who wonder why our spirits
are so high, why on this particular day we think that the
message of Orthodoxy is the most clear, or why our confidence now is at its strongest, it springs forth from the fact
that our faith is based upon the indisputable historical
reality of the Resurrected Christ, who made the supreme
sacrifice for our sins. “For God so loved the world, that He
gave His Only-begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe
in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Can you think that entailed in two small words, Christos Anesti, we are given the most stunningly brilliant
condensation of the Christian Faith, from where we
find the true meaning of the Christian religion, and hence Christians
have their faith confirmed. For when
Christ was resurrected from the dead
on the third day according to the
scriptures, He laid the cornerstone of
the entire Christian church. For does
not Paul, the Apostle to all nations,
say so eloquently, “If Christ was not
resurrected, then our message is
empty and our faith has been made
foolish?” (1 Cor. 15:14).
We often say (Justin Martyr in the
first century) that the Resurrection
is the Alpha and the Omega of the
Christian Faith. We say this to signify
that everything about Christianity is
contained in the historical reality of
the Resurrection. Perhaps it would
be more appropriate to describe the
Resurrection in this way: it is like good medicine that
has entered the bloodstream of mankind. Throughout
history, most cultures held the belief in life after death.
Thus, when God sent to us His only begotten Son to die
for our sins, this message resonated in the hearts of
men the world over. The Resurrection confirmed what
the people suspected, that there is life after death, and
through Christ eternal life is now available to all who cry
out to Him for mercy.
Did not St. John Chrysostom, one of the greatest of the
early Church Fathers say that the Tomb of Christ is God’s
sign to us, that indeed, through Christ, each believer will
now resurrect from the dead, immortal. And did not another Church Father, Athanasios, say that our resurrection from the dead is made certain because of Christ.
We should