Paschal Message of UOC Primate: Everyone can receive the key to Paradise from God

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: UOC

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine addressed the Paschal Message to archpastors, pastors, monastics and all faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, reports the UOC Information and Educational Department.

In his message, the Primate emphasized the spiritual meaning of Christ's Resurrection as the victory of life over death and the return of lost Paradise to humanity, calling on the faithful to seek true blessedness in unity with God and trust in Him.

We present the full text of the Paschal Message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.

"Christ is Risen!

With these ever-living words, I greet all of you: God-loving archpastors and pastors, devout monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters, on our greatest Christian Feast – the most glorious Resurrection of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Resurrection of Christ is the triumph of life over death, of light over darkness, and of good over evil. Through His all-glorious Resurrection, our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ completed His blessed work of saving the human race. Man, created by God and adorned with the Divine image, sinned against God in Paradise. Refusing to repent, he turned away from the life in Paradise and began to live on earth devastated by sin: in sorrow, illness, and fruitless labour. And then man realized what he had deprived himself of, but it was already too late. Adam spent his entire life remembering the lost Paradise, weeping bitterly and saying: 'Oh, my Paradise, my Paradise, my beautiful Paradise.'

But the Creator had mercy on His creation. Divine Love descends from Heaven to man embittered and mutilated by sin: God takes upon Himself the image of fallen man, heals him, sanctifies and raises him to Heaven. The salvific feat of man's redemption is completed by the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the great triumph of the victory of life over death.

It is precisely this sacred event that we today joyfully remember and prayerfully glorify. Today we rejoice together with the holy Myrrh-bearing Women, to whom the Angel of God appeared at the Life-giving Tomb and said: 'You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified; He is risen, He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples… that He goes before you into Galilee; there you will see Him" (Mk. 16, 6–7).

We today are filled with sacred amazement together with the apostles Luke and Cleopas, to whom the Risen Christ appeared on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, spoke with them, yet they recognized Him only after the blessing of bread, but the Risen Christ became invisible. Then, filled with sacred awe and heartfelt love for the Risen Christ, their Divine Teacher and Lord, Luke and Cleopas said to one another: 'Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" (Lk. 24:32).

We today join the holy Apostles, to whom the Risen Christ appeared 'when the doors were shut', that is, without opening the doors, and said: 'Peace be with you!', then showed them His hands, feet, and side. The apostles rejoiced when they saw the Lord. The Savior said to them again: 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' And when He had said this, the Savior breathed on them and said to them: 'Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained' (Jn. 20, 19–23).

On this Great and Holy Day we together with all the Orthodox world offer humble gratitude and prayerful praise to God, our Creator and Maker, for the fact that He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (Jn. 3, 16).

Through the Glorious Resurrection, lost Paradise is returned to humanity. The gates of Paradise are now closed not from within, but from without, that is, every person, if he only desires, can take from God the sacred key and open for themselves the gates of Paradise. This sacred key is found on Golgotha where our Savior and Lord was crucified on the Cross, destroyed our sins and freed us from the power of the devil, delivering us from his hand. On Golgotha, Divine love conquered human malice, God's mercy destroyed human sins and the peace of God became higher than all enmity.

Christian, take your cross, made up of sorrows, illnesses and other life trials, and ascend Golgotha and be crucified on it, that is, become unsympathetic to earthly sinful passions, and turn to God with reasonable love. Crucified love is that sacred key with which you, in your time, will open for yourself the gates of Paradise, where there are no sorrows, illnesses and grief, but only joy, peace and blessedness.

Let us hasten, dear brothers and sisters, to the restored Paradise, and let us remember that there is no blessedness in earthly pleasures and entertainments, nor in wealth, nor in high positions; there are only promises there, but blessedness itself is not there. Blessedness is only in God and with God, and no matter who a person is or what they possess, they can attain true blessedness only if they love God in their heart and entrust themselves to Him. It is precisely for this that Christ suffered and rose again, so that He might gather together not only the faithful but also the scattered children of God (John 11:52) and bring them into the eternal blessedness of the life of Paradise.

Once again I congratulate all of you, dear brothers and sisters, on the Great Day of Christ's Resurrection, the Lord's Pascha. Saint Gregory the Theologian says that the Lord's Pascha is a Feast of feasts and a Solemnity of solemnities, and it surpasses all earthly celebrations, as the sun surpasses the stars. I wish everyone health, salvation, joy and happiness. May our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, who granted us the great victory of life, keep all of you; especially our warriors, who at the cost of their own lives defend our land and people. May the Risen Christ pacify the hearts of those warring against us and bless our land with peace, so that we may unite in Christ and joyfully sing the sacred song of Christ's Resurrection: 'Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life' (Paschal troparion). Amen.

Truly Christ is Risen!

Humble

+ Onuphry

Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine

Christ's Pascha
2026
Kyiv"

As the UOJ wrote, the Patriarch of Jerusalem in his Paschal message called: Be not affrighted – Christ has conquered death.

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