Do Not Despair, My Friends

May 12, 2008
My Friends Do Not Despair


My friends, do not despair. The trials we undergo and the trials of our brethren in Christ all over the the world, are not for vain, for our Lord died on the Cross, and was Resurrected Again on the day when the enemies were sure that they had conquered. For The "death" was for them the proof of their supremacy over our Lord, it was the proof of their supremacy of their heretical and worldly wisdoms over the simple and True Wisdom of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Creator of all, the Creator, even of those who had the audacity to crucify Him.

So it is with Kosovo. All of us are undergoing a purification stage. A dear friend wrote me a letter stating essentially that life here on this earth will be full of trials, this he has come to accept, and no less than Christ, Himself has told us this.

Through many tricks and soothsayings of our enemies, the Serbians have been beguiled, and I fear in many cases disenfranchised from speaking with their true Orthodox Heart, and being allowed to let that guide them in how they relate to God, to themselves and to the world.

But I know that when we are in our darkest hour, the Lord God, is there right beside us, waiting for us to call upon Him, and also I feel strongly that He will use this apparent defeat of Orthodox Serbia, to prove to the world that He Has Overcome. Christ Is Risen, and enemies of the Church shall not prevail...what seems to all to be an appearance of defeat, is but the seeds of a quiet, yet incorruptible outrage. Was not all creation trembling when our Lord died on the cross, and yet did not all creation exalt Him and exult in the secret places of their beings and outwardly, the Triumph of our Lord on the Day of Resurrection.

We are here being tempered, and do not despair...this earth is boastful of its transient and apparent victories. Let us not be fooled...we have the witness of the Martyrs, of Christ Himself.

Christ is Risen From the Dead Trampling Down Death by Death, and Upon Those in the Tomb Bestowing Life. Serbia has been transformed into a tomb, but the seed of its Church is with God, and shall Resurrect.

In Christ, my Brethren.