EASTER EPISTLE 2026

K S E N О F О N Т

By the grace of God, Orthodox Bishop
of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren in Exile

To my spiritual children, the monastic community,
the clergy and the faithful people
of the Diocese of Raška-Prizren in Exile,
we salute you with the all-joyful Paschal greeting

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but has risen; remember
as he told you while he was still in Galilee,
saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up
into the hands of sinful men and be crucified
and on the third day to rise again.

(Luke 24: 5-7)

And so Jerusalem awaits Jesus in anticipation – on the one hand, the leaders of the people together with the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin and the chief priests are making plans to kill Christ as a false prophet and false messiah, while others who are despised and rejected like the penitent harlot, approach to anoint His most pure feet and unexpectedly receive forgiveness of their sins in return.

Judas, a false disciple of corrupt character, leaves the Upper Room of the Passover Supper, after having first dipped his hand in the same bowl as His Master, and as Adam once did in Paradise, he leaves behind his grace-filled garments bearing the power and incorporeal radiance of the Holy Spirit. Thus does Judas deprive himself of divine grace, thereby uttering those terrible words to Christ’s enemies: „What will you give me if I betray him to you?“ (Matt. 26:15)

Shortly afterwards in the Garden of Gethsemane, these very same enemies attacked the Lord as if He were a thief. They seized Him, they unrighteously judged and condemned Him, they struck Him, spat upon Him and crucified Him upon the Cross. Under the Cross stood His Mother Mary, whose soul was pierced by the sword of pain, as Simeon the God-Receiver had once prophesied would happen. Together with Mary, stood only several Myrrh-bearing Women, and the beloved disciple John, who had earlier leaned on Jesus’ breast at the Mystical Supper.

There are no other apostles or disciples present, for all have fled and hidden themselves, including Peter, the one who assured the Lord that he would not leave Him, even if everyone else would do so. And Peter did indeed renounce His Master and was ashamed of it, and then, repenting, he wept bitterly. And from the Cross and around the Cross, fearful signs appeared: an earthquake and darkness, the resurrection of the dead and the tearing asunder of the Temple veil. And, although the hearts of all trembled and were afraid, no one understood…

After He was laid in the tomb, the Myrrh-bearing Women, although filled with love for their beloved Lord – a love that compels them to come to the tomb under the cover of night before dawn on a Sunday
morning to anoint the most holy and beloved body with precious fragrances – even they did not know and did not understand.

And then, an unexpected sight before their eyes: an empty tomb and the bright appearance of an Angel, who speaks the aforementioned words: „Why do you seek the Living among the dead?“ As if to say: „Now is the time to remember what Jesus prophesied to you, so as to prepare you
and strengthen your faith.“

Therefore, the Church of God, celebrating and remembering, but above all experiencing and rejoicing, begins its most solemn church service with a joyful song:

“ It is the day of Resurrection, let us the people be enlightened!
It is Passover, the Lord’s Passover; for Christ our God has carried us
from death unto life and from earth unto heaven, singing victoriously!“

What is this Passover that the Church of God sings about? The word Passover originates from the Hebrew word ‘Pesach’, which means ‘passage’ or ‘crossing’. And so, a week ago, the Jewish Passover or
‘Pesach’, was celebrated by those still attempting to peer through the veil of shadows, those who still do not see God face to face, incapable of understanding that He became one of us. Not recognizing that the Sun of Righteousness has shone forth from the grave, they walk on by, passing not from death to Life, but remaining in the darkness of unbelief and ignorance, perceiving with neither heart nor mind those good things that God has prepared for those who love Him.

Meanwhile, for seven weeks, the Church and the people of God within it, have prepared for this victorious day of transition from death to life and from earth to heaven, with fasting, prayer, humility and patience.

The seven-week fast of Great Lent also had its own four-week period of preparation, where we learned from Christ about the humility of the Tax Collector, and when together with the Prodigal Son, we cried out to the Father to accept us the fallen ones, once more as His own. We also prayed fervently that we might inherit the portion of the righteous who recognized Christ when He came to on earth, and finally, just before the beginning of Holy Lent itself, we wept together with Adam for the lost inheritance of blessed Paradise.

And already on the first day of Lent we heard the awesome and timeless words of Isaiah: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord says: I have reared and brought up sons, and they have turned away from me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people does not understand. My soul hates your new moons and your feasts. Learn to do well, seek justice, protect the oppressed, defend the orphan and plead justice for the widow. Then come, says the Lord, and let us reason together…” (Is. 1:2-3, 17-18)

Here then is the true preparation for fasting, which is a spiritual ladder ascending from earth to heaven, a ladder at whose very summit – according to The Venerable Ladder of Divine Ascent written by St John
Climacus – God Himself awaits with open arms, into which He receives those who love Him, bestowing through His own love, the justice and righteousness about which Isaiah prophesizes.

Thus according to the words of the Lord Himself, if our own righteousness is not greater than the righteousness of the Sadducees and the Pharisees – which alas, is precisely the case with us today – if it is
not, in other words, overflowing with Love and Truth, and in fact with Christ Himself who is both Love and Truth in Person, then all human righteousness will be like unto filthy rags before the Lord, as the holy prophet Isaiah also declares.

Thus did we zealously prepare ourselves with much fasting and spiritual effort, so that we would be able to both experience and endure the full depth of Paschal joy with its transition from Death to Life and from Earth to Heaven.

Therefore, everything from Genesis to Revelation is subject to and organized upon what constitutes the ideal of true righteousness for man. All things in the life of the Church are arranged to offer and enable man eternal, everlasting joy and the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven, a
Kingdom which must be found first and foremost within ourselves. This is the whole meaning and essence of man’s being and existence here on Earth, to be a Son, to be an heir, to be perfect, even as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

And in these difficult and tragic times, which are, after all, a daily and never-ending affliction for Orthodox Serbs, we oftentimes observe the world around us and ask ourselves: „Where is God?” But only if we listen carefully will we actually hear the call from the other side, replying: “Adam, where are you?” – just as what happened once before, when, instead of being immortal and wise, mankind finds itself naked, ashamed, and mortified, attempting to hide from the Face of the Living God, from Whom nothing can be hidden.

God therefore, has not abandoned man, neither then, nor today, nor at any other moment in the history of mankind. On the contrary, it is man who has abandoned God and does not want Him. It is man who
kabbalistically nails God to the Cross and, together with Nietzsche, declares Him dead. It is therefore man himself who is hiding from God, as once did Adam in Paradise following his transgression against the Lord’s commandment. That is why Elder Paisios of Mount Athos exhorts us, the tragic children of this apocalyptic century saying: „Everything I see and hear around me is so horrible, terrifying, and
nightmarish, that I would fall into complete despair if I did not know that God has the last word!“

Man however, who was created immortal and for eternal communion with God, by his own free choice chose nakedness. And for a covering, he chose garments of skin subject to corruption and death, by preferring the temporary, short-lived pleasure of sin. But God, who does not want the death and devastation of man, therefore becomes man Himself, in order to deify human nature, carry it through the fire of suffering and the gates of death, and again introduce it into eternal life and the imperishable Kingdom.

The basis of our salvation is therefore, that miraculous appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to the humble Virgin of Nazareth and his greeting of joy: „Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee“ – together with the Virgin’s obedient submission to the will of God by saying: „Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word!“

And the Church of God from its beginnings to the present day, bases its identity and its being, its mission and its preaching, precisely on faith in the Resurrection of Christ. Because according to the words of the Apostle Paul: “ if Christ is not risen, then your faith is in vain…” (1 Cor. 15:17); and Christ himself, before raising the four-days dead Lazarus from the tomb, testifies to Lazarus’ sister Martha that “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will
live.” (John 11:25)

Faith in the Risen Christ and our own crucifixion and resurrection with Him has always been the faith of every truly believing Orthodox Serb. Indeed, this evangelical preaching of ‘crucifixional-resurrection’ forms the essential identity, being and mission of the Diocese of Raška-Prizren in Exile, a fundamentally organic part of the Mystical Body of God’s Church throughout history, of which Christ is the head. It tirelessly and constantly preaches this faith to each and all, testifying that the Church is the pillar and foundation, the perfection and fulfillment of every truth and every righteousness on earth.

Therefore, dear brothers, sisters and spiritual children. Even in these apocalyptic times that we are living through and under the burdens that we bear, we will always and relentlessly proclaim that Truth which is the foundation and basis of every truth with which we have greeted each other so many times on this and on every Easter morning service, that CHRIST IS RISEN!

Throughout the world we hear news of conflicts and wars, unrest and suffering, together with all kinds of evil that man is godlessly capable of perpetrating. But, remembering Our Lord’s promise to us, His “little flock”, we fear nothing, and instead, we greet one another in the belief that truly, CHRIST IS RISEN!

Unfortunately, even in today’s Serbia, where we have an unprecedented combination of nationally and spiritually destructive regime-church structures on the ground, the Diocese of Raška-Prizren in Exile confessingly persists in preaching the Gospel and warning the people about the unprecedented betrayal of the spiritual, national, ethnic, historical and every other interest concerning the Serbian people.

However, if Zola, when defending the unjustly accused Captain Dreyfus knew that, when confronted with all the ruling structures of France at the time, he would exclaim: „I have only one ideal of truth and justice. But I am completely calm – therefore I will win!“, then even more so should every Orthodox Serb know that he must calmly and unwaveringly stand firm for all justice, and for Christ’s distinctive presence in his own ancestral Serbian homelands, and for the Orthodox Faith, knowing that he does not hold the banner of St. Sava alone, but that the entire army of Heavenly Serbia that is with him and by his side supports him.

Let us not forget, in this time when many are rushing to monetize every ideal, Kočić’s words of warning that: „whoever sincerely and passionately loves Truth, Freedom and Fatherland is free and fearless
like God, and despised and hungry like a dog!“ This is especially true in these present, turbulent times of contempt for all truth and freedom, where the Truth of the Gospel, the immortal soul, the Kingdom of
Heaven in which the Saints dwell, and the Resurrection of Christ are no exception, even amongst those who call themselves Christians.

Nevertheless. Let us not forget and let us not grow weary. For only the light of the Risen Christ and His Gospel can be our true beacon and guide in these apocalyptic times of Armageddon, and that terrible
mystery of desolation about which the beloved Theologian of Christ describes to us in Revelation as “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” (Rev. 17:5)

Furthermore, let not our hearts be afraid. Because from Creation to Revelation, all has been revealed and explained, and in the Church of God a great remedy has been given, a way out of every impasse.
Namely, the way of self-denial and the taking up of one’s cross, which is the light and easy yoke of Christ.

In the light of the Risen Christ and in the joy of His Resurrection, we greet all of you, our brothers, sisters and spiritual children in all Serbian lands, and in the Diaspora. May the Lord give you the strength to remain witnesses of His Resurrection by fulfilling all of His commandments every day of your lives.

On these holy days in particular, we especially remember all our crucified brothers and sisters, who were nailed upon the heavy cross of suffering not only by the Agaryan-Arnauti tyrants, but also by those
entrusted with caring for their people, from the degenerate and unpopular current regime in the Serbian government, to the equally unpopular and de-Orthodoxizing Belgrade Patriarchate.

Invoking God’s blessing upon all of you, we pray to the Risen Christ to grant you additional faith and strength to hold on and endure, with the hope that, by preserving the Faith and the Church, we will regain and preserve everything that was lost. Thus do we salute you all with the joyful Paschal greeting: CHRIST IS RISEN!

We rejoice with all of you, dear spiritual children, gathered on this Easter morning in our monasteries, temples, catacombs, wherever you are and where you profess the Orthodox Faith, in the joy of the
Resurrection of Christ; and we invite you to embrace the banner of Saint Sava together, knowing that we do not hold it alone, but that Saint Sava and all the Saints belonging to our own Serbian race, alongside the Saints of all Orthodox Christian peoples are holding it firmly with us.

We prayerfully greet all of you, from all nations and throughout the world, gathered in one faith around the confessional Diocese of Raška-Prizren in Exile, with the most joyful greeting that echoes throughout the entire earth, and from which Hell and the underworld tremble:

Christ is Risen! – He is Risen Indeed!

Your prayers before the Risen Lord Jesus Christ:

+ Bishop of Raska-Prizren in Exile – KSENOFONT

+ Chorbishop of Stara Raška and Loznica – NIKOLAJ

+ Chorbishop of Novo Brdo and Pannonia – MAKSIM

+ Chorbishop of Hvostan and Barajevo – NAUM

Pascha 2026,

In the Monastery of the Holy Mother of God of Three Hands, Mušvete