Paschal Greeting from His Eminence Metropolitan SABA

Beloved Clergy and Faithful of God in this blessed Archdiocese of North America,

CHRIST IS RISEN!

You know that Passover comes from the Hebrew word Pesach which means “to cross”
or “to pass over.” The Greek word Pascha stems from the same Hebrew word. The
Ancient Arabs in the Levant used to say fasaha to mean that someone has crossed or
passed over something.
In the Old Testament, Passover referred to the crossing of the Red Sea by the people
of Moses, so it became a feast of the crossing from the land of slavery to the land of
freedom. In the New Testament, however, Passover refers to crossing over from the
world of enslavement to sin to the world of liberation, by God, from every chain that
may pull us to spiritual and physical death.
This great feast reminds us of what God had done for us. He died and every kind of
death died with Him. And He arose and raised us with Him to the fullness of life. Thus,
through His death and resurrection we are able to pass from death, every kind of death,
to life—the fullness of life.
I pray that you have a glorious Pascha and a personal experience of resurrection in your
life.
CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, TRAMPLING DOWN DEATH BY
DEATH, AND UPON THOSE IN THE TOMBS BESTOWING LIFE!
Your Father in the Risen Christ,
+SABA