Department for External Church Relations
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DECR chairman sends Easter greetings to the state and public figures in far-abroad countries
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, sent Easter greetings to Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; King Felipe VI of Spain; King Philippe of the Belgians; King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands; Duke Hans-Adam II of Lichtenstein; Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany; President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon of the Republic of Columbia; President Andrzej Duda of the Republic of Poland; head of the Bulgarian Royal family Tsar Simeon II; head of the Prussian Royal House Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, and other dignitaries. The text is given below.
Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the feast of Christ's Passover.
As St. John Chrysostom says, “Today people have been united with the angels and send up hymns of praise to God” (1st Paschal Homily), inspiring us to share the Paschal joy with those far and those near.
The risen Christ grants to us the strength to rise above our everyday concerns, to feel the depth of his divine love. Through his glorious Resurrection the Lord renews human nature, revives within the soul the striving towards truth and goodness, enables us to see the beauty of the created world unsullied by sin, and strengthens us in good deeds and service.
I wish you from the risen Christ the Saviour health of soul and body, peace and prosperity.
With respect,
+ Hilarion
Metropolitan of Volokolamsk
Chairman
Department for External Church Relations
Moscow Patriarchate
Patriarch
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