Russia is Enduring Fateful Trials, said Head of Russian Church in Paschal Homily

At Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill talked about some of the trials Russia is currently facing

MOSCOW, May 5 - RIA Novosti. Russia is going through fateful trials and the Church is praying that the Lord will protect the borders of the Fatherland, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' said in a sermon in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

On Sunday night, Patriarch Kirill held an Easter service in the capital's Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

“We pray today especially for our Russian country, which is going through difficult, perhaps in some sense fateful, trials. We ask the Lord to protect the sacred borders of our land,” noted Patriarch Kirill.

He called for prayers for the authorities and the army, for “those who today are losing their health and lives defending the Fatherland.”

“May the Lord stop the internecine warfare, may he strengthen in good health and preserve from all evil and hostility those who today serve our Fatherland and all of us. And through these trials, may he even more strengthen our faith in the Lord, our hope in him and the power of our prayer... Christ is risen!" - concluded the Primate of the Russian Church.

“After the Sabbath had passed, at dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord, who had descended from heaven, came and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it... The angel “, turning his speech to the women, he said: do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified; He is not here - He has risen, as He said,” the Gospel of Matthew tells about the events of the Resurrection of Christ.

Thus, according to Orthodox doctrine, with the Resurrection of Christ, death is defeated, and the prospect of eternal life is opened to people. The day before, churches commemorated the descent of Christ into hell. As Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Rus' noted in one of his sermons, the Savior “freed us all from slavery to the devil,” because “regardless of how a person lived in the Old Testament, even a righteous and holy man could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, burdened with original sin, but the Lord, through his suffering, death on the cross, and Resurrection, freed all who, being righteous, languished in the arms of hell, and for all of us the Lord opened the doors of heaven, the doors of eternal life."

Source: ria.ru (Russian)