We congratulate and bless you with joy on the Resurrection of Christ, the children of the Georgian Orthodox Church living in San Francisco and throughout California!!! Today, eternal life – Christ the Savior – has dawned upon humanity… From the rising of the sun to its setting, the world rejoices, for He is the renewer and life-giver of all creation… The gates of heaven are open and the earth sings with the heavens… Rejoice!!! and be glad!!! For Christ is risen and the torch of eternal life and eternal joy has shone!!! Today in San Francisco, the first glorious Easter Vigil service was celebrated…. Today St. The Cross of St. Nino shone for the first time on the Golden Gate of San Francisco, and the motherly grace of the Georgian Orthodox Apostolic Church was poured out on the Georgians living here and on all – the children of our Church….
You know that for a year now, my prayers have not ceased for the children of the Georgian Orthodox Church living in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and throughout California… And while we are talking about the joy of Easter, it is natural to talk about the issues of organizing our church. This one year has shown us how our compatriots are thirsty for the grace of our Mother Church, they are thirsty for unity, i.e. Love for each other… We have gone through many trials here, without a mother church, we have also suffered great spiritual pain for our own homeland in trial… And we went like orphans to the doors of different churches to receive spiritual comfort… Of course, the Orthodox Church is one, but just as everyone loves their mother, their hearth more, so we love the hearth of our spiritual homeland the most… We could not have other churches be mothers here… And here, today we are speaking in Georgian to the Lord of Rights… The members of today’s parish are like spiritual missionaries in this area… In our hands, in the far west of this world, a Georgian Church with a 17-century history is being formed and established… Our ancestors, when they founded churches and monasteries abroad, were true preachers of Christ both in word and deed, and their main value was love for God and neighbor… One of the reasons for this A prime example is Anthimose of Iveria, who is today considered one of the luminaries of the Romanian Church… Orthodoxy is not the religion of any nation, it is the faith of love, where there is no partiality… We know that for many centuries the greatest empires preached Orthodoxy… Some empires no longer exist… But Orthodoxy is and will be until the end of this world… Orthodoxy has never been preached in Georgia by force. It was both the beginning and the continuation of love… And so it is today… And today when we see a Georgian person, even a non-church person, involuntarily ‘that’ love emanates from him…
From today's festive Gospel, the Spirit of God once again revealed the truth to us, and we too have witnessed once again that Jesus Christ is not only true man but also true God, who descended from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit... He bore the cross... He was crucified... He was buried... as a man... and rose again on the third day... and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father...
He is… which was… which is… and which will be… forever…
The miracle of the Resurrection is an unfathomable mystery – God became man and man became deified… God endured death on the cross so that we might become immortal with Him in eternal life… However, it is no longer unfathomable because we have attained resurrection with Christ. . . And this is a wondrous and great mystery… So, brothers and sisters, let us receive the flesh of Christ and taste the source of immortality…
Christ is risen!!!
Truly!!!
Christ is risen!!!
Truly!!!
Christ is risen!!!
Truly!!!
With Christlike love, Priest-Nun Ioane (Kavsadze).
Sermon on Easter Morning
May God bless you and protect you on this glorious Easter – sons and daughters of the Georgian Orthodox Church in California.
Today, eternal life – Jesus Christ has been resurrected upon humanity. From sun up to sun down the world shall rejoice, for He is the savior of all beings. The gates of Heaven are open and the angels are singing in beautiful harmony.
Be happy and rejoice! The Christ has risen and the torch of eternal light and happiness has been lit!
Today is the first nightlong celebration of the glorious Easter in San Francisco. Today is the first time that St. Nino's cross has been displayed here with it the grace of the Georgian Orthodox Church has been cast upon all children of our church.
As you already know, it's been a year since we've been conducting services in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and since we're talking about the happiness of Easter, I'd like to also touch upon church related matters. This last year has shown how hungry our fellow Georgians are for the grace of our church, for the unity, and for the love of one another. We have overcome many challenges - without our mother church - and we have prayed and wept for our country facing some of its scariest obstacles. We had no choice but to attend ceremonies at various different churches to seek spiritual comfort. Of course, all Orthodox Churches are similar, but just how everyone loves their own mother the most, so do we love and cherish our own church the most. No other church could replace our own Georgian church and today we're glorifying God in our mother tongue. Our parishioners are like spiritual missionaries of this corner of the world. Our ancient church, with its 17th century history and traditions, is being established in front of our eyes. Our ancestors, when they were building new Georgian churches and monasteries in other countries, were true worshipers of Christ, not only by preaching, but by doing. But what they always valued the most was their love of God and for each other.
Orthodox Church does not belong solely to any country or nation. It is a religion of love, which cannot be made private. We know that for many centuries, some of the world's largest empires worshiped the Orthodox Church. Some of those empires no longer exist, but the Orthodox Church is still here and will remain here for eternity. In Georgia, the Orthodox Church has never been forced upon anyone; it was always the beginning and continuation of love. And so it remains today, and we see that this same love is displayed by everyone here.
From today's divine scriptures, we have once again experienced God's grace and we have seen that Jesus Christ is not only a real human but also a real God who came down from heaven and was incarnated by The Holy spirit. He was crucified, suffered, and was buried, but on the third day he rose again and ascended into heaven and sat on the right hand of the Father. He is the one who always was, is, and always will be...both now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
The miracle of Easter is an attainable secret – God became a man and man became a God (through his grace). God sacrificed himself on the cross so that we could have eternal life with him in heaven.
So please join me brothers and sisters and receive Christ's flesh and feel his eternal love.
Christ has risen! Indeed he is risen!
Christ has risen! Indeed he is risen!
Christ has risen! Indeed he is risen!
IN CHRIST, IGUMEN IOANE KAVSADZE
