• By Observer staff
  • April 12, 2026

Just before midnight on Saturday evening, April 11, clergy and faithful gathered at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York, New York for the Service of the Resurrection, Orthros, and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy of Great and Holy Pascha. Presiding over the service, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America was joined by Cathedral Dean the V. Rev. Archimandrite Chrysostomos Gilbert. 

Before the reading of the Gospel, the Archbishop addressed the faithful gathered in the darkened cathedral, their candles illuminating as the light passed from one to another. 

“From one flame, you have all been set ablaze,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said. “From one burning candle, the world can be set alight with faith, with hope, and with love.” 

His Eminence called the faithful to look into one another’s faces and behold what he described as the shining lamps of God’s creation—the light of God within every neighbor. That light, he said, is the gift of God’s gracious love and the gift that we are called to give to one another and to the world.  

“We have journeyed with Him through His Holy Week, and we have arrived at His Empty Tomb,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said. “So therefore, let us proclaim to one and all, that He is not here! He is Risen!”  

> Read His Eminence’s full remarks here 

On the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha, Orthodox Christians celebrate the life-giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This feast of feasts is the most significant day in the life of the Church. It is a celebration of the defeat of death, as neither death itself nor the power of the grave could hold our Savior captive. In this victory that came through the Cross, Christ broke the bondage of sin, and through faith offers us restoration, transformation, and eternal life.