Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania

Looking forward
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
Christ is risen!
Immediately following His resurrection from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to Go into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). In our day, “preaching the Gospel” is often
understood to mean the preaching of a sermon or the conveying of a teaching. Although this external aspect of
preaching is certainly a part of what the Lord intended, it does not convey the full meaning of His exhortation.
In fact, the Lord was asking His disciples not just to preach about the resurrection, but to offer to every human
being an entrance into a new and divine life. As the Apostle Paul writes: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; old things have passed away, behold all things have become new (II Corinthians 5:17). All that Christ
accomplished for us, the Resurrection from the dead, the Ascension into heaven and the Descent of the Holy
Spirit are not simply events that we can speak about but rather realities in which all mankind can participate.
The primary concern of the Orthodox Church, and the basis of her preaching, is to encourage participation in this
reality, and the means she offers us for this is what we call asceticism. Although we often relegate asceticism to
the Lenten season, it is important to remember that asceticism is not limited to the outward practice of prayer,
fasting, and prostrations. Rather, asceticism refers to the path we take to find healing and renewal of our souls,
which ultimately leads to union with Christ.
This healing and renewal are bestowed upon us as a free gift of God’s grace but also require some effort on our
part, which is the purification of our heart from the passions and the instilling in it of the life-giving virtues.
Asceticism is the means that we have to purify our hearts and be truly alive in Christ.
This issue of our Diocesan magazine, Alive in Christ, has a new external look and format, which we hope you will
enjoy. However, our goal is not simply to enjoy things that are externally new, but rather to find encouragement
to make that ascetical effort to cleanse our inner and deep heart and to find Christ there. Whether we know it or
not, we are all striving to live this ascetical life which leads to our renewal in Christ and the pages of our diocesan
magazine give evidence to this.
I am calling upon all of us to continue to dedicate ourselves with renewed zeal to the living of an ascetical life, by
giving ourselves over to personal renewal through repentance and prayer, to parish renewal through hospitality
and a fuller liturgical life and to the renewal of Orthodox Christianity in our diocese through missionary work and
stewardship. May the grace of God, together with our ascetical labors truly make us alive in Christ.
Sincerely yours in the risen Christ,
+Bishop Tikhon
4 Alive in Christ www.doepa.org