Patriarch Irinej sends Easter message

BELGRADE - Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Wednesday sent his Easter message to all Christians and said that he is particularly praying for the brothers and sisters in the Middle East and Ukraine, with the wish that his prayer and the Easter holidays enlighten the minds of hate-mongers against the Holy Orthodoxy.

The patriarch sent special greetings to the suffering brothers and sisters in Kosovo-Metohija, who, although shackled down by non-freedom, deprived of their rights and discriminated against, celebrate Easter as the victory of good over evil, life over death and the victory of the resurrection of Christ over the demonic forces of the darkness.

"With the same love in the resurrected Christ and warm prayers, we also send greetings to all our brothers and sisters in Dalmatia, Lika, Kordun, Banija, Slavonia and Baranja," the patriarch said.

He sent the traditional Serbian Orthodox Christian greeting "Christ is risen" to the believers of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, as well as those in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia who, guided by the unjustly imprisoned Archbishop Jovan, are suffering for the unity of the church and purity of the Orthodox faith.

This year, the Easter celebrations for believers of the Serbian Orthodox Church and all Orthodox churches worldwide will coincide with those in the Western Christian nations.

The Orthodox churches celebrate Easter after the Jewish Passover - as a result, Western and Eastern Christians celebrate the greatest Christian holiday on different days if it coincides with the Jewish holiday, which is not the case this year.

All Orthodox churches worldwide invariably...