Christ Church Cathedral Vancouver BC

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Easter 2025

Δεῦτε λάβετε φῶς ἐκ τοῦ ἀνεσπέρου φωτός.
Come, receive the light from the unwaning Light, and glorify Christ, who is risen from the dead.

Dear friends in Christ,

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

With these words, the Church bursts into song as Easter dawns—shouting what the world has scarcely dared to hope: that love is stronger than death, that hope rises from despair, that Christ is risen and nothing will ever be the same again.

As we stood together in the dark at the Easter Vigil—candles lit one by one from the Paschal flame—I was reminded of that ancient Orthodox hymn: Come, receive the light from the unwaning Light. In the Orthodox tradition, this is sung not as a metaphor, but as a reality. The unwaning Light is Christ himself, the crucified and risen One. And the light we carry is not just a symbol—it’s a participation in his risen life. We become bearers of that Light.

Throughout Lent, we have walked together—fasting, praying, yearning to desire God more fully. We’ve faced hard questions and real grief, as we walked the way of the cross through the streets of Vancouver, amid the suffering of a wounded world. But that road, as we know, does not end at Golgotha.

Dean Andrew McGowan of Berkeley/Yale reminds us that Christian faith is not an escape from the real world but a reorientation within it. In the Eucharist we celebrate not just a memory of Jesus, but the presence of the risen Christ who feeds us with himself. At the altar, we receive both the crucified body and the risen life—and in turn, we are sent to be his Body in the world: broken, blessed, and shared.

New Testament Scholar N.T. Wright puts it this way: “The message of the resurrection is that this world matters… that the injustices and pains of this present world must now be addressed with the news that healing, justice, and love have won.” Easter is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of a new creation. It is the launching of God’s project to make all things new—and we are invited in.

So, Cathedral community, here is my Easter invitation to you:

Come, receive the Light.
Let the risen Christ meet you personally this season—in Word, in Sacrament, in silence, in song. Let Easter joy fill the spaces Lent made ready in your heart.

Be bearers of the Light.
In a city yearning for belonging, peace, and justice, carry that flame. Into classrooms, hospitals, studios, kitchens, protests, boardrooms, and bus stops. Let Christ’s risen life shine in your life.

Glorify the Risen One.
Let our Cathedral be a place where resurrection is proclaimed in word and in action—where the outcast is welcomed, the hungry fed, the lost found, and joy abounds.

This Easter, may the same power that raised Jesus from the dead breathe new life into you. May you find strength in community, hope in the Gospel, and courage to live as a witness to the resurrection.

With joy and love in the risen Christ,

The Very Rev. Christopher A. Pappas

Dean of New Westminster
Rector of Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver

Submitted by Fran A. Pappas

This year's Easter, the commemoration the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a special celebration—one that brings together both the Western and Eastern Christian Churches and the Jewish Passover commemorating the Exodus and liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. That has not always been the case.

Although the Western and Eastern Churches began as one Christian Church, theological and political differences led to a dramatic schism in July 1054, with a final separation between the two—the Western Church presided by the Pope in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church by the Patriarch in Constantinople, present-day Istanbul.

Other changes followed in the western church. Protestant churches were created, such as Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican and Episcopal, etc. However, the Eastern Orthodox Church remained as the largest single religious faith in most Eastern European countries, including Greece, Syria, Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, etc, and in large orthodox communities in Africa, Asia, Australia, etc, where each country uses the language of its origin.

For all churches, Easter always occurs on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, the first full Moon after the March vernal equinox, which we all know is the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. The time of the vernal equinox and full moon is where the two churches diverge. There are two reasons for the difference, both complicated and simple. The complicated explanation is that the Eastern Orthodox Churches use the date according to the Julian calendar, the astronomical date of the full moon and vernal equinox observed along the meridian of Jerusalem at the actual site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. In 1583 the Western Christian Churches adopted the Gregorian calendar to calculate the date of Easter. Both calendars are solar calendars with 12 months of 28–31 days each; without getting into details, the difference between the calendars may be minuscule, an error of about 2 seconds per year or 1 day in 31,250, but this oftentimes makes Easter fall on different dates.

The simple difference is called tradition, which I refer to as the tradition of Passover. Herein lies the answer as to the importance of the Jewish Passover. The occurrence of Passover is important to the Eastern Orthodox Churches because Holy Thursday is synonymous with the celebration of Passover, a festival to the Lord and a day of remembrance, a day referred to by all Christians as The Last Supper. The Eastern Orthodox Churches will not celebrate Easter if the Jewish Passover has not occurred. It waits for the following full moon, which can differ anywhere between one and four weeks, and sometimes falls on the same day, but always after the Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) celebration. That's tradition!

Whatever your religious persuasion, let us be respectful of one another as we all celebrate together as one in peace and harmony.

Happy Easter…Chri-stos A-ne-sti (Christ Is Risen) with the response A-li-thos A-ne-sti (Truly he Is Risen)… and Chag Pesach Sameach — Pronounced “Chahg pay-SAKH Sa-MAY-Ach,” Happy Passover in Hebrew.

The Census is now complete – we had a terrific response - thank you everyone! Please join us to learn about the results at the 40-minute Forum on May 4th.

The Census was the first part of the Strategic Planning Process and is now being followed by a second survey launching Sunday April 27 running until May 18.

This Future Outlook Survey is a deeper dive into what matters most in our Cathedral life. It asks questions about our personal hopes and dreams for The Cathedral. Some questions will allow analysis based on the many and varied groups and perspectives that make up who we are, such as old and young, newcomers and long-standing parishioners and so on. The results will be used to shape our discussions in the upcoming Listening Circles taking place in June. From your feedback we will identify areas to explore in greater detail.

As a community, we value transparency in our relationships and so we are requesting you identify yourself. While the results will be presented anonymously, we would like to be able to contact you for clarity or additional information if needed. All responses will be used for the purpose of determining the future direction of The Cathedral. The Future Outlook Survey will take about 15 minutes to complete and must be done in one sitting.

Access the Future Outlook Survey

by scanning the QR Code in this Sunday’s Bulletin or on posters in the Narthex, Parish Hall and outside the office.
through the link in the 10:30 livestream Chat Room.
in a special email you will receive on Tuesday April 29.

To be contacted by one of the Steering Committee members, please call or email reception@thecathedral.ca if you:

have questions or thoughts about the Future Outlook Survey or the Strategic Planning Process,
need help linking to or help completing the Future Outlook Survey, or
if we don’t have your email address

Thank you for helping us grow together!