The Second Day of Pascha at the Episcopal Cathedral

of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada

On the second day of the Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Great Martyr George and Sts. Epictetus and Astion in Saint-Hubert, Québec. Concelebrating with the hierarch were Fr. Mircea Panciuk, Fr. Marius Constantin Popa, and Deacon Valentin Boțu, in a radiant atmosphere of communion characteristic of these Paschal days.

The liturgical responses and Paschal hymns filled the church with the emotion and beauty of proclaiming the victory of life over death, and the faithful present deeply experienced the joy of encountering the Risen Christ.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian emphasized in his homily the significance of the Paschal period and the reality of the disciples’ encounters with the Risen Christ.

The hierarch underlined that the entire forty-day period after the Resurrection is one of witness and strengthening in faith: “Christ, risen from the dead, appeared to the disciples during this time […] to give them once again testimony of the reality of His Resurrection,” showing that these appearances were meant to strengthen the faith of those who, although witnesses of miracles, were often overcome by doubt.

In this context, the hierarch highlighted the fragility of human nature, recalling the Gospel accounts of the disciples’ uncertainty: “Human nature is fragile […] The Gospel speaks about the doubt of the disciples and the confusion of the myrrh-bearing women,” stressing that this weakness is not an exception but a reality of the human condition.

A telling example is that of the disciples Luke and Cleopas, who did not recognize Christ on the road to Emmaus: “This uncertainty of the disciples shows precisely the fragility of our nature and the need to confirm the Savior’s words through a real encounter with Him.”

Referring to the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the hierarch explained that the life of the Church today directly continues the apostolic experience: “The disciples followed the Savior’s command to gather together in remembrance of Him. This is the Divine Liturgy we celebrate today,” emphasizing its character as a source of eternal life and communion.

At the same time, he noted that in choosing a new Apostle to complete the number of the Twelve—namely, the Holy Apostle Matthias—the Apostles desired that the chosen one be “a witness of His Resurrection, so that the proclamation of the Gospel would be grounded in lived experience, not hearsay.”

Referring to the Gospel of John, the hierarch stressed the limits of human knowledge and the necessity of divine revelation: “No one has ever seen God […] only the Son makes Him known,” pointing out that man cannot fully comprehend the mystery of divinity.

In this sense, he explained that humanity “knows only rays, fragments of what can be known of God, because human nature is limited, while God is uncreated and infinite.”

His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian also emphasized that suffering and evil in the world do not come from God, but from the misuse of human freedom: “God bears no guilt in this sens. […] He has given us the freedom to walk on the path of eternal life in communion with Him.”

Thus, the distancing from God becomes the deep cause of evil: “Evil begins when man becomes master of his own decisions without communion with God,” he said, highlighting both personal and collective responsibility for suffering in the world.

At the same time, Christ’s Resurrection carries a message of hope: “We celebrate the joy of overturning the logic of death,” the hierach stated, explaining that although physical death still exists, it has been conquered through Christ’s Resurrection and will be abolished at the end of the ages.

In conclusion, the hierarch presented to the faithful two examples of life in Christ: St. Calinic of Cernica and St. Sava of Buzău. The former bore witness to faith through his life and works, and the latter through martyrdom, both showing “what a human being can become when living in God.”

The day ended in a spirit of celebration, with the faithful encouraged to continue living the light of the Resurrection in their daily lives. “Let us rejoice in this period and continue to be glad in the joy of the Resurrection,” the hierarch urged, calling everyone to a living faith strengthened through prayer and witness.

In the light of this Paschal service, the community once again united around the fundamental truth of the Christian faith, joyfully proclaiming: Christ is risen!

(notes by Nun Ana Bulgariu)