Easter Letter from the Dean

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