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Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, sent Easter greetings to the heads of non-Orthodox Churches, including Patriarch Tawadros II of the Coptic Church, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in All Africa and the Middle East; Patriarch Mar Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syriac Church; Pope Francis; Patriarch Bechara Butros Cardinal al-Rai of the Maronite Church; Patriarch Youssef I Absi of the Greek Catholic Melkite Church; Malankara Metropolitan Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, Catholic of the East; Patriarch Abune Mathias of Ethiopia; Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenians; Armenian Patriarch Nourhan Manougian of Jerusalem; Catholicos Aram I of Cilicia; Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury; Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Gewargis III Sliwa of the Assyrian Church of the East; Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Yonan of the Syrians; Catholicos Patriarch Krikor Bedros XX of Cilicia, head of the Armenian Catholic Church; Bishop Dr. Peter Skov-Jakobsen of Copenhagen, Church of Denmark; Archbishop Dr. Tapio Luoma of Turku and Finland, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland; and Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany.

The message reads as follows:

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the feast of Christ’s Bright Resurrection:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Truly, the Lord’s Passover is the greatest event in history. In spite of the power of death hanging over the human race, the miracle of Christ’s resurrection from the dead was accomplished, which was the embodiment of the cherished desires of the Old Testament righteous men and women and the most important foundation of our faith, with the proclamation of which the apostles began their preaching. The Lord’s triumph over the powers of Hades has granted to us everlasting hope, for “as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ” (1 Cor 15:22). In rendering thanks to the Perfecter of our salvation, we will bring to all the world the joyful message of the coming light of his unfading kingdom.