Christos Anesti – Χριστός Ανέστη!

Demetrios Rhompotis

Another year we made it to Easter, one week after all the other Christians and we bought our chocolate eggs at half price! Same with some decorative bunnies and other handmade stuff from China which aim to convert this holiday to another …Christmas! Soon we’ll do Easter Trees too, full of eggs, boiled and unboiled, and instead of cracking them, we’ll throw them against each other’s heads to test their strength or emptiness …Pardon my warlike mood, it’s perhaps the storm before the calm weather, but I can’t avoid thinking that it’s also the second year of the war in Ukraine. Two Orthodox peoples that got their faith from the Mother Church of Constantinople, follow the same rites, have more or less the same customs, are killing each other like animals. In the heart of Europe, a continent that has given us more than her fair share of dark moments, with the two world wars coming immediately to mind. And there is no sign that this foolish bloodshed is coming to an end, actually there are preparations for spring offensives by both sides. I don’t know what to say and what sorts of solutions to offer, I love both peoples, I know enough of their language, it pains me to see them inflicting suffering to one another. But isn’t this the right time for the Ecumenical Patriarch, supposedly the spiritual head of the Orthodox Churches, to step in and call both sides to reason? I’m not saying to get himself involved in the mess, but to ask them these holiest of days to lay down arms for a few hours and yes, pray, celebrate Resurrection and Easter, allow logic to overcome basic instincts. Just a thought…

At this point I want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter, full of love and hope. Innumerable thanks to our friends who contributed through ads and Easter messages to this beautiful edition. We are struggling hard, printing expenses have gone up by 50%. But we insist in publishing because we believe in you and you believe that our great community deserves a printed magazine of the highest quality.

Christos Anesti!