It is neither logical nor right to play down the supreme importance of unifying the date of the glorious feast of the Resurrection and of all Christian feasts. It is time for us Christians to take to heart the will of the Lord Jesus, who prayed: “that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us” (John 17:21).
Our division is a lasting wound in the Redeemer’s heart, and it will not be healed by violence and revolt but by love and prayer. Is it faith to lay the blame for our divisions on others? Is it fair, in our separation, to put the burden on those who have no power and no say – those who, if it were up to them, would have unified the feast right away?
How it pains me not to be with my Orthodox brothers and sisters in full unity and communion – a communion that would give us not only the dream of shared feasts but, above all, unity of faith and sharing of the holy sacraments, so that every Catholic would have the right to receive Communion with the Orthodox, and every Orthodox the right to receive Communion with Catholics.
I pray every day, and I call and hope for full and complete unity. I appeal to His Holiness Pope Francis, to all Their Beatitudes the Orthodox and Catholic Patriarchs, and to all the leaders of the Protestant churches and communities, to take a binding decision to celebrate the glorious feast of the Resurrection together, and to set aside what keeps us apart (the question of the more accurate calendar), because the Sabbath is made for man!
A blessed feast of the glorious Resurrection to my Orthodox brothers and sisters and loved ones. My love, my Catholic commitment and my obedience to His Holiness the Pope do not prevent me from proclaiming my sincere desire for full unity and communion with them.
Bishop Ibrahim Michael Ibrahim
Melkite Greek Catholic Bishop of Canada
