CHRISTIAN ANESTI “All joy is filled with the joy of the Resurrection by the telling of the word”. Joy everywhere, where the event of Christ’s Resurrection was felt. In simple and pure hearts that simply and without proof accept the truths and miracles of the Christian faith. So here, in Fiji, our simple Christians attended, after the Crucifixion and the Epitaph, the ceremony and the Divine Liturgy of the Resurrection. The small Church of St. Paraskevi, adorned with palm branches and other exotic flowers, was bathed in lights and the faces of our newly converted Fijian Christians shone together with the call of the Priest, “Do not receive light from the unconverted light… Come receive the light from the unwaning light…” ran to receive the light of Christ who “always illuminates a man coming into the world” and to sing – some in Greek, some in English – “Christ is risen”. Many joys. Joy to “Receive ye light”. Joy “Christ is risen”. Joy in the Holy Communion. Joy the clinking of the symbolic red egg. Joy in the communal feast of the mats full of rich food. Joy in their simplicity and simplicity. Joy in their sincere and unpretentious love for each other. These joys were experienced this year for the first time by our newly converted brothers and sisters on the other big island of Fiji, Vanua Levi. The day after tomorrow, God willing, there will be more baptisms and weddings. And the fun continues… The Mission is an endless joy, especially on days like Easter, because the focus of all life in the Church, the Orthodox and true Church, is “the true joy, Christ the Truth”.
† The New Zealand Amphilochius
