Homily at the Procession with the Epitaphios
(Delivered on April 10, 2026)
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
(Delivered on April 10, 2026)
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
At the outset, I wish you all many years, with health, strength, and inspiration in your work.
Great Friday, for the Orthodox Church — and for Nafpaktos — is not a day of sorrow and grief, but a day of triumph; for Christ, by His death on the Cross, destroyed every kind of death —psychological and spiritual — and showed us the way to transcend the problems of our life, that is, how to move from the level of the senses and emotions to the inner, spiritual, theological level. It is a path of ascent toward our own resurrection.
During the days of Christ’s Passion in Jerusalem, as we have seen, three realities prevailed: the human, the religious that became demonic, and the theological.
The human element appeared in Pilate, Herod, and others who were concerned with power and personal interests and were indifferent to the death of an innocent man.
The religious element, which was transformed into something demonic, appeared in the Scribes and the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the Jews, and in Judas, into whom Satan entered in order to betray Christ.
The theological element appeared most clearly in Christ, who faced everything with silence and with word, with patience and a God-like stance, and who conquered unjust authority and demonic energy by His divinity.
Unfortunately, even today in our societies these same three conditions prevail: the human, with unjust authority and petty interests; the religious, with demonic power; and the theological, with the transcendence of the many forms of the passions.
This religious–demonic element is seen strongly in the Middle and the wider East, but also in northern Orthodox countries. Wars are waged in the name of religions, people are killed, civilizations are destroyed, religious and cultural monuments are demolished; even in Syria and Lebanon, Christian populations are disappearing, either through death or through the forced displacement of people. Sadly, we also see this in our own societies. It is the human and demonic element that dominates contemporary life.
The Christ of the Orthodox Church stands against every war that destroys human lives, devastates ancient civilizations, and abolishes the peaceful coexistence of peoples, cultures, and societies.
On this day of rational silence, of Christ’s triumph over the demonic element, we pray to Christ to intervene among the powerful of the earth so that every form of war may cease — in humanity, in society, in the family, and in religious communities. May the peace of Christ prevail. Otherwise, such religious observances that take place on this day, as a pause between warlike conflicts, are hypocritical and merely folkloric. In the age in which we live, we must speak prophetically.
Let us pray that this demonic element may cease or be reduced in our lives — and this depends on each one of us; it is a matter of inner freedom.
A blessed Resurrection.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
