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6th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Anastasios/His Beatitude Joan: Let us pray for him!

2025-07-25 15:04:00, Aktualitet CNA

6th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Anastasios/His Beatitude Joan: Let us

At the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Tirana, Archbishop Anastasios was commemorated on the six-month anniversary of his death.

His Beatitude John emphasized that remembrance is an important part of Orthodox theology.

While leading the mass, Archbishop Joan gave the message that remembering those who have departed helps in remembering death and this is the best teacher to keep people away from sins.

His Beatitude stopped longer at Archbishop Anastasios. On this day, His Beatitude John asked the faithful to pray for Archbishop Anastasios.

 

The full speech of His Beatitude John

 

Today we have gathered to commemorate Archbishop Anastasios, on the six-month anniversary of his passing. Memory is something very important in the Orthodox Church. During the communion, you heard: “Blessed are those whom you have chosen and received,” for with God there are no dead – all are alive.

Memory is an important part of Orthodox theology. We believe that humans are a communal being. The Church is not made up of isolated individuals, but a community that prays, and their memory will be passed down from generation to generation.

We remember them constantly and during the Mass. In the prayers that are read, all those who have passed away are mentioned, the patriarchs, the prophets, we remember them all. In the church there is a kind of deep communion of people with each other.

When we say that man is a communal being, this is what it means. In God there are no dead. In the holy cup of communion the dead mingle with the living. Even in our lives, they are together. Memory is not just an emotional feeling or something intellectual. It is a true and profound communion. This is the Church of Christ.

If we do not feel this connection, we are not deeply in communion with God and with the others who make up the Church. Where we remember Christ, there we also remember God. And when God, sensing our memory of Christ, remembers all the people who are.

That is why remembrance is so important. It is passed down from generation to generation in the Church because it has a profound meaning: to be remembered before God means to be forgiven and to be in the presence of God. “Remember me, O Lord, in your kingdom,” says the thief.

God's remembrance is the sign of our forgiveness and salvation. We remember people because we love them. We remember our family members, but in the Church everyone is remembered – and through remembrance, it brings us into communion with them, it takes away our despair.

Without a doubt, we despair when a loved one leaves us. But as Saint Paul instructs us, we do not despair like those who have no hope, because our faith believes that Christ conquered death, and in God there is no death.

If we understand these words spiritually, not just with our lips, then we feel a deep security for ourselves. The memory of those who have departed from this life helps us to remember death as well – and this memory is the best spiritual teacher. For whoever remembers death will not easily sin.

People forget this, and forgetfulness brings sin. But if we remember these things constantly, we will always remember that one day we will all appear before God. Many of the sins we commit we would not commit, that is why remembrance is important.

Most importantly, memory shows us the profound dimension of eternity. Dostoevsky writes of a friend who tells him: “Destroy people’s hope for eternity, and their life will wither.” These words represent the profound Orthodox meaning of eternity.

If we do not have the dimension of eternity in our hearts, we cannot have peace and we cannot have security. Life is short. One day we will all leave this world, but in God we live forever.

The verses we heard from the psalms: “Blessed are those whom you have chosen and taken.” One of these is Archbishop Anastasius, for whom we should truly thank God that he was chosen and taken. We believe that he stands next to God, in the tent of the righteous, and prays unceasingly for us.

When we pray for them, they pray for us. This is the beauty of the spiritual communion that takes place in the Church – a sacred union between those in heaven and those still on earth. This is the deep meaning of commemorations.

On this special day, I invite you all to pray for our beloved Archbishop, hoping that he prays continually for all of us.

May his memory be eternal!/ CNA

 





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