On Sunday April 13, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America celebrated the Orthros and Divine Liturgy of Palm Sunday at St. Paul Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Hempstead, New York.
In his sermon, Archbishop Elpidophoros remarked that “in entering the Holy City on a donkey, the Lord shows that the triumph He offers is not one of earthly realms. He does not ride in on a white horse with legions of Angels wielding fiery swords…We pray for God’s reign to come upon our world, just as He reigns in Heaven. But His Kingdom does come through violence against other human beings. If there is violence, it is the interior violence that the Lord spoke of, exemplified by the Desert Fathers and Mothers.”
Archbishop Elpidophoros continued, noting that “the askesis of the great monastics who conquered their egos and self-willfulness through spiritual exercise… It fights against hatred; against prejudice, against anything that gives rise to war.” Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, on the back of a humble donkey “is telling us even now – that His reign, His kingdom, is the Kingdom of Peace, the Kingdom of Love, the Kingdom of the human heart – the Kingdom of God that is within each and every one of us.”
Photos: Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios Panagos
