Press Release No: 04/21 issued jointly with COMECE
31 March 2021
Brussels

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In a joint message for the upcoming Easter, the Conference of European Churches (CEC) together with the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) affirm sheer hope in Christ’s resurrection in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing all people in Europe, especially the poor and the most vulnerable, CEC President Rev. Christian Krieger and COMECE President H. Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ issued the following message.

Easter reminds us of the passage of God’s chosen people from slavery, oppression, and despair in Egypt, to liberation, joy and hope in the promised land.

Easter celebrates Christ’s passover from rejection, the abandonment of his closest disciples, humiliation, his passion and his death on Good Friday, to life, joy, and victory on Easter Sunday.

The passing over from despair to joy, from death to life, involves going through adversities, doubt, setbacks, suffering and agony. Living in confinement for a year, experiencing illness and anxiety, witnessing bereavement and loss adds new meaning to the anticipation of Resurrection this Easter.

As churches and Christians in Europe, we too are passing over from isolation, loss and anxiety to healing, recovery and a renewed life, where ‘death is swallowed up in victory’ (1 Corinthians 15:54).

Each one of us received the gift of that new life and the power to accept it and live by it. It is a gift, which radically alters our attitude toward the realities of this world, including illness and death.

By his own passing, Christ transformed death into a passage leading to the Reign of God. Evil and physical death no longer have the final say in life. In Christ our lives are filled with a promise of real life, abounding in hope and everlasting joy

May the hope of His Resurrection sustain us, and keep us safe in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Christ is Risen!  

Learn more: CEC resources on COVID-19

For more information or an interview, please contact:
Naveen Qayyum
Communication Officer
Conference of European Churches
Rue Joseph II, 174 B-1000 Brussels
Tel. +32 486 75 82 36
E-mail: naveen@cec-kek.be
Website: www.ceceurope.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ceceurope
Twitter: @ceceurope