THE suffering of Christ reminds Christians to stand with “those living amid war and violence and with “the churches of the Holy Land, bearing faithful witness under immense strain”, the Archbishop of Canterbury has written in her first annual Easter letter to the heads of Christian Churches and ecumenical partners in the UK and around the world.
“We remember,” she writes, “all who are displaced, oppressed, or forgotten, and we renew our calling as Christians to stand with the marginalised and to serve those most in need. . . In such a world, the mystery of Easter speaks with particular depth.”
She refers to the German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing from prison before his execution by the Nazis. He reflected, she says, that “‘only a suffering God can help.’ These words give us pause. They remind us that in Jesus Christ, God does not stand distant from human pain, but enters into it, bears it, and transforms it. The cross stands firm while the world changes. Empires rise and fall, cultures shift, and societies transform, yet the love of God revealed in Christ crucified and risen remains constant.
“The cross and the empty tomb together tell us that suffering and death do not have the final word. Suffering and pain are penultimate; ultimate is the loving embrace of God in glory. Easter proclaims that even in the darkest places, God is at work bringing life.”
At Lambeth Palace, she tells her readers, “the signs of spring offer a quiet echo of this mystery. The gardens are beginning to blossom again — what seemed dormant is now filled with colour and promise.
“In the courtyard, the magnolia has put on a breathtaking display, its blossoms both radiant and fleeting, a reminder of beauty held in time. Even the magnolia I recently planted has begun to flourish, a small but hopeful sign of life taking root. Yet the deeper truth to which all this points is found in the words of Jesus: ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies . . . it bears much fruit.’”
The resurrection is “a living reality. . . It gives us confidence — deep, unshakeable confidence — in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Acknowledging “divisions” between Churches, she writes that there is hope that they can “walk together”. “Our divisions, though real, do not define the final reality of the Church. The risen Christ continues to draw us to himself and to one another, and in him we find both the courage and the confidence to walk together.
“Often, this work unfolds quietly — in prayer, in friendship, in hospitality, in shared witness. Yet these small and faithful acts are seeds of a greater harvest, signs of the deeper unity we already share in Christ.”
She concludes: “Easter calls us to live from this hope. . . In a wounded world, we are called to be people of resurrection — people who live not in fear, but in hope; not in despair, but in the promise of new life.”
On Monday evening, at an “Easter reception” in Downing Street, the Prime Minister praised the work of churches and referred to “Christ’s example”.
He said: “It’s really good to have all of you here right in the centre of government. This is literally where everything gets decided . . . and to have you here seems very fitting to me. We’re a government that serves you, and it’s right that you are here and can influence what we’re doing.”
He continued: “Everything you do proves the complete opposite of those who want to divide us. . . So, I say thank you for what you do. It is Christ’s example, but it’s also reinforcing positive evidence of the sort of country we really are. Actually, give us half a chance, and we will look after each other.
“We saw it so much during Covid, but we see it every day, particularly at weekends, when people happily give up their time for others.”
The World Council of Churches (WCC), in its own Easter message, asked: “So many victims of war, economic injustice, sexual violence, political oppression, climate disasters, and religious persecution are to be mourned. Can we authentically celebrate Easter without addressing these sufferings?”
But Easter “is the one big source of hope in these troubled times. . . Jesus tremendously inspired the people of his time when he spoke words of love and words of hope, when he touched people with his healing hands, when he led together people from very different backgrounds into one loving community.
“May we celebrate this Easter as a time of reassurance that in all the abysses we presently experience in the world, there is more to come.”
The message is signed by the Moderator of the WCC’s Central Committee, Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, with the Vice-Moderators and the WCC’s General Secretary.
