Prot. no.: 157/2024
Venerable Hierarchs, Reverend Clergy, and Christ-loving Faithful of this Archdiocese,
May you have much joy on this glorious feast of Palm Sunday!
Today we see Christ riding triumphantly into the Holy City of Jerusalem and the crowds welcoming Him with praise and loving service, as they shout “Hosanna!” and lay down palm branches and even their own clothes as a carpet for His entrance. Let us likewise open our hearts to Him and welcome Him into our lives. Let us praise Him not just with hymns at church but also by confessing His goodness in our daily prayers and in our conversations with others. Let us lay down for Him a welcoming carpet of generous deeds toward our neighbors and faithful obedience toward Him. May we thus receive Him to rule in our hearts as our delivering King, and may we remain loyal to Him in word and deed—not betraying and abandoning Him, like the crowds in Jerusalem long ago.
As is our custom in this archdiocese, today we also remember our Father in Christ, His Beatitude Patriarch John X, and all our brothers and sisters of the Patriarchate of Antioch in its historic homeland of the Middle East. As we proclaim this ancient Faith in the New World, they are keeping it alive in the apostolic and historic places of its beginnings. Yet many of them continue to suffer from the aftermath of wars, disasters, and economic collapse. For this reason, we invite you to contribute today toward the patriarchate and its humanitarian work. Through your donations you can provide some comfort to our brothers and sisters in need, showing solidarity with them as one Body in Christ. Please give generously. Wishing you all a deeply meaningful Holy Week and a glorious Pascha, I remain,
Yours in Christ,
SABA Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America