Saint John of Shanghai's 1935 Paschal sermon on the trials of the Church and the Russian people

When the words of the Lord were fulfilled, that He had come to give His life for the salvation of many (cf. Matthew 20:28), His disciples wavered in their faith.

They forgot His words that after His sufferings He would rise again on the third day.

With sorrow the disciples of Christ said: “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel” (Luke 24:21). It seemed that darkness had prevailed over the light for ever, the darkness of sin over the Light of Truth. But at the very time when the enemies of Christ appeared to be victorious, Christ had in truth already overthrown the foundations of hell and freed its captives, vanquished death and risen from the tomb.

So the Lord has often permitted His Church, too, to pass through various trials, during which, of course, it seemed that her end and destruction had come. But after these trials the victorious truth shone forth more brightly still!

The Roman Emperors persecuted the Church, Julian the Apostate mocked her, the iconoclasts laid her waste. Their dominion ended in disgrace, while the Church of God drew to herself ever more followers, enlightening whole nations and shining in everlasting glory!

And now the Orthodox Church, and above all the Orthodox Russian people, is passing through terrible trials. Truly, as on Golgotha, the sun has been darkened over Holy Russia!

From the Paschal sermon of Saint John of Shanghai, delivered in Shanghai in 1935