The peace of Christ is not the absence of the storm, but the victory over it: PS Paisius Sinaittranslated

"The peace of Christ is not the absence of the storm, but the victory over it," explained the Most Reverend Father Paisie Sinait, Patriarchal Vicar Bishop, on Sunday. "God has not promised us a life without trials, but His presence in all trials."

The evangelist thus shows us that true peace is not the simple disappearance of troubles, but the presence of Christ in the midst of his disciples, added the hierarch.

In the Church, Christ remains present forever The Savior Jesus Christ "did not promise us a sea without waves, but a ship that does not sink, because He Himself is in it", the hierarch emphasized. "He has not promised us that we shall never fall, but that when we shall cry like Peter, Lord, save me, His hand shall always be stretched out toward us."

This reveals why the Holy Fathers saw in the ark a metaphor for the Church: "Because the Church is the place where Christ remains present and active until the end of the ages."

In this regard, the Most Reverend Father Paisie Sinait recalled that the Holy Father Confessor Dumitru Stăniloae said that "the Church is Christ expanded with His body deified in humanity".

The Church "is not only the community of those...