Hope is not simply an emotion or a desire, but a certainty founded on a rock that is Christ, Archbishop Ioannis of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania said in a message on Greek Easter.

"The Resurrection of Christ strengthens us and provides us all with faith, it gives us life from his life, a saintly life, a life that can defeat death itself, an endless life with no end, where the earthly rule of death no longer has power. That is why we have hope, and our hope is not simplly a feeling or a desire, but a certainty founded on a rock, which is Christ."

Newly installed Archbishop Ioannis also commemorated the late Archbishop Anastasios. "This Easter we are missing our beloved Archbishop Anastasios. But our hearts are comforted by knowing that he is now mediating for us near the Lord, for 'He is not god of the dead, but of the living' (Matthew 22:32). We believe that death is not the end, but the start of a new life in the Lord's presence," the archbishop said.