Easter Message: Archbishop of Wales

This Easter, the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, reflects on a grave in rural Wales marking the life of a man from 1500 years ago. Though little is known about him, his faith is remembered.

Archbishop Andrew uses this image to explore the deeper meaning of the Easter story, one that begins with an empty tomb and offers hope, purpose, and new life.

He invites everyone to discover the love of God made real in Jesus and to join in worship over the Easter weekend.

In one of the most remote parts of Wales there stands a stone almost hidden from view off a small track, recalling a man who lived 1500 years ago. His name is Porius and the inscription on his replica grave reads simply: ‘Porius lies here in the tomb, a Christian man’. We know almost nothing about him – not his age at the time of his death nor even where he lived although assume it must have been in that area.

Most people were not given a gravestone to identify them. Cost was an issue and status too, so we could assume Porius was a Christian chieftain or possibly a local leader. The Romans had been active in that area several hundred years earlier but had long since gone by the time Porius was born. His legacy is a name and a stone with 3 three lines of text inscribed on it.

Perhaps the most striking part of the Easter story involves a tomb where we have even less information to work on: no inscription, a wide-open entrance and a doubt over its location. We don’t even have a body.

And this is the crucial part: those who had followed Jesus were utterly certain that God had done something completely new on that first Easter day. Death had been broken open like the tomb and Jesus raised to new life. When his followers met him, they found a purpose and meaning that had previously eluded them. They could see a future with hope and joy.

I invite each of you to share something of that same experience this Easter and discover the love of God made real in Jesus. Our churches will be open to all over the Easter weekend, and we would love for you to join us.

I wish you a very happy Easter.

+Andrew