The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, has shared his Easter Message for 2026. It encourages churches of the Anglican Communion to share God’s ‘gift of peace’ with the world, and listen to the voice of churches in places of conflict.
The Secretary General’s Easter Message:
‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ — John 20:21.
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This Easter, millions of people around the globe are living in fear, their worlds turned upside down, as international hostilities threaten their sense of home, stability and security.
Conflict in the Middle East continues to cause a devastating loss of life and suffering on all sides. In Sudan, South Sudan and DRC, tensions are causing mass migration and humanitarian crises. In Ukraine, the war grinds on, claiming thousands of lives. In Cuba, millions of people’s lives are impacted by economic crisis. As part of an ecumenical solidarity visit to Cuba this week, I witnessed firsthand how it is leaving families without food, medicine or hope.
What possible response can the Church make to a world of conflict and turmoil?
Firstly, let us pray, with the hope of God’s gift of peace. In John’s gospel, we find the disciples hiding behind locked doors — their world turned upside down by the destruction and seeming defeat of the crucifixion, and gripped by fear. Yet into that fear, the risen Jesus appears and speaks: ‘Peace be with you!’ This Easter, as we think of all people living in fear and places of conflict, we pray: May the hope of the risen Jesus, the gift of peace, standing in your midst, be known.
Secondly, let us be a Church that shares God’s gift of peace with the world. Christ’s announcement of peace does not permit the Church to be passive. After expressing peace, Christ sends his disciples out with the command: ‘As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ In the power of God’s Spirit, Christ calls his Church to be a reconciling presence in the world. Let us take up this call.
This is not always easy, but as an Anglican Communion — a Christian presence in more than 165 countries — there is much that we can do together. In practical terms, let us listen to the voice of the church in countries affected by conflict. Let us amplify their appeals for peace, offer financial assistance to humanitarian programmes, lobby political leaders, or express friendship by joining them for online prayer services where possible.
In recent days, many Primates and Anglican representatives gathered with ecumenical and inter faith guests for the Installation of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. Prayers were offered for the needs and peace of the world. In a further sign of hope, the new Archbishop and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV exchanged letters, reaffirming a shared commitment to Christian unity.
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When the world feels so fractured, these actions and expressions of solidarity between Christians matter deeply. They are a visible and precious sharing of the gift of peace and as the Beatitudes teach us: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’. (Matthew 5:9).
This Easter, may we continue to be an Anglican Communion that walks together, crosses divides, and carries the peace of the risen Christ into a broken world.
The Right Revd Anthony Poggo
Secretary General of the Anglican Communion