The Bright Resurrection of Christ, Pascha

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Rating: 9,7|Votes: 9

Behind Closed Doors

The phrase, “behind closed doors,” has become synonymous in English with things being done in secret – generally of an unsavory or nefarious sort. Institutions speak of an “open door policy,” and promise “transparency” to those from the outside. Closed doors have always had a sense of secrecy about them. Sometimes the secrecy hides the darkness of evil, other times it protects us from the wonder of the holy.

On Death and Resurrection in Christ

St. Gregory the Theologian

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Rating: 9,6|Votes: 16

On Death and Resurrection in Christ

St. Gregory the Theologian

Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him. Yesterday I died with Him; today I am made alive with Him. Yesterday I was buried with Him; today I am raised up with Him.

Pascha: the day that the Lord has made (Ps. 118:24)

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Rating: 9,7|Votes: 3

Pascha: the day that the Lord has made (Ps. 118:24)

Christians throughout the world celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He destroyed death by His death, and opened unto us the doors of paradise, and bestowed upon us the fullness of life and of great mercy. The power of the Resurrection of Christ transforms our weakness, and releases within us the dynamic of growing into the image and likeness of our Risen Lord.

Dachau 1945: The Souls of All Are Aflame

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Rating: 9|Votes: 31

Dachau 1945: The Souls of All Are Aflame

In 1945, a Paschal Liturgy like no other was performed. Just days after their liberation by the US military on April 29, 1945, hundreds of Orthodox Christian prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp gathered to celebrate the Resurrection service and to give thanks.

Orthodox Christians Celebrate Holy Pascha

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Rating: 10|Votes: 1

Orthodox Christians Celebrate Holy Pascha

Orthodox Christians around the world celebrated the Easter or the Holy Pascha. The Orthodox believe Pascha to be the most ancient and important celebration of Christianity, with the services similar to the one held at the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem since the third century.

On Pascha We Receive an Invitation to Eternal Life

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Valery Konovalov

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Rating: 9,2|Votes: 21

On Pascha We Receive an Invitation to Eternal Life

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Valery Konovalov

The living feeling of the pulse of eternity, which responds in every Christian, is especially felt on the feast of Pascha, the Resurrection. Little children are aware until they grow up that death is something completely foreign, incomprehensible, and unnatural to man. We adults remember well this perception of the realty of eternity in our childhood as one of the constants of existence of a person only recently come into the world.

An explanation of certain expressions of St. Gregory the Theologian which are sung together with the troparia at Holy Pascha (Instruction 21)

Abba Dorotheos

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Rating: 10|Votes: 8

An explanation of certain expressions of St. Gregory the Theologian which are sung together with the troparia at Holy Pascha (Instruction 21)

Abba Dorotheos

In antiquity the sons of Israel, on the feast-days or triumphs, offered to God gifts according to the Law, that is sacrifices, whole-burnt offerings, first-fruits and the like. Therefore St. Gregory teaches us also (like them) to make celebration unto the Lord, as they did, and inspires us, saying, "The day of Resurrection," in place of the "The day of the holy feast, the day of the Divine solemnity, the day of the Pascha of Christ." And what does the Pascha of Christ mean?

Pascha: The New Passover

V. Rev. Fr. Anastasios Gounaris

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Rating: 5,9|Votes: 13

Pascha: The New Passover

V. Rev. Fr. Anastasios Gounaris

Holy Week is not a celebration of long ago events. It is the reliving of Christ's Passion and Resurrection in the present. The hymns of the week repeatedly use the present tense and the word "today" because Christ's saving Passion and life-giving Resurrection are a present day reality and hope -- not some far away historical.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Myths of Mystery Cults

Vincent Martini

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Rating: 8,3|Votes: 11

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Myths of Mystery Cults

Vincent Martini

Again, the focus of these cults and their “rituals” was to ensure—or rather, to attempt to ensure—that their crops would be fruitful at the time of harvest. The movement of these “gods” and “goddesses” from life to death was symbolic of, and intimately connected with, the life and death of their crops (and the resulting offspring). This, of course, begs the question: What does this have to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only-begotten Son of God the Father?

Christos Anesti!

Irina Sklyarevskaya

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Rating: 10|Votes: 5

Christos Anesti!

Irina Sklyarevskaya

Suddenly in the midst of this motley and rather unpleasant crowd I saw a group of very beautiful young men and ladies. I understood that they were foreigners, but that they were somehow out of the ordinary and special. There was some sort of light in them. They walked around the churchyard fence looking lost and obviously searching for something—as it turned out, the entrance.

Palestinian Christians Find Hope in Easter and Women in Bethlehem Offer their Traditional Easter Cookie (Ma'moul) Recipie

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Rating: 9,8|Votes: 10

Palestinian Christians Find Hope in Easter and Women in Bethlehem Offer their Traditional Easter Cookie (Ma'moul) Recipie

...Indeed, Easter celebrations in Palestine in general and in Bethlehem and Jerusalem in particular have a special vigor. From Palm Sunday until Easter Day sounds of church bells, drums, boys and girls scouts performing in the streets, and the chanting of hymns create a magical atmosphere that expresses a sense of spirituality that is deeply rooted in a community that is literally thousands of years old. According to Aida, " Jesus was Palestinian. He is one of us. As the followers of Jesus we are the first Christian community and we have lived for centuries in the same towns and villages where he lived."

Symbolic Lamb: Around the World, Christians Celebrate Easter With This Dish

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Rating: 5,2|Votes: 9

Symbolic Lamb: Around the World, Christians Celebrate Easter With This Dish

Christians often celebrate Easter on different Sundays, as is the case again this year, because of differences in how the date is determined by the Eastern and Western churches. Whether it be April 8 (West) or April 15 (East), there's agreement that lamb is one of the most symbolic dishes you can place on the table at Easter.

Pascha With Papadiamantis: Lessons from a Panegyrist

Christopher Tripoulas

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Rating: 8,3|Votes: 7

Pascha With Papadiamantis: Lessons from a Panegyrist

Christopher Tripoulas

There are few opportunities like Holy Week to gain empirical knowledge and partake in the Philokalic (love of beauty) Hellenic tradition that masterfully comes to life each year in Greek Orthodox churches and homes all over the world. The Orthodox Christian mentality is expressed in our persistent focus on the Resurrection.

A Paschal Homily of Blessed Justin of Chelije

St. Justin Popovic

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Rating: 9,7|Votes: 26

A Paschal Homily of Blessed Justin of Chelije

St. Justin Popovic

Man sentenced God to death; by His Resurrection, He sentenced man to immortality. In return for a beating, He gives an embrace; for abuse, a blessing; for death, immortality. Man never showed so much hate for God as when he crucified Him; and God never showed more love for man than when He arose. Man even wanted to reduce God to a mortal, but God by His Resurrection made man immortal. The crucified God is Risen and has killed death. Death is no more. Immortality has surrounded man and all the world.

In Defense of the Holy Fire

Deacon Giorgi Maximov

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Rating: 7,6|Votes: 29

In Defense of the Holy Fire

Deacon Giorgi Maximov

Last time in the Russian-language Internet, a whole campaign was conducted to discredit the miracle of the Holy Fire. The fundamental idea of these “exposés” is that purportedly there are Orthodox who themselves deny the genuineness of this miracle but at the same time continue to “dupe simple, ingenuous people.” What arguments are offered to support this idea of duping and conscious deceit?

Paschal Homily by Archimandrite John Krestiankin, 1993

Archimandrite John (Krestiankin)

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Rating: 8,4|Votes: 20

Paschal Homily by Archimandrite John Krestiankin, 1993

Archimandrite John (Krestiankin)

Now all things are filled with light: heaven, and earth, and the nether regions… Christ is Risen! Children of God! I greet you from an abundance of unearthly joy, scorching with the power of these divine words: Christ is Risen! The holy fire of this saving good news, flashing out once again in a bright flame from the Lord’s Holy Sepulcher, has poured across the world.

Paschal Epistle of St. John Maximovitch, 1940

St. John Maximovitch

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Rating: 9,7|Votes: 42

Paschal Epistle of St. John Maximovitch, 1940

St. John Maximovitch

The present night is not an ordinary night! Brighter than day, it illuminates our souls! The rays of the Sun of the world illumine us and the whole universe, enlightening all who come to His light.

A Village Easter: Memories of Childhood

Alexandros Papadiamandis

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Rating: 10|Votes: 4

A Village Easter: Memories of Childhood

Alexandros Papadiamandis

Uncle Milios never spoke a truer word, when he said the good Christians living outside the town might end up having to celebrate Easter that year without a liturgy. In fact no prophecy was ever closer to fulfilment, for it almost came true twice — but happily God made the authorities see the light, and in the end the poor villagers, local shepherd-farmers, were judged worthy to hear the Word of God and eat the festive eggs.

Saint John Chrysostom on the Truth of the Resurrection

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Rating: 6,8|Votes: 24

Saint John Chrysostom on the Truth of the Resurrection

And indeed when should they have stolen Him? on the Sabbath? And how? for it was not lawful so much as to go out. And even if they transgressed the law, how should they have dared, who were so timid, to come forth? And how could they also have been able to persuade the multitude? By saying what? By doing what?

All-Conquering Love

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

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Rating: 10|Votes: 1

All-Conquering Love

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

The Holy Myrrhbearing Women were in a similar situation. You will recall that even Peter, the most determined and courageous of Apostles, had renounced Christ only two days earlier, out of fear that a servant girl would report him. The other disciples of Christ, fearful of being arrested scattered abroad. When they met again to discuss what to do next, on the third day after Christ's crucifixion, they did it secretly "for fear of the Jews."

Christ Has Risen within Your Heart!

Fr. George Calciu

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Rating: 9,3|Votes: 29

Christ Has Risen within Your Heart!

Fr. George Calciu

During Pascha of 1981, I was in the prison of Aiud. Early that morning, when the guards was changing shifts, I broke every diabolic rule of the prison by saying to the guard (one of the cruelest): “Christ is Risen!” He hesitated a few moments, in which, like lightening, I saw passing on his face the innocence of childhood, when his mama or grandma led him by the hand to church and when he heard the angelic voice of the priest saying: “Christ is Risen!”

It is Pascha not Easter!

Fr. Michael Harper

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Rating: 8,6|Votes: 66

It is Pascha not Easter!

Fr. Michael Harper

This is a much more important subject than a mere dispute about words. If the word in English is Easter, then one is bound to ask "what word?" Was there some word which, when translated into English, became "Easter"? The plain answer is "no".

Outside of Eden

George Strickland

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Rating: 6,5|Votes: 6

Outside of Eden

George Strickland

We are just outside of Eden, but on this side of Pascha. Bishop Kallistos observes, “Lent is a time when we weep with Adam and Eve before the closed gates of Eden, repenting with them for the sins that have deprived us our free communion with God. But Lent is also a time when we are preparing to celebrate the saving event of Christ’s death and rising, which has reopened Paradise to us once more (Luke 23:43).”

The Joy of Orthodox Pascha

Wesley J. Smith

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Rating: 10|Votes: 5

The Joy of Orthodox Pascha

Wesley J. Smith

“Pascha?” I asked. “What’s Pascha?”The man chuckled and said, “You know it as Easter.” He then spent ten minutes explaining why “Pascha”—the “new Passover” by which the entire human race passes from slavery to freedom under Christ—should replace “Easter” as the favored term for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection.

Christ is Risen From the Dead, Trampling Down Death by Death, and Upon Those in the Tombs Bestowing Life!

Thoughts on the leave-taking of Bright Pascha, from a sermon by St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) of Simferopol and Crimea

St Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)

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Christ is Risen From the Dead, Trampling Down Death by Death, and Upon Those in the Tombs Bestowing Life!

Thoughts on the leave-taking of Bright Pascha, from a sermon by St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) of Simferopol and Crimea

St Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)

Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, Who has delivered us from spiritual death and bodily destruction.

The Grandeur of Greek Pascha

Xenia Klimova

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Rating: 8,3|Votes: 23

The Grandeur of Greek Pascha

Xenia Klimova

Pascha is the principal festival of the Greek calendar.

Traditions of Celebrating Pascha in Georgia

Shio Otarashvili

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Rating: 9,3|Votes: 28

Traditions of Celebrating Pascha in Georgia

Shio Otarashvili

All these traditions help the whole of the Georgian nation experience the great joy and love that the Risen Savior brought us and share them with each other.

Paschal Dishes and Their Symbolism

Irina Pertseva

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Rating: 9,4|Votes: 28

Paschal Dishes and Their Symbolism

Irina Pertseva

Today we would like to talk about Paschal dishes—not in the context of cookery but in order to reveal the symbolism behind them.

Paschal Epistle of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral)

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Rating: 10|Votes: 19

Paschal Epistle of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral)

When a person humbles himself under the omnipotent Hand of God, he preserves peace within the depths of his heart and gradually unites with the victory of Christ.

Metropolitan Silouan (Muci)'s Paschal Message for 2019

Metropolitan Silouan (Muci) of Byblos, Botrys and dependencies

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Rating: 7|Votes: 3

Metropolitan Silouan (Muci)'s Paschal Message for 2019

Metropolitan Silouan (Muci) of Byblos, Botrys and dependencies

The Lord wants us to be ministers, collaborators and servants of this "Passover" among our brothers and peers.

Paschal Epistle of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine

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Rating: 10|Votes: 20

Paschal Epistle of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine

The Resurrection of Christ is a feast of light, because Christ, our Savior and Lord, with the radiance of His Godhead, dispersed the cold darkness of death, by which we were embraced by the sin reigning in the world.

The Stone Rolled Away. Exegesis on John 20:2

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Rating: 9,8|Votes: 4

The Stone Rolled Away. Exegesis on John 20:2

The first day of the week (that is, the Lords day) comes Mary Magdalene, very early in the morning, and sees the stone taken away from the sepulcher.

Paschal Message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine

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Rating: 10|Votes: 9

Paschal Message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine

God created us by His love to be partakers of His Divinity, to drink from Him forever as from a sacred spring, the Divine water of life. And blessed is the man who diligently preserves himself from sins, who courageously conquers himself with the word of Divine love, for such a man purifies his soul, he frees himself from the spiritual filth which humiliates him and deprives him of the ability to enjoy such a sacred gift as happiness.

“Death Has Lost Its Power and Authority”

A Paschal Interview with Met. Onuphry

We have just celebrated Pascha or Easter as it is otherwise known and the celebration that we partake of for 40 days is the celebration of Life over death, of Good over evil, of Light over darkness, of Holiness over sin. In the midst of our celebration it is easy to lose focus and to forget that this is not just a story that has been passed down to us for 2000 years.

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Rating: 10|Votes: 4

“Death Has Lost Its Power and Authority”

Rating: 5,3|Votes: 4

Occam’s Razor and the Resurrection

Fr. James Guirguis

Homily on the Day of Pascha

St. Philaret of Moscow

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Homily on the Day of Pascha

St. Philaret of Moscow

Following the Angels, we have entered into the feast of the Resurrection of Christ; we have gathered together along with the Patriarchs, the Prophets, and the Righteous, led into the Church for the feast like into Paradise and Heaven. Think then, what kind of celebration this must be! It must closely resemble the angelic; it must be worthy of communion with the Heavenly Church of Patriarchs, Prophets, and Saints; it must be worthy of Paradise and Heaven.

Pascha: The Blast of a Trumpet

Fr. Lawrence Farley

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Rating: 9,9|Votes: 7

Pascha: The Blast of a Trumpet

Fr. Lawrence Farley

Why a trumpet? Why not (for example) a signal fire, or the waving of a standard? Why a trumpet blast, and what did the blast of a trumpet mean to Israel?

Knocking Down the Gates of Hell

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Rating: 9,8|Votes: 6

Knocking Down the Gates of Hell