«O Death! Where is thy sting? O hell! Where is thy victory?»
(Hosea 13, 14)
«Thanks be to God, Who hath granted us victory
through our Lord, Jesus Christ!» (1 C?r. 15, 55, 57)

How much this exclamation says to our minds and hearts, O beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! Only two words [in Russian (“Khristos Voskrese!”)] — but how much inexpressible joy and solemnity they bring in these good news.

This annunciation of Christ's resurrection sp?aks to us of the fact that the world has been redeemed from sin; that the salvation of the entire human race from the curse and from eternal death has taken place; [it speaks to us] of [mankind's] reconciliation with God. These words concerning the resurrection of the Lord bear witness to the fact that the Son of God, having come down to earth, took human nature upon Himself, bore the torments of the cross and death, descended into hell, destroyed its gates, and trampled down death — having opened, for all those who believe in Him, the way to eternal life and blessedness in Christ Jesus.

«This is the day which the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it». The entire Church of Christ exults and rejoices with a spiritual joy on this blessed, holy day. This joyous fulness of spiritual life, this enraptured and tender emotional state, is explained by our faith in the eternal blessedness of paradise and communion with Christ, and is particularly experienced by Christians of all times during the days of Holy Pascha.

There is presently no room for despondency and sorrow, «for forgiveness hath shone forth from the tomb». «Enter ye all into the joy of your Lord».

If we are despondent and sorrowful on this day, — let us attempt to be yet more attentive to our spiritual life, let us be more diligent regarding the building up of our faith and our hope in Christ.

«If any man be devout and loveth God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast!» — says St. John Chrysostom. How can we not rejoice, how can we not solemnly celebrate and not salute one another with Christ's Resurrection? Truly is Christ risen! «Thy Cross do we worship, O Christ, and Thy holy resurrection do we hymn and glorify,» «O Christ God, our Benefactor, glory to Thee!»

There is no holiday that is more radiant and more touching than the Feast of Holy Pascha, — this day does the whole world, both visible and invisible, celebrate; even «the sun doth play» and rejoice, according to a [Russian] folk-saying. «Let the heavens worthily make merry, and let the earth rejoice; let the entire world, both visible and invisible, celebrate: for Christ hath risen, O joy eternal.» The Sun of Righteousness — Christ the Lord, shines forth this day in every believing soul, warming human hearts with His love and illuminating Christian faces with the beams of the true Light.

Now do we celebrate the mortification of death, the destruction of hell, the beginning of another, eternal life: «disporting do we hymn the one responsible, the only blessed and most-glorified God of [our] fathers».

?ne of the first Christian teachers of the Church, Tertullian, addressing the pagans, says: «your feasts, taken all together, cannot compare with Christ's Pascha, by itself. It is the liberation of the entire human race from enslavement, sin and death. It is the triumph of triumphs and the feast of feasts, this elect and holy day».

God Himself hath created this day, rejoice and be glad!

But, rejoicing and making merry, we must remember that our Pascha is Christ Himself; therefore must we celebrate it «not with the old leaven, not with the leaven of wrath and wickedness, but with unleavened purity and truth» (I Cor. 5, 7-8). And let these words of the holy Apostle be memorable to us not only in times of celebration, but also throughout the duration of our entire life.

The Apostle Paul writes to the Hebrews: «be watchful, therefore, that none be deprived of the grace of God; in order that some bitter root, having arisen, not cause harm, and that many might not be defiled therewith» (Heb. 12, 15).

The Paschal joy is a foretaste of the eternal joy of paradise, and whosoever loses the first, the same can lose the second, as well. The events of contemporary ecclesiastical life, and the many varieties of temptations in the world, force us to treat with especial attention these words of the Apostle, which forewarn each and every faithful son of the Church, in whatever circumstances he might find himself, not to permit words and deeds of scepticism, faint-heartedness, murmuring and despair to enter into his heart.

The Lord promised His disciples, and kept [His promise to them]: «I will see you again, and your heart[s] will rejoice, and none shall take away your joy from you» (John 16, 22).

This joy of Christ's resurrection did not depart from the hearts of the Apostles amidst those difficult hardships of life and even in the face of death itself, which is trampled down by the death of Christ. Neither should this joy depart from us amidst considerably lesser sorrows and woes; therefore, let the spiritual Kingdom of Christ be built up within our hearts in this joy, from strength to strength, «by the Spirit of the Lord» (II Cor. 3, 18).

In order that this victorious joy might not be quenched within us throughout all our days, and especially in days of trial, let us, with all our hearts, beseech the Lord with the words of the paschal canon: «O Christ, Pascha great and most-holy! ? Wisdom, and Word and Power of God! Grant that we may more perfectly partake of Thee in the day which knoweth no night of Thy kingdom». Amen.

Truly, Christ is risen!