Posted on 05/05/2002 11:18:18 AM PDT by MarMema
Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!
Is there anyone who is a grateful servant?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!
Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!
If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.
For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him that toiled from the first.
To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!
First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!
You that have kept the fast, and you that have not, rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!
Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!
Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hades when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.
Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting?
O Hades, where is thy victory?
Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!
(Georgian)
Kriste aghsdga! Cheshmaritad aghsdga!
(Greek) Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!
(Russian) Khristos voskres! - Voistinu voskres!
(Serbian)
Hristos Vaskrese! Vaistinu Vaskrese!
(Ukranian)
Kristos Voskres! Voistinu voskres!
He is risen indeed!
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
The celebration of Pascha (called "Easter Sunday" in the West) in the Orthodox Church is not merely a historical re-enactment of Christ's Resurrection as narrated in the gospels. It is not a dramatic presentation of "the first Easter morning," and there is no "sunrise service", since the Paschal Matins and Liturgy are celebrated together in the first dark hours of the first day of the week in order to give men the experience of the new creation of the world, and to allow them to enter mystically into the New Jerusalem which shines eternally with the glorious Light of Christ!
The Church teaches that while the body of Christ rested in the tomb on the Sabbath (the day after the Crucifixion), His soul descended into Hades. Prior to the Incarnation, the gates of paradise were closed to mankind. Therefore Hades, not to be confused with Hell, was the place where the souls of all went upon death. It was neither a place of reward, nor a place of punishment. It had been likened to "Death's prison", where the souls of both the just and the sinners were confined. Since Christ actually died upon the Cross, Death claimed His Soul for Hades. However, Hades received more than it expected… it received the Giver of Life, who destroyed the power of Hades. The icon of the Resurrection portrays this concept.
Isys Vascros
At Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II.
At a military base in Kiev, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest sprinkles holy water over cakes and eggs
Russian Easter cakes, or kulichi, are traditionally blessed by a priest
Serbia's Prince Aleksandar marked Easter by handing out gifts to orphans and handicapped children
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