Stichera of the feast of the Passover of Christ, tone 6:

Your Resurrection, Christ the Savior, Angels sing in heaven, and make us on earth glorify You with a pure heart.

Troparion, tone 5:

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and bestowing life on those in the tombs.

Kontakion, tone 8:

Even if you descended into the grave, Immortal, but you destroyed the power of hell, and you rose again, like the Conqueror, Christ God, prophesying to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice! and grant peace to your apostles, give resurrection to the underdogs.

On the night of April 30 to May 1, on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' celebrated a series of Easter services in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Before the start of the procession, His Holiness the Patriarch addressed the flock on television:

On this Easter night, I heartily congratulate the archpastors and pastors, monastics, all Orthodox believers, in the Fatherland and in the diaspora, on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ and greet you all with a joyful Easter greeting coming from apostolic times: Christ is Risen!

I wish that the joy of the holiday touches every heart, so that everyone feels the joy of meeting with the Risen Lord and Savior. And may this joy give strength, courage to endure all life's anxieties, trials, and illnesses. We must realize that the Lord is with us, and if the Lord is with us, then we are not afraid of any trials that stand in our way of life.

In a few days, our Fatherland and the whole world will celebrate the anniversary of the end of the most bloody war - the 60th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, which was achieved at the cost of an incalculable number of victims. We all must remember the feat that our fathers and grandfathers accomplished in order to liberate our Fatherland and the whole world from fascism. I congratulate all of you on this coming holiday. We recalled this unprecedented feat, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Victory, we remember it today, when we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of the war. Let the citizens of Russia, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the heroism of their fathers and grandfathers, and the subsequent anniversaries of the Great Victory, always remember the great courage that our people showed in the fight against fascism. This courage must be nurtured by the younger generation, which does not know the horrors of war, does not know the suffering that our fathers and grandfathers endured while defending our Fatherland.

I once again wish everyone a bright and joyful holiday of Easter. It is significant that on Victory Day, 60 years ago, we celebrated the end of the war during the Easter period. And now we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Great Victory during the days of Easter celebrations, rejoicing in the Risen Lord Savior and believing that the Lord will grant us victory over sin in the future, grant us His grace and His mercy. I wish you all joy in the Resurrected Lord, peace of mind, health and God's help in all your affairs and on your entire life path.

Happy holiday! Christ is Risen!

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church led the Midnight Office and the Procession of the Cross, after which he celebrated Paschal Matins and Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

His Holiness was co-served by Archbishop Arseny of Istra and Bishop Alexander of Dmitrov.

The Easter service was attended by Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Efimovich Fradkov, Head of the Presidential Administration Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Central Federal District Georgy Poltavchenko, Moscow Mayor Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov, and other prominent statesmen and public figures.

The patriarchal service was broadcast on central television channels. Before the start of the procession, His Holiness the Patriarch addressed the flock on television.

During the Procession, Bishop Savva of Krasnogorsk handed over to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church the Holy Fire delivered to Moscow from the Church of the Life-Giving Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

According to ancient tradition, during the Paschal Matins, His Holiness read the Announcement of St. John Chrysostom.

At the end of the matins, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy addressed the Easter greeting to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, the leaders of the state and the participants of the divine service:

"Christ is Risen! I cordially greet President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who a few days ago visited the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem and prayed at the Life-Giving Sepulcher of the Savior, praying for the Fatherland and our people. Your presence now at the Easter service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is especially significant for us: you, as it were, convey a blessing from the shrine, before which you prayed during the days of Passion Week.

This year, like 60 years ago, the Victory Day is celebrated during the Easter period, when we glorify the Risen Lord Savior. Celebrating this common holiday for all of us on the days of Holy Easter, we again and again recall the great feat of our fathers and grandfathers, who together forged the Victory, without being divided either by nationality or by religious views. Decades will pass from these great days, but we must remember the innumerable sacrifices that our people made for the sake of the Victory. The memory of this nationwide feat is of great educational importance for all of us, especially for the younger generation, for those who have not experienced the enormous hardships and hardships that our fathers and grandfathers endured on their shoulders.

On behalf of all the people of God, I would like to congratulate you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, as well as the Head of Government, the Head of the Administration, the Plenipotentiary Representative in the Central Federal District, the Mayor of Moscow on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. May the joy of the Risen Lord strengthen you in the feat of serving the Fatherland and our people. God grant that the great date - the 60th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War - unite us all in remembrance of the great feat that our people accomplished. Christ is Risen!".

Before the start of the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy said:

“The Holy Fire was brought to the procession from the holy city of Jerusalem, which, according to the already established tradition, is annually brought to Moscow, and from the capital city it is sent to the cities and villages of our Fatherland. And today we will open the vessel with this shrine and let the fire that miraculously descended on the Life-Giving Sepulcher of the Lord spread among the faithful, and some worshipers will take it to their homes.” Then His Holiness lit candles from the Holy Fire and distributed them to the participants in the service.

During the Divine Liturgy, the Paschal message of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' to the archpastors, pastors, monastics and all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church was read out.

At the end of the Paschal Liturgy, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated the artos and once again congratulated the participants of the service on Easter:

I congratulate fellow archpastors, all-honorable fathers, all of you, dear brothers and sisters, on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ!

Thank God, we have lived to see the Easter holiday and solemnly celebrate and meet the Risen Lord Savior! I prayerfully wish you all joy in our Risen Lord. I wish that He would give all of you, your families, your loved ones peace, health of mind and body, so that each of us would feel that God is with us, who is resurrected, who came to earth, performed a redemptive feat for us for the sake of man and for our sake of salvation. May this joy in the Risen Lord and our Savior strengthen us in life's sorrows, difficulties and sorrows. We must feel that the Lord is with us, and with the Lord we are not afraid of any trials.

I greet you again and again with a joyful Paschal greeting, coming from the times of the apostles: Christ is Risen! Truly Risen!

I wish you all a bright, joyful, saving holiday of Easter of Christ, dear brothers and sisters!

Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin sent a message of congratulations to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. The message says:

“Your Holiness! I heartily congratulate you on the Bright Resurrection of Christ.

Many years of fruitful activity as Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church has earned you high prestige and respect in society. The citizens of Russia appreciate your tireless concern for the preservation of civil peace and harmony in the country, the development of interreligious dialogue, and the strengthening of the spiritual and moral foundations of society.

With all my heart I wish you good health and new successes in your responsible service for the good of Russia.”

On May 1, on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' celebrated Great Vespers in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

His Holiness was co-served by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Archbishops Grigory of Mozhaisk, Arseniy of Istra, Evgeny of Vereisky, Chairman of the Educational Committee of the Holy Synod, Alexy of Orekhovo-Zuyevsky, Bishops Athanasius of Kirinsky, Niphon of Philippolsky, representative of the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia , representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Arkady (Afonin), Nikon (Mironov), Krasnogorsky Savva, Vidnovsky Tikhon, Sergiev Posadsky Theognost, Luberetsky Veniamin, Egorevsky Mark.

Easter Vespers was televised.

At the end of the service, the Primate received traditional Easter greetings from the archpastors of the Russian Orthodox Church, representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches, clergy and laity of the Mother See of Moscow. Congratulating His Holiness the Patriarch on behalf of the Holy Synod and the entirety of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Yuvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna presented His Holiness with an Easter egg with images of Easter and two glorious historical anniversaries celebrated this year - the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 625th anniversary of Kulikovo battle.

Addressing the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with Easter greetings, Metropolitan Yuvenaly said:

“Today, on Easter night, we entered into the joy of our Lord, celebrating His three-day Resurrection. And tonight, in spiritual joy, we stand next to you, continuing to celebrate God's saving Pascha.

In the Gospel narrative, now read at the evening service, the words of the Apostle Thomas sounded in dissonance, who, amidst universal joy, having heard the news of the Resurrection of Christ from his brothers and myrrh-bearing women, replied that he would not believe this news until he himself put his hands to the wounds Savior. And we know that eight agonizing days for the Apostle Thomas passed before he exclaimed: "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).

Something similar to him and our people. Not eight days, Your Holiness, but fifteen years, with sacrificial love and enthusiasm, you have been preaching the Gospel word in our land, preaching to a people who have been in an atmosphere of atheism for several decades. As a result of the missionary and educational activities of the Holy Russian Church, of which you are the Primate, millions of our fellow citizens have returned to their fatherly faith. But we know that even to this day not everyone can say, like the Apostle Thomas, "My Lord and my God!" Therefore, I would like to wish much Divine help to you as the High Hierarch of the Russian land, so that our Church, inspired by your living example, your selfless, sacrificial service, continues to turn to those who have not yet known the joy of Communion with God, so that in good time they can say together with Christ disciple: "My Lord and my God."

Allow me to warmly and cordially greet you on this Easter evening on behalf of the Holy Synod, on behalf of the episcopate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Synodal institutions, Theological schools, holy monasteries and your multimillion-strong flock, in Russia and in the diaspora, on behalf of the representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches under your Patriarchal Throne . We pray to the Lord the Giver of Life that He will multiply Your strength to infinity so that You will continue to lead our Church to the salvation of people, to the revival of spiritual life in the Fatherland. Christ is Risen!".

His Holiness the Patriarch addressed Metropolitan Juvenaly and all those present with a reply:

“Your Eminence, I sincerely thank you for the congratulations that you conveyed on behalf of the members of the Holy Synod, on behalf of the episcopate of our Church, representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches located in Moscow, the monasteries of the Russian land, Synodal departments, Theological educational institutions and all the Plenitude of our Holy Churches. Thank you, you always put special content into the Easter gift. And this time it reflects the two anniversaries that we are celebrating this year. Your current Easter gift today reminds not only of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, but also of two glorious anniversaries of our history - the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 625th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo.

We are all aware of the living connection with the history of our country. Only in unity with her can we truly feel that we are the successors and heirs of our glorious ancestors. Among them are a host of Orthodox ascetics, including St. Sergius, who blessed the holy Grand Duke Dimitry Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo, as well as millions of Russian soldiers who gave their lives defending our Fatherland. 60 years have passed since the Great Victory, but I think that for many years to come, the people of Russia will keep the memory of the unparalleled feat that our fathers and grandfathers showed when they defended the Fatherland from fascism and gave their lives for the sake of the Great Victory. The victory was achieved at a high price - many millions of our compatriots sacrificed their lives for it.

Thanks to the unparalleled feat of our fathers and grandfathers, today we have the opportunity to build a renewed life for our Russia and build the cause of its spiritual rebirth. Its visible symbol is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where we celebrate Easter services. Today, on Easter night, in a conversation with Moscow Mayor Yu.M. Luzhkov, we said that if there were no Cathedral of Christ the Savior, we would have nowhere to hold such large-scale services, which attract many believers, and properly celebrate memorable dates in history our country.

But hundreds and thousands of other churches in Russia and its capital are being revived. Yesterday, on the eve of Easter, I traditionally visited nine parishes in the city of Moscow in the new, so-called "dormitory" districts. In one of them, the first divine service took place on the feast of Easter. I saw hundreds of people flocking to this church, starting their prayer life, their service to our long-suffering people.

Not all people have yet been touched by the news of the Risen Lord Savior; many still cannot exclaim with the Apostle Thomas: "My Lord and my God." Therefore, archpastors and pastors must not weaken in their service and deeds, enlightening our compatriots with the light of the faith of Christ. The missionary activity of the Church is today one of its main ministries. It is gratifying that even now we can testify: more and more people in Russia are realizing that it is impossible to live without God, and they are returning to the fence of the Church of Christ, where their ancestors prayed, found comfort and spiritual support.

Throughout the thousand-year history of Russia, the Orthodox Church has always been with her people, sharing their difficulties and their joys. So it was in the past, so it will be in the future. And we hope that our common efforts will continue to bear good fruit. I prayerfully wish Your Eminence, all archpastors and pastors, monastics, workers in the field of spiritual enlightenment, missionaries of our Church, representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches who contribute to the enlightenment of our people, that the Lord give us all the strength and courage to perform this service and vouchsafe us to see that our words and our efforts resonate in the hearts and souls of our compatriots.

The joy of the Pascha of Christ is shared with us by millions of people living in the expanses of Russia from the Far East to the western borders of our Fatherland and in the dispersion of beings. Many of our compatriots ended up abroad due to various circumstances. In the countries where they live, more and more Orthodox parishes are being created. In them, our compatriots gain a living connection with their homeland, get the opportunity to feel that they are not orphans, that they are not alone, although they live in a foreign land, among people of a different language, different culture, and other religions. Our compatriots abroad receive in the Church a strengthening of strength, a charge of spiritual vigor, which they so need.

Thanks to everyone who today, on this evening of the first day of Pascha of Christ, shared with Us the prayer at the Paschal Great Vespers. May the Resurrected Lord strengthen us all with His grace in bearing the cross of life, in growing in Christian virtues, so that our life is an example to those around us, as the Lord said: “So let your light shine before people, so that they see your good deeds and glorify the Father your heavenly" (Mt 5:16).

In conclusion, I want to greet you all again and again with a joyful Easter greeting. It passes from generation to generation, from generation to generation. It came to us from the time of the apostles, comforts, gives hope and faith that the Risen Lord is with us. And if the Lord is with us, and we are with the Lord, then we are not afraid of any difficulties, hardships and trials. Christ is Risen! Truly Risen!"

The participants in the service received the Primate's blessing and exchanged traditional Easter gifts with the Primate of the Church.

Paschal Epistle of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' to archpastors, pastors, monastics and all faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church

We were buried with Him by baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
so shall we walk in newness of life.
Rome. 6, 4

Beloved in the Risen Christ, Your Grace archpastors, the entire priestly, diaconal and monastic order, the God-loving children of our Holy Orthodox Church! Greeting each of you with an Easter kiss, I turn to you with words full of inexpressible joy:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Today we are celebrating the greatest of holidays, we are celebrating the most beautiful of celebrations. The bright Easter joy that shines in our hearts warms us amid earthly concerns, inspires us to live in kindness and love, and gives us a premonition of our own coming resurrection.
The Lord opens the blessed source of this joy to everyone and does not ask today at what hour who went out to do his work. He knows His faithful ones who labored from the first hour, but He also knows that those who came to the eleventh hour overcame, perhaps, the most difficult part of the path. And there is no deed more pleasing to God than to bring this holy joy to those who do not know it, whose souls have not yet been illuminated by the imperishable light of Christ's Pascha. And this luminous, transfiguring, life-giving joy will roll away the stones from the tombs in which their souls are sealed.

Turning the jubilant Paschal hymns to the One who has risen from the dead, the Firstborn among the dead (1 Cor. 15:20), we also feel in ourselves the miracle of co-resurrection: we are no longer spiritually dead, but are Alive by the grace of God, which has redeemed us from sin and death, which has made us in Christ a new creation.

This miracle is created by the love of the Resurrected Savior, who conquered death by the Feat of the Cross. For the salvation of mankind, who had departed from God's plan, the Creator of Life descended into hell, humbled Himself to death, even to the death of the cross, and gave us the New Pascha - a mysterious transition from death to Life, from darkness to light, from earth to the eternal Kingdom of God. And this transition opens up for us already in this temporal life of ours, if in our earthly journey through prayer and humble acceptance of the will of God, through deeds of mercy and service to our neighbors, we unite with Christ.

Freeing ourselves from sinful captivity, striving with all our might to the shining light of Christ, we make our life more beautiful, for we multiply eternal riches in our souls - according to the word of Scripture: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don't dig or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20-21).

The revelation that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) is the greatest gift of the Incarnate Son of God to mankind. Love transforms, purifies and sanctifies everything around us. And we, following the commandment of the Savior about sacrificial, self-sacrificing love for people, partake of Divine love, which, burning in our hearts, will fill our whole Life with unquenchable Paschal joy. Then the apostle's words will be fulfilled on us: "Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7).

Let us walk the path of salvation unslowly and unswervingly. Yes, this path is always thorny and narrow. And it is no coincidence that many in the world around us have left this path, clouding their spiritual vision with the desire for power and glory, comfort and possession of earthly treasures, unbridled consumption and endless entertainment. The Church knows that such a road leads a person to a dead end and will never make him happy. The path of Christ, the path of cross-bearing and resurrection, leads us to the light that shone forth from the life-giving Tomb of the Lord. To live in this light means to overcome any sorrow and sorrow, to have the fullness of peace and joy.

Beloved! Let us, according to the apostolic covenant, “walk in newness of life.” Let us reject enmity and strife, sinful habits and spiritual relaxation. Every day and hour of our life let us fulfill the commandment of Christ: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

There are many people among us who are in dire need of help and care. These are our elderly fellow citizens, victims of wars, crimes and natural disasters, those who suffer from illness, poverty, loneliness, orphanhood, homelessness. Let us bring to each of them, as an Paschal gift, our active love, our mites and works of mercy.

“The Day of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,” writes St. John Chrysostom, “the foundation of the world, the beginning of reconciliation, the cessation of hostile actions, the destruction of death, the defeat of the devil.” May the Easter of Christ bring peace where blood is shed and hatred flares up. May all the people of the Earth extend to each other the hand of brotherhood and cooperation for the common good. I assure everyone that the Russian Orthodox Church will work for the blessed reconciliation and harmony of the entire human race. In this ministry, we are invariably open to joint work with the state and various social forces, with people of different faiths and beliefs.

In a few days we will solemnly celebrate the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. In those difficult years, on the verge of life and death, the holy Orthodox faith awakened with renewed vigor in the soul of the people. For many of our compatriots, this was the beginning of a new life - life in Christ. Then the luminous Feast of Easter also fell on the days of May and preceded the national holiday of the Great Victory. Christ the Savior blessed His people who turned to Him with peace (Ps. 28:11).

All the clergy, monastics and laity of our Holy Church again and again I ask you to improve in faith and good deeds, “so that God may be glorified in everything through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 4:11).

CHRIST IS RISEN!
TRULY IS RISEN CHRIST!

ALEXY, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL Rus'

On May 1, on the day of the feast of the Easter of Christ, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' addressed the viewers with an Easter greeting:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

From the bottom of my heart I congratulate you all on the bright holiday of Holy Easter.

Through His sufferings on the Cross and the Resurrection, Christ redeemed humanity, freed each of us from slavery to sin, conquered death, and opened the way for people to the Heavenly Father. This difficult, but saving path also lies through our relationships with our neighbors. That is why the joy of the Easter celebration will be complete for us if we share this joy with those who surround us in our daily life: with relatives and friends, friends and acquaintances. May quarrels and mutual enmity subside on these holy days, and peace, love and respect for each other reign in the souls.

Let's not forget those who are grieving, who are sick, all who need our support and human participation. Warm them with brotherly love! After all, Christ also came into the world, accepted suffering, rose from the dead precisely so that we “have love that is not hypocritical.”

In a few days, our Motherland and the whole world will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Victory. The war has brought untold suffering to our people. People of my generation remember that during the war years, faith was revived, people who went through the trenches and concentration camps reached out to the opened churches. And among those who celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ today there are those who have passed front-line trials or experienced the horrors of war as children and teenagers. May peace reign in their hearts now. May their old age be worthy. This should be taken care of by new generations – their children and grandchildren.

The Easter of the Lord is celebrated with us by millions of Orthodox outside of Russia - in Ukraine and Belarus, in the Baltic states and Western Europe, all over the world. We pray that divisions, conflicts and splits do not overshadow the life of our fellow believers. I call on the authorities and politicians, who are entrusted with the fate of people, to remember their responsibility before God and history.

I wish you, dear brothers and sisters, God's help in all your good deeds and undertakings, peace and happiness in your homes, bright joy in the Risen Lord. Happy holiday to you!

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY IS RISEN!

Even in the saints of our father John, Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom, the Word of the catechumen, on the holy and luminous day of the glorious and saving Christ our God of the Resurrection

If anyone is pious and God-loving, let him enjoy this good and bright celebration.
If anyone is a wise servant, let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord.
If anyone has bothered to fast, let him now accept a denarius.
If anyone has been eating from the first hour, let him accept a righteous duty today.
If anyone comes after the third hour, let him give thanks.
If anyone reaches the sixth hour, let him doubt nothing; for nothing otschetevaetsya.
If someone loses even the ninth hour, let him come, hesitating nothing, fearing nothing.
If someone achieves exactly at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid of slowing down: the Lord is pious, he accepts the last, as well as the first: he reposes at the eleventh hour who has come, as if he had done from the first hour; and he has mercy on the last, and pleases the first, and to him he gives, and to this he grants; and accepts deeds, and kisses intention; and honors the deed, and praises the proposal.
Wherefore, therefore, enter all into the joy of your Lord: both the first and the second, accept the reward.
Riches and wretchedness, rejoice with each other.
Temperance and laziness, honor the day.
You who have fasted and not fasted, rejoice today.
The meal is full, enjoy everything.
Well-fed calf, let no one go hungry; all enjoy the feast of faith; all perceive the wealth of goodness.
Let no one weep misery: for the common Kingdom will appear.
No one weeps sins, forgiveness is from the tomb of the ascension.
Let no one be afraid of death, free us Spasov's death.
Extinguish yu, Izhe from her held.
Captivity of hell, descended into hell.
Grieve hell, having tasted its flesh.
And this is what Isaiah undertook, cry out: hell, he says, be upset, shit to thee.
Grieve, for you have been abolished; grieve, for you have been mocked.
Grieve, for you are dead.
Grieve, for cast down.
Grieve, for I am in touch.
Pleasant body, and praise God.
Praise the earth and greet the sky.
Pleasant, hedgehog seeing, and falling into a hedgehog not seeing.
Where is your, death, sting?
Where is your, hell, victory?
Christ is risen, and thou hast fallen.
Christ is risen, and the demons have fallen.
Christ is risen, and the Angels rejoice.
Christ is risen, and life lives.
Christ is risen, and the dead is not one in the tomb.
Christ, having arisen from the dead, was the Firstfruits of the dead.
To that glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh (Bloom)

Christ is Risen!

The Holy Apostle Paul in one of his epistles says: if Christ has not risen, then we are the most unfortunate of all people ... And indeed, if Christ has not risen, then all our faith, everything that we call our spiritual experience, is built on a lie or illusion.

And Christ is truly risen! We know this from personal experience; not only tens, not only thousands, but millions of people experienced in their lives the living presence and touch of Christ Himself. But we also believe in His carnal, bodily resurrection, to which the apostles testify, saying that they tell about what they saw with their own eyes, heard with their own ears, touched with their own hands (1 John 1, 1).

And indeed, the myrrh-bearing women came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, and the angel called them to enter and testify that the tomb was empty; after them, Peter and John came and also found an empty tomb and linens with which Christ was wrapped, lying empty, empty, because the body of Christ was no longer there. And again Christ appeared to His disciples: He ate with them, He spoke with them, they touched His resurrected body, they realized by their experience, bodily experience that Christ is not a spirit, not a ghost, but the resurrected by the flesh of their Teacher, who conquered death. Indeed, what is surprising about this? If we really believe that Christ was the Son of God, God Himself, who came in the flesh to save the world, then it is difficult to believe in His death, but it is easy to believe in His resurrection. How could Christ die in the body, being Life itself, how could Christ remain captive to death, being Life triumphant, eternal?! Therefore, let us greet each other with joy and faith, knowing that Christ was resurrected in His flesh, and that in this is the promise of our resurrection in due time. Death has ceased to be an object of fear for us: it is an opening door to eternity; and when the time comes, the voice of God, which called everything that exists into existence, will thunder, and we will all rise in flesh and spirit, and we will sing to the Lord an eternal song of joy, triumph and thanksgiving!

Christ is Risen!

“Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and make us on earth glorify you with a pure heart”. On the Holy and Great Week of Easter. Stichera at the Procession

Now, brethren, we have a feast of feasts and a triumph of feasts - a time of praise and hymns. Now the Lord has surprised His mercy over us. His Resurrection proclaims to all the end of punishment, the remission of sins, justification, sanctification, redemption, adoption and inheritance of heaven: God on earth - man in heaven, all in union. Now it has become obvious that the ancient warfare has been stopped, that the Divine has reconciled with our nature, the devil has been put to shame, bound, paradise has been opened, and great hope for the future has been resurrected. What can compare with such blessings and promises? Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us compose a song to the Savior - our God.

But with what and from what shall we compose a song? Angels sing in heaven and cannot help but sing. Like the rays from the sun, like the fragrance from the krin (lily), so is the song from the lips of the Angels. The forces of their being are in perfect harmony, like the strings of a well-arranged Psalter. While living, they set them in motion and, while living, they sing.

Is it the same with us? Our forces are upset - in struggle and confusion, and at the same time, will our singing be like singing? How fitting, therefore, to celebrate the triumph of the resurrection with a prayer song to the Risen One about the gift of singing: “And grant us on earth with a pure heart to glorify Thee!”

The Prophet David, beginning a song to the Savior glorified by the Resurrection, speaks of the birth of this song: "I will burp my heart out my word good"(). So easily poured out his song! And we have a word, but it may not be a doxology, and we have a heart, but it may not belch a good word. The heart, for sure, is the closest organ of psalms and spiritual hymns, and each of its feelings is the same as the tone in singing: not always, however, the song is ejected from it with such convenience and ease as breathing takes place in our body; one must always - and sometimes with great effort - pre-tune it so that praise can be born, mature and pour out in it. What feelings must arouse in our hearts, so that from their fusion a song worthy of the glory of the Risen Lord could be formed?

We already have a song of praise and together with the Church we repeat it - a song in which, through the glorification of the Lord, it is impossible not to notice the total with which the spirit that composed it was filled. Here, in the first few words, we hear: let us purify the senses – not external, without a doubt, the senses of the body, but the inner feelings of the heart. And this is the first. Before the Lord, coming from the tomb pure and bright, how to stand for praise with an unlight heart and an unclean soul! We wash ourselves, renew and whiten our clothes, when we need to appear before a noble person, fearing to offend him with an indecent appearance. For the Lord, who is our heart and requires our heart as a Godly offering, by the same sense of fear, if not out of love, we must change, whiten and purify the feelings of the heart, human - to man, and God - to God. And why, in the person of the Risen Lord, all the blessings of redemption are so majestically and amazingly offered to our faith and love, if not to arouse and strengthen in us the obligation - not to return to sins in which they are forgiven; captivity when redeemed, not to attract the curse when it is already lifted, to keep purity and holiness when cleansed and sanctified. True, during the days of Holy Forty Days, everyone cleansed himself to the best of his strength and zeal, in order to enter the Bright Week with the kvass of purity and truth, and not with the kvass of malice and deceit; nevertheless, however, and now it is timely to suggest about the purification of spiritual feelings and the holiness of days that require greater tension of purity, and especially for those temptations and stumbling blocks that, according to a strange order with us, in such an abundance inevitably meet us, stumbling blocks, from which no third-party instructions will be able to protect, except for the wisdom of Christ, sent down to the thirsty and asking, and irreconcilable enmity and hatred for everything unclean, or even only suspicious in impurity. Only in such leaders does purity receive a safe fence and the power not only to wean off strong passions - anger, vanity, intemperance, and others, but to move away even from innocent, apparently, pleasure, entertainment, entertainment gatherings and other things, and instead dispose to visit temples God's, God-pleasing institutions and dwellings of the unfortunate.

We also hear in the Paschal canon the voice of the Angel to the myrrh-bearing women: "Go forth and preach to the world, for the Lord has arisen, who kills death"(Ipakoi). Then the Resurrection of Christ was a completely new and unusual subject. To assure him, the red feet of those who preach the gospel and preaching lips with miraculous power were needed. Today in the Christian world, the truth of the Resurrection of Christ is so undoubted and universal that oral preaching about it seems completely superfluous and we do not arouse faith, but only enjoy common faith when we repeat mutual greetings: Christ is risen - truly risen. For all that, even now between us it is not only decent, but also necessary, a different kind of preaching, preaching not from the mouth, but from deeds and life, which, without saying a word about the Resurrection, by the very fact that it combines the power of the Risen One, is more convincing than any words assures of the truth of the Resurrection. This silent sermon is exactly like the way fragrant flowers proclaim themselves. We sometimes do not see them ourselves, but, passing by the place where they grow, we immediately conclude from one smell: such or such a color surely grows here. Or again: a clean stream flows quietly and calmly; but by the very fact that it is pure, it reflects the sky in itself, and we look into the water of the stream, but we see the sky. This is how one preaches about the Resurrected Savior who in his life depicts the life of Christ. That is why in the Holy Scriptures they are called the fragrance of Christ, or those in whom Christ imagined himself, or those who put on Christ, or even more so, those who no longer live for it themselves, but Christ lives in them, as if their own life were all sacrificed. was the life of Christ. Therefore, the voice of the Angel: "go forth and preach to the world" in relation to us, the same means that: live so that your whole life is a single word: Christ is risen, and so that, looking at you, the whole world, both Christian and non-Christian, would say: Truly Christ is risen, because apparently he lives in this or that, in this or that, apparently forces are working on him. Is it necessary to explain further that at the basis of such a life lies zeal for the glory of the Risen Lord through imitation of Him and assimilation of the power of His Resurrection.

It is sung in the Sunday song on behalf of all of us: “We sing and praise Your Resurrection: You are ours, do we not know You otherwise, we call Your name”(Easter canon). This expresses the feeling of perfect rest in the Savior. And how natural it is, especially now! If some beneficent person took to himself the poorest orphan, raised him and educated him, adopted him and gave him an honorable place, without leaving, however, his love and patronage for him, then this orphan in relation to his benefactor would not constantly keep one feeling: he is everything to me; with him, I am safe as in a wall fence and am not afraid of evil; his caring love will remove everything unpleasant before I know about it. In the Resurrected Jesus Christ, man, the poorest wanderer on earth, is accepted by God, delivered from sin, hell, death, the devil, adopted by God, honored by the deification of his nature. Shouldn't he also have such feelings in his soul in relation to the Risen Lord? “My Lord and mine: do I not know Thee otherwise, and am not disposed to know. In You, You alone, I rest completely. I am Yours, and You, Lord, my Lord; I am not afraid of what malice will do to me, whole hosts of wicked ones: neither hell, nor death, nor the prince of darkness dare approach me. Under the shadow of your wings I take refuge and rejoice in a sense of security. So a child in the hands of a mother is not afraid of the whole world and does not cherish any evil. Blessed be God, bring us into the hope of life, through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If curse and sin are destroyed, if death is trampled, if hell is destroyed and the head of the original enemy is erased, then what else to fear? If so many forces have been manifested, will the Lord after this shorten his blessed right hand?

Here are a few of the many! We have extracted only three feelings from the Paschal Song: hatred for all the impurity of passions and sins, zeal for the glory of the Risen Lord, and complete repose in Him. And many more indications could be found on how one should set one's heart up for worthy praise of the Lord; but even these three are enough to understand the full image of the mood: even from them alone, a harmonious and divine song can be composed. It is not difficult to see how these feelings correspond to the different tones of the well-arranged Psalter. There is also a lower tone here: it is hostility towards everything opposite to the purity and lordship of the Risen One, hostility that is inside; there is also a middle one: it is a zeal for the glory of the Risen One through the image of His properties in one's life, a zeal that passes fearlessly through the earth; there is also the highest: it is repose in the Risen One, reaching to heaven and passing into the innermost - beyond the veil. It is also easy to see how all of them are necessary for a harmonious song. Where there is not one, there the Psalter is out of tune and singing becomes unworthy of celebration: without hostility to the unclean, it will be goat-voicing, without zeal for the glory of the Lord, it will be a cymbal tinkling and an ugly mixture of tones; without rest in Him, it is a thunder that is heard only on earth. So only the soul, filled with all these feelings, now composes in itself a harmonious angelic song to the Risen One. Having fixed an attentive thought on the Divine image of the Risen One, she perceives Him with a pure heart in proportionate fullness and integrity; clothed, as it were, in this wonderful image, she does not want to appear otherwise to the world, as in Him, and walks the earth, like the likeness of the Risen One; and through repose in Him, he ascends from the earth, stands in the choir of Angels and with them, in the likeness of the heavenly powers, sings: Christ is risen from the dead, straightened by death and bestowed life on those in the tombs. Amen.

What is the Easter service? How does it happen? What does a parishioner need to do? You will learn the answer to all these questions from the article!

How does the Easter service and procession take place on Easter?

Easter services are especially solemn. Christ is risen: eternal joy,– sings the Church in the canon of Pascha.
Ever since ancient, apostolic times, Christians have been awake on the sacred and pre-holiday saving night of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, the luminous night of the luminous day, waiting for the time of his spiritual liberation from the work of the enemy(Church Charter in the week of Easter).
Shortly before midnight, the midnight office is served in all churches, at which the priest and the deacon proceed to Shroud and, after burning incense around her, while singing the words of katavasia of the 9th song “I will rise and be glorified” they lift the Shroud and take it to the altar. The Shroud is placed on the Holy See, where it must remain until the Giving of Pascha.

Easter morning, “joy at the resurrection of our Lord from the dead” start at 12 noon. As midnight approaches, all the clergy in full vestments stand in order at the Throne. The clergy and worshipers in the temple light candles. On Pascha just before midnight, a solemn Annunciation announces the coming of the great minute of the Light-bearing Feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Quiet singing begins in the altar, gaining strength: “Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and vouchsafe us on earth to glorify Thee with a pure heart.” At this time, a jubilant Easter chime is pouring from the height of the bell tower.
The procession on Easter night is the procession of the Church towards the resurrected Savior. The procession takes place around the temple with a continuous ringing. In a bright, jubilant, majestic form, while singing “Your Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and make us on earth glorify you with a pure heart”, The Church, like a spiritual bride, goes, as they say in sacred hymns, “with merry feet to meet the outgoing Christ from the tomb, like a bridegroom”.
Ahead of the procession they carry a lantern, followed by an altar cross, an altarpiece of the Mother of God, then they go in two rows, in pairs, banner-bearers, singers, priest-bearers with candles, deacons with their candles and censers, and behind them priests. In the last pair of priests, the one on the right carries the Gospel, and the one on the left carries the icon of the Resurrection. The procession ends with the primate of the temple with the trisveshnik and the Cross in his left hand.
If there is only one priest in the temple, then the laity carry the icons of the Resurrection of Christ and the Gospel on the shrouds.
Having bypassed the temple, the procession stops in front of the closed doors, as before the entrance to the cave of the Holy Sepulcher. The bearers of the shrines stop near the doors facing west. The ringing stops. The rector of the temple and the clergy sing the joyful Easter troparion three times: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death and bestowing life in the tombs” ().
This song is picked up and sung three times by the other priests and the choir. Then the priest recites the verses of the ancient prophecy of St. King David: “Let God arise and scatter His enemies ...”, and the choir and the people in response to each verse sing: “Christ is risen from the dead ...”
Then the priests sing verses:
“Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered. And let those who hate Him flee from His Face.”
“Like smoke disappears, let them disappear, like wax melts from the face of fire.”
“Thus let the sinners perish from the face of God, but let the righteous rejoice.”
“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”.

For every verse the singers sing a troparion "Christ is Risen".
Then the primate or all the clergy sing “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death”. The singers are graduating “And to those in the tombs, bestowing life”.
Church doors are opened, and the procession with this joyful news marches to the temple, just as the myrrh-bearing women went to Jerusalem to announce to the disciples about the Resurrection of the Lord.
To the singing: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and bestowing life on those in the tombs” - the doors open, the worshipers enter the temple, and the singing of the Paschal canon begins.

Easter Matins is followed by the Divine Liturgy and the consecration of the arthos, a special bread depicting the Cross or the Resurrection of Christ (it is kept in the church until the following Saturday, when it is distributed to the faithful).

During the service, the priest again and again joyfully greets all those who pray with the words “Christ is Risen!” and each time the worshipers answer: “Truly He is risen!” At short intervals, the clergy change their vestments and walk around the temple in red, yellow, blue, green and white robes.

At the end of the service is read. On Easter evening, a wonderfully beautiful and joyful Easter Vespers is served.

It is celebrated for seven days, that is, the whole week, and therefore this week is called Bright Easter Week. Each day of the week is also called bright - Bright Monday, Bright Tuesday. The Royal Doors are open all week. There is no fasting on Bright Wednesdays and Fridays.

The entire period before the Ascension (40 days after Easter), the Orthodox greet each other with the greeting "Christ is Risen!" and the answer "Truly Risen!".

The Passover holiday was established back in the Old Testament in memory of the deliverance of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery. The ancient Jews celebrated Easter on Nisan 14-21 - the beginning of our March.

In Christianity, Easter is the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the feast of the victory of life over death and sin. Orthodox Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon, which occurs on or after the spring equinox, but not before the spring equinox.

Until the end of the 16th century, Europe lived according to the Julian calendar, and in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new style - Gregorian, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendar is 13 days. The Orthodox Church does not switch to the Gregorian calendar, since the celebration of Easter according to this calendar may coincide with Jewish Easter, which contradicts the canonical rules of the Orthodox Church. In some countries, such as Greece, where the Orthodox Church switched to the Gregorian calendar, Easter is still celebrated according to the Julian calendar.

What is the Easter canon?

Easter Canon, St. John of Damascus, which is an essential part of Paschal Matins, is the crown of all spiritual songs.
The Paschal canon is an outstanding work of ecclesiastical literature, not only in terms of the splendor of its external form, but also in terms of its inner merits, in the strength and depth of the thoughts contained in it, in the sublimity and richness of its content. This deeply meaningful canon introduces us to the spirit and meaning of the very feast of the Resurrection of Christ, makes us fully experience the soul and understand this event.
On each song of the canon, censing is performed, the clergy with a cross and a censer, in the forefront of the lamps, go around the whole church, filling it with incense, and joyfully greet everyone with the words “Christ is Risen!”, To which the believers answer: “Truly Risen!” These numerous exits of the priests from the altar are reminiscent of the frequent appearances of the Lord to His disciples after the Resurrection.

About Easter Hours and Liturgy

In many churches, the end of Matins is immediately followed by the Hours and the Liturgy. Easter hours are read not only in the temple - they are usually read throughout the Easter week instead of morning and evening prayers.
During the singing of the Hours before the Liturgy, the deacon with the deacon's candle performs the usual censing of the altar and the entire church.
If the service in the temple is celebrated conciliarly, that is, by several priests, then the Gospel is read in different languages: in Slavic, Russian, as well as in the ancient ones, to which the apostolic sermon spread - in Greek, Latin, and in the languages ​​​​of the peoples most famous in this terrain.
During the reading of the Gospel, the so-called “brute force” is performed on the bell tower, that is, all the bells are struck once, starting from small ones.
The custom of giving to each other for Easter dates back to the 1st century AD. Church tradition says that in those days it was customary, when visiting the emperor, to bring him a gift. And when the poor disciple of Christ, Saint Mary Magdalene came to Rome to the emperor Tiberius with a sermon of faith, she gave Tiberius a simple chicken egg.

Tiberius did not believe Mary's story about the Resurrection of Christ and exclaimed: “How can someone rise from the dead? It is as impossible as if this egg suddenly turned red.” Immediately before the eyes of the emperor, a miracle happened - the egg turned red, testifying to the truth of the Christian faith.

Easter clock

thrice)
Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the Only Sinless One. We worship Thy Cross, O Christ, and we sing and glorify Thy holy Resurrection. Thou art our God, do we not know Thee otherwise, we call Thy name. Come all faithful, let us worship the holy Resurrection of Christ: behold, the joy of the whole world has come by the Cross. Always blessing the Lord, let us sing of His Resurrection: having endured the crucifixion, destroy death by death. ( thrice)

Having anticipated the morning even about Mary, and the found stone was rolled away from the tomb, I hear from an angel: in the light of the ever-present Existing, with the dead, what are you looking for like a man? See the linen of the tomb, and preach to the world, as the Lord has arisen, killing death, as the Son of God, who saves the human race.

Even if you descended into the grave, Immortal, but you destroyed the power of hell, and you rose again as a conqueror, Christ God, prophesying to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice, and grant peace to your apostle, give resurrection to the fallen.

In the tomb of the flesh, in hell with the soul like God, in paradise with the thief, and on the throne you were, Christ, with the Father and the Spirit, fulfilling everything, indescribable.

Glory: As the Life-bearer, as the most beautiful of paradise, truly the brightest of the halls of every royal seemed, Christ, Thy tomb, the source of our Resurrection.

And now: Highly illuminated Divine village, rejoice: You have given joy, O Theotokos, to those who call: blessed are you in women, O All-blameless Lady.

Lord have mercy. ( 40 times)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever, amen.

The most honest cherubim and the most glorious seraphim without comparison, without the corruption of God's word, who gave birth to the real Mother of God, we magnify You.

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and bestowing life on those in the tombs. ( thrice)

About the seven-day celebration of Easter

From its very beginning, the Easter holiday was a bright, universal, long-lasting Christian celebration.
Since apostolic times, the feast of Christian Easter has lasted seven days, or eight, if we count all the days of the continuous celebration of Easter until Fomin Monday.
Slavya Holy and mysterious Pascha, Pascha of Christ the Redeemer, Pascha opening the doors of paradise to us, The Orthodox Church, during the entire bright seven-day celebration, has the Royal Doors open. The royal doors are not closed during the entire Bright Week even during the communion of the clergy.
Starting from the first day of Pascha and until Vespers of the feast of the Holy Trinity, kneeling and prostrations are not allowed.
In liturgical terms, the entire Bright Week is, as it were, one festive day: on all days of this week, the service is the same as on the first day, with a few changes and changes.
Before the beginning of the Liturgy during the days of the Paschal week and before the Giving of Pascha, the clergy read instead of “O Heavenly King” - “Christ is Risen” ( thrice).
Ending the bright celebration of Pascha with a week, the Church continues it, although with less solemnity, for another thirty-two days - until the Ascension of the Lord.

Your Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and make us on earth glorify you with a pure heart

On the night of April 11-12, in the lower aisle of the church under construction in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the city of Lipetsk, an Easter service was held.

Rector Archpriest Sergius Kosykh, concelebrated by the clergy of the church, officiated at Midnight Office, Procession of the Cross, Paschal Matins, and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

The feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, Easter is the main event of the church annual cycle and the largest Orthodox holiday.

The word "Easter" in Greek means deliverance. On this day, we celebrate deliverance through Christ the Savior from the slavery of sin, glorify the risen Lord, who gave us life and eternal bliss.

The Resurrection of Christ is the foundation and crown of our faith, it is the first and greatest truth that the apostles began to proclaim.

At the end of the Midnight Office, which was performed in front of the Shroud of the Savior, to the touching singing of the stichera “Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior ...”, the faithful went through a procession, symbolizing the procession in the dead of night to the tomb of the Savior the myrrh-bearing women.

On this radiant night, representatives of the parish, led by Priest Alexander Zolotarev, delivered the Holy Fire from the Lipetsk airport, which descended on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. From Moscow to Lipetsk, the great shrine was accompanied by a delegation of representatives of the diocese, headed by Priest Alexy Shumakov.

Believers had the opportunity to light their candles and lamps from the Holy Fire in order to consecrate their homes with it.

According to tradition, the Paschal Gospel (John 1:1-17), which tells about the incarnation of the Word of God, was read at the Divine Liturgy in Church Slavonic, Russian, Latin, Hebrew, German and Tajik and languages.

During the service, the Easter message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the archpastors, pastors, monastics and all faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Easter message of His Eminence Nikon, Metropolitan of Lipetsk and Zadonsk, to all pastors, monastics and faithful children of the diocese were read out.

After the prayer beyond the ambo, the artos was consecrated, which will be distributed to the faithful during the Divine Liturgy on Saturday of Bright Week. Artos particles received in the temple are reverently kept by believers as a spiritual cure for illnesses and infirmities.

At the end of the service, the rector of the temple, Archpriest Sergiy Kosykh, congratulated the parishioners on the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. “May the joy of the Risen Christ always live in your hearts,” he emphasized. “Share this joy with each other with the words “Christ is Risen!”, thereby affirming the immutable truth about the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, about the victory of life over death.”