Слово в светоносный день воскресения Христа и Бога нашего. Блаженнейшего Герасима Паллады, патриарха Александрийского (XVIII в.)

Yesterday, every pious and God-loving person felt in his heart, in truth, great sadness and unbearable sorrow, remembering how the Lord of glory, the King of kings, holding all creation in His hand, was imprisoned in one small coffin, in one place three cubits deep, under one stone they laid the dead, humiliated by the Jews. And today, what joy and joy does every pious soul feel within itself, contemplating the resurrection of our Lord, and reflecting: how He, who was mocked in the evening as condemned, today with great power tramples and crushes the gates of hell, like a King; He, whom His Mother Theotokos mourned in the evening as if dead, today brings out of hell the dead from all eternity with great power, and is glorified by all the angels, prophets, righteous, patriarchs and saints in the underworlds of the earth. Therefore, we all unanimously exclaim today: This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad on it. This day is that appointed, holy, blessed day of the resurrection of our Lord, on which He freed the souls of men from the ages, on which paradise was opened, and on which all the righteous rejoiced, and the deceiver the devil was cast down. Let us rejoice today, most pious Christians, and leap in spirit. For sin no longer triumphs in the world: Christ reigns; Christ reigns. He ascended to the heights and captivated captivity (Eph. 4:8): ascended to the heights of the cross and descended into the depths of hell, enslaved the great slavery, enslaved the demons of these all-evil enemies of man, and captured the souls captured by the dark authorities of hell and took them into His own, bright, power, and trampled the demons so that they no longer have any boldness against man. So, rejoice and be glad on this bright day of the resurrection of Christ about the victory over the devil and about the liberation of our race from him; But rejoice with joy, not sensual, as the lost nations rejoice, but with the joy befitting such a king as the risen one. This King is the God of Heaven: and we will rejoice with the joy of heaven. The Spirit is God: and let our joy be spiritual. The expression of spiritual joy is glorification, the words of God, thanksgiving, and the hymns of the Church. This befits Christians. Do not indulge in excess, says the wise Paul, nor indulge in lust, nor fornication, nor drunkenness. Our joy is joy of mind and soul; and only with this joy do we please God, Who is the mind and soul of everything. Therefore, let us focus our entire mind on the mystery of the resurrection, and prepare the contemplation of it instead of clothing. But bodily clothing, those gold-woven garments that can give rise to temptation and vanity, should not be allowed at all. Let our bodily clothes be modest and humble, our steps quiet, our speech intelligent; and drunkenness, rants, dancing, games at crossroads and market places, and songs - away! For all this is from Satan, and does not please the Master and the gracious Bridegroom. Only spiritual and pure joys are loved by the Risen Christ. And it is with them that the Holy Church, this mysterious Bride of Christ, now adorns you. Go to your blessed homes and rejoice on this blessed holiday, glorifying and singing the praises of the risen Jesus Christ. Amen 224. See The First Journey of the Reverend. Porphyry to Athos monasteries and monasteries. Part II. Appendix to the second section of this part Moscow, 1881, pp. 270–271 You might be interested in: