Неделя Святой Пасхи

Holy Resurrection of Christ There are many bright and solemn holidays in the Holy Orthodox Church; but there is nothing brighter and more solemn, nothing more joyful and comforting than the great day of the Resurrection of Christ, when everything is clothed in light, the heavens rejoice, the earth rejoices and the whole world triumphs in the great victory of our Savior over death and hell. This is what the Gospel tells about this glorious and great event. Holy Saturday has passed, on the night of which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried the Body of Jesus. The tomb cave in which He was laid was sealed with a huge stone; there was a guard with her - the high priest and the Pharisees convinced Pilate and assigned her to guard the tomb until the third day, so that the disciples of Christ, coming at night, would not steal His body and would not say to the people: risen from the dead (cf. Matthew 27:64). But on the third day after His suffering and death on the cross, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, according to the writings of the prophets. This happened after midnight on Saturday the next day (now Sunday). The soldiers on guard saw how, after the Resurrection of the Savior, an Angel rolled away the stone from the tomb cave, and witnessed the earthquake that occurred at that time. The appearance of the Angel who rolled away the stone, according to the Evangelist Matthew, was like lightning, and his robe was white as snow (cf. Matthew 28:3). This appearance of the Angel, his brilliant robe, was a living expression of his heavenly joy and bright triumph in heaven, which on this Great Day, according to the testimony of the Holy Church, was filled with special light. Amazed and frightened by this miracle, the warriors fell on their faces and remained unconscious for some time. Having come to their senses, they went and told the high priests about everything that had happened. And they, having bribed the soldiers, taught them to tell the people that at night, when they were sleeping, the disciples of Jesus Christ came and stole the Body of their Teacher. But this evil and absurd invention of the enemies of Christ was not successful: the truth of the Resurrection of Christ was in a short time witnessed to the whole world and became its property. According to church tradition, on the very first day after His Resurrection, the Lord appeared before everyone else to His Most Pure Mother; but the Gospel does not mention anything about this appearance of the Risen Lord to the Mother of God. According to this tradition, the Holy Church sings in her hymns, addressing the Mother of God: “Having seen Thy Son and God risen, rejoice with the apostles, God-gracious Pure One: and rejoice first, for thou hast received all the joys of wine, O Mother of God, All-Immaculate.” Then other appearances of the Risen Lord followed, and all believers learned about this joyful, great event. Early at dawn on the first day of the week, on which Jesus Christ was resurrected, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome hurried to the Tomb with prepared precious incense to anoint the Body of the Lord. Entering the garden and knowing that the stone rolled at the entrance to the cave was very large, the myrrh-bearing women began to say to each other: “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the Sepulcher for us?” (Mark 16:3). Mary Magdalene, prompted by deep sorrow and fiery love for the Lord, was ahead of everyone and found the stone at the Tomb rolled away. She entered the cave and, not finding the Body of the Lord, hastened to notify the apostles Peter and John about this: they took the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him (John 20:2). Following this, the other women came and were also amazed to find the stone rolled away and the cave empty. Perplexed about what had happened, they saw an Angel in white shining clothes sitting on the right side of the cave. The women became afraid, but the Angel said: Do not be afraid, I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified (Matthew 28:5). What are you looking for between the living and the dead? He is not here: He has risen; Remember how He told you, while still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again (Luke 24:5-7). Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly, tell His disciples and Peter that He has risen from the dead and will meet you in Galilee; there you will see Him (cf. Matthew 28:6–7). The myrrh-bearers remembered the words of Jesus Christ. Hastily leaving the Tomb, they ran with fear and great joy to announce the angel's message to the disciples of Jesus. Meanwhile, having learned about what had happened from Mary Magdalene, Peter and John hurried to the Tomb. They both ran together; but John ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first. And, bending down, he saw only burial shrouds lying; but did not enter the cave of the tomb. Peter comes after him and enters the cave, and sees only the linen cloths and the cloth that was on the head of Jesus, not lying with the linen cloths, but especially rolled up in another place. Then John also entered, and saw, and believed, for they did not yet know from Scripture that Christ had to rise from the dead (cf. John 20:4-9). Then the disciples returned to their place again, marveling at what had happened. And Mary Magdalene, overwhelmed with grief, stood near the cave and cried. She bent down to look inside and saw angels sitting in white robes, one at the heads and the other at the feet, where the Body of Jesus lay. Wife! Why are you crying? – the Angels asked her. Mary answered: They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him. Having said this, she turned back and saw the Risen Jesus in front of her, but did not recognize Him. Jesus Christ said to her: Woman! Why are you crying? who are you looking for? She, thinking that it was the gardener, exclaimed: Master! If you have brought It out, tell me where you have laid It, and I will take It. Then Jesus says to her in His meek and sweetest voice: Mary! This voice penetrated to the depths of Mary’s soul - she recognized the Lord and joyfully exclaimed: Teacher! - and rushed to Him, wanting to fall at His feet, but the Lord meekly stopped her: Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brothers and tell them: I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God (John 20:13-17). Embraced by reverent fear, Mary Magdalene went and announced what had happened to the disciples of Christ: “I saw the Lord.” All this happened early in the morning before sunrise. Mary's message did not go unconfirmed. And other myrrh-bearing women met Jesus Christ, who said to them: Rejoice! And they, overwhelmed with horror, fell at His feet. Do not be afraid, the Lord told them, but go, tell My brothers, so that they go to Galilee, and there they will see Me (Matthew 28:10). On the same day, the Risen Savior appeared to Peter, and then to two disciples walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. He talked with them and broke bread at supper. But the other apostles, having heard from Mary Magdalene and other myrrh-bearing women about the Resurrection of the Lord, still did not believe this news until they finally saw it with their own eyes. On the evening of the same day, the Risen Jesus appeared to all the apostles (only the Apostle Thomas, who later became convinced of the Resurrection of the Lord, was missing) in the Jerusalem upper room, when the doors of the house were locked for fear of the Jews. Standing in the middle, the Lord said to them: Peace be with you! - and showed them His hands and feet pierced with nails. To further assure the apostles that He was the same, the Savior demanded food from them and tasted part of the fish and some honey. The apostles, convinced that this was really Christ, rejoiced beyond words. Thus began the bright celebration of the Resurrection of Christ on earth. It was a universal triumph: together with the earth, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and His victory over death, and heaven with its bright celestial beings, and the underworld, in which the souls of all those who died before the coming of the Lord languished until this day, joyfully celebrated; on this day, in the words of church hymns, “everything was filled with light: heaven, and earth, and the underworld...” Not a single holiday is celebrated in our country as solemnly as the holiday of Easter or the Holy Resurrection of Christ; The entire Easter service is aimed at arousing in the hearts of believers the joy of the Risen Christ, who trampled death by death and gave Eternal Life. Features of the Easter service include the solemn reading of the Holy Gospel in different languages; This expresses the idea that the Word of God, according to the commandment of the Risen Lord: go into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), must be preached to everyone, so that there are no people left who cannot take part in the bright joy of the Resurrection of Christ. The Gospel of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian was chosen for reading on the first day of Easter, which begins with the words: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word... (John 1:1). The teaching about God the Word, that is, Jesus Christ, is so sublime that even the pagans listened to it with surprise. One pagan sage said that the opening words of this Gospel should be written in gold letters on the most elevated places. Therefore, the Evangelist John is rightly called the Theologian par excellence. The Gospel of John, read on the first day of Easter, is very difficult to understand for most Orthodox Christians, and we, with God’s help, will try to briefly explain it for the glory of the Risen Lord and for our own edification. In the beginning was the Word: at the very beginning, when the world did not yet exist, the Word of God, that is, the Son of God, already existed. Why is the Son of God called the Word? To express His incorporeal birth. Just as an ordinary word, coming from our mind, when not pronounced, is hidden in our nature, but when pronounced, it becomes clear and expresses our thoughts, feelings and desires - so the Son of God, having one essence with God and the Father, expresses and reveals the advice and will of God to thousands of thousands of believers. And the Word is to God: the Son of God eternally dwells with God the Father, and has always been inseparable from Him. And God is the Word: the Divine Word has always been and is God, equal and consubstantial with the Father. This is from time immemorial to God. All things were by Him, and without Him nothing came into being (John 1:2-3): everything that we see on earth and in heaven and what we do not see (for example, Angels) - everything happened through the Word of God, and without His participation nothing happened that exists. The Apostle Paul explains these words when he says: By Him, that is, by the Son of God, were all things created, both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible... all things were created by Him and about Him. And He is before all, and all things are found in Him (Col. 1:16–17). Everything happened through Him, but not independently of the Father, but together with the Father. In Him was life, and life was the light of man (John 1:4): in the Son of God all life consists; He gives life to everything and sustains it; He, being Life for everyone, was an enlightening and sanctifying Light for people. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not embrace it (does not embrace it) (John 1:5): just as ordinary light shines in the darkness, illuminates objects and disperses the darkness, so the Son of God, the true Light, enlightened people wandering in the darkness of ignorance and idolatry - and the darkness could not extinguish this Heavenly Light. The Son of God appeared into the world, and this Light, which shone dimly in the Old Testament, began to shine in all its splendor. Such an important event as the appearance into the world of the Son of God, the incarnation of the Word of God, could not take place without some kind of forewarning. And indeed, there were many prophecies about this event, and everyone, especially the Jews, eagerly awaited the promised Messiah. And now this expected time has come; First of all, the great ascetic and preacher of repentance appeared, Saint John the Baptist and Baptist of the Lord, the son of the priest Zechariah and Elizabeth, a relative of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There was a man sent from God, his name was John. This one has come as a testimony, that he may testify of the Light, that all may have faith in him (John 1:6–7). He was sent by God in order to prepare the way for the Lord, in order to dispose people to accept the One who comes after him. Although John the Baptist was the greatest of the prophets, according to the Savior Himself: among those born of women there is no greater than John the Baptist (cf. Matt. 11:11), however, he was not light, but only a preacher about the Light. Not without light, but let it testify to the Light. This is the true Light, which enlightens every man who comes into the world (John 1:8–9). The True Light is Jesus Christ. In the world there was no, and the world was, and the world did not know Him. He came to his own, but his own did not receive Him (John 1:10–11). This Light - the Son of God - was in the world for a long time, and the world was created by Him, but since the world was immersed in darkness and ignorance, it did not recognize the true Light, because darkness is afraid of light. The Jews, who had more knowledge about God than others, should have joyfully accepted the Savior, but in reality it didn’t work out that way: they did not accept Him as their Messiah; and this people, who willingly listened to the saving teaching of Jesus and so often received help from His beneficent power, yet treacherously allowed the Savior to be led bound to the trial before the elders, without even raising a voice in His favor. The little ones received Him, and gave them the power to become children of God, believing in His name, who were not born of blood, nor of carnal lust, nor of man, but were born of God (John 1:12–13). To those of the Jews who accepted Him and believed in Him, Jesus Christ gave the right to be called children of God not by carnal birth, but by the grace of God, by spiritual birth in the Sacrament of baptism. All believers can boldly turn to God: “Our Father...” And the Word became flesh and dwelt in us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Although the Son of God became incarnate, that is, became a man, the glory of the Divine was inseparable from Him: He was the God-man; and His glory as the Only Begotten Son of God was seen by the apostles (especially during the Transfiguration) and also by John the Baptist. John testifies of Him and calls out the verb: He who was killed, who came after me, was before me, as if he were before me (John 1:15). John the Baptist says that He is the One about whom I said: He who came after me, who appeared after me, became ahead, higher and stronger than me, since He, as the beginningless Word, existed, eternally, was before me. And from His fulfillment we all receive grace and grace. For the law was given quickly by Moses, but grace and truth were given by Jesus Christ (John 1:16–17): from the fullness of His Divinity we have all received - the fullness of grace-filled gifts, which were not in the Old Testament; at that time there was only the Law given by God through Moses, but now, with the coming of Jesus Christ to earth, the time of grace and truth has come. These are the deep thoughts contained in the Easter Gospel: it contains the teaching about God the Word, about the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity - the Son of God, Eternal and Omnipresent, for our sake man, who came down from heaven and became incarnate. Word of Saint John Chrysostom “Whoever is pious and God-loving,” who truly honors God and loves Him sincerely, “may he enjoy this good and bright triumph,” the glorious Resurrection of Christ, which we now celebrate and in which the Lord so wonderfully showed His goodness to the human race, and wisdom in redeeming it from eternal destruction, and His power over the enemies of our salvation. “Whoever is a prudent servant,” who does not hide the talents given to him by God—time, strength and abilities—in vain, does not waste time on earthly affairs and pleasures, but wisely uses them to serve the Lord and acquire eternal bliss, “let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord,” may he be a participant in that spiritual joy that the Lord has prepared for His faithful servants, redeemed by the blood of the Savior (cf.: Matt. 25:21). “Whoever labored by fasting” - who during the past fast did not remain in idleness, but worked diligently on the work of his salvation, “let him now receive a denarius” - will receive in the gracious fruits of the Resurrection of Christ the reward that God promised to good workers (see: Matt. 20:1-8). “Whoever worked from the first hour” - fulfilled the will of God from childhood or from the time the Lord called him to His heirloom, that is, to the Church of Christ, “let him now receive the payment due to him in justice.” “Whoever came after the third hour” did not start the work of God suddenly, but skipped a little time, “let him celebrate thanks” to God for his condescension towards him. “Whoever managed to come at the sixth hour” - came to the call of God even later, when half of his life had already passed, “let him not worry at all; for he will not lose anything” from those benefits that the Risen Lord gives to everyone who wants to partake of them. “Whoever missed the ninth hour” slowed down even more and began to work on the work of God when the day of his life was already approaching evening, “let him approach without any doubt or fear”: for now the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people (cf. Titus 2:11). “If someone managed to come only at the eleventh hour,” even one who entered the work of God very late, began to care about the salvation of his soul already in old age, “let him not be afraid of delay: for the Master of the House, loving honor” and being generous, “accepts the last as the first, he calms down and the one who came at the eleventh hour, as he who worked from the first hour,” giving everyone their due. “And he satisfies the first,” rewarding him with justice, “and he has mercy on the last” with condescension, “and he gives” what he deserves, “and he gives to him” according to His goodness; “and accepts good deeds” with joy, “and kisses good intentions” with love; “and the deed honors” as it should, “and the good disposition praises.” “Therefore, all of you, enter into the joy of your Lord! Both the first and the last receive bribes” from the Merciful Lord! “Rich and poor, rejoice one another,” as children of one Heavenly Father! “Toiling and lazy” in the work of their salvation, “honor the present day” of worldwide triumph! “You who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice now,” when heaven and earth rejoice, and all creation celebrates! “The meal is plentiful: take your fill of it, all of you.” The “Taurus” slain for us is “large and well-fed: no one should go away hungry!” “Everyone enjoy the feast of faith, everyone enjoy the riches of God’s goodness!” “Let no one complain of poverty: for the kingdom of heaven has been opened to all,” in which a rich inheritance is prepared for believers. “Let no one weep for his sins: for from the Tomb” of the Savior “forgiveness has shone forth” to all sinners who wish to receive it. “No one should be afraid of death: for Savior’s death freed us from it,” unless we again become enslaved to it by our sins. “She was destroyed by the Life-Giver who embraced her.” The Son of God, who “descended into hell,” “took hell captive and distressed it.” Having foreseen this long ago, the prophet Isaiah exclaimed: hell is grieved when it meets You in its depths (cf. Is. 14:9). “He was grieved: for he was abolished” - empty; “he was upset: for he was ashamed” by the outcome of his struggle with the Savior; “he was grieved: for he was killed” - he lost what constituted his life and strength; “he was grieved: for he was deposed” from his throne and deprived of power over the human race; “he was upset: for he was bound” and could no longer act with the freedom and strength as before. “He took flesh and received God in it; took the earth and found heaven in it; I took what I saw, but was subjected to what I did not expect.” So God caught him with His wisdom! Where is your sting, death? Where is your victory (1 Cor. 15:55)? Where is the sin with which you, death, hurt people? Where, hell, is your triumph over the human race? - “Christ has risen, and you have fallen” like a powerless enemy! - “Christ has risen, and the demons have fallen” - your servants, through whom you captured people! - “Christ is risen, and the Angels rejoice,” looking at the wondrous triumph of the Son of God and the salvation of men! - “Christ is risen, and life is established” everywhere, even where there was previously an area of ​​death and corruption! – “Christ is risen, and there is not one dead in the tomb”; for Christ, Risen from the dead, became the firstfruits of those who died (cf.: 1 Cor. 15:20) - He was the first to rise as the Head, and then all His members will rise - those who believe in Him and have His life-giving Spirit within them (see: 1 Cor. 15:21-23; Rom. 8:11). May “to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever”! Amen. Old Testament Easter and New Christian Easter For a long time the chosen people of God languished in Egyptian slavery and lost all hope of liberation. No matter how much the great leader of this people, Moses, showed, by the power of God, miracles before Pharaoh, the king remained adamant, did not want to listen to the voice of the God of Israel and let His people go from him. Finally, when, after the nine plagues sent down on the Egyptians, Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, then the Lord announced to Moses that he intended to send one more, last, terrible execution on Egypt and its king: the destruction of all the firstborn, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of his last slave and even to the firstborn of all livestock - and with this execution the stubbornness of Pharaoh will finally be crushed, and he will immediately release the Israelites (see: Ex. 11:1,4,8). At the same time, in order to forever preserve among His people the memory of their deliverance from the yoke of Egypt, God commanded the establishment of a holiday. On the 10th day of the month of Abib, each father of the family had to choose from his sheep the best (most perfect) one-year-old male lamb, and on the 14th day, in the evening, slaughter it and, having dipped a brush of hyssop in the blood of the lamb, anoint it on the threshold of his house and door, so that the destroyer, when he comes to smite the firstborn of Egypt, seeing the signs of blood, would pass by the houses of the Jews and not bring in in them there is destruction; then bake the lamb on the fire and, having gathered all the household, eat it, without breaking a single bone, with unleavened bread (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs, as a sign of the haste of departure and in remembrance of the sorrowful life and hard slavery in Egypt. Those eating had to imagine the appearance of those preparing for the journey: have their loins girded, boots on their feet, rods in their hands and eat the lamb standing, with reverence, because this is the Passover of the Lord (see: Exodus 12:11). The Hebrew word “passover,” according to some, means parting words; according to the interpretation of others, - passing; according to the translation of the third, it is the salvation of the firstborn. All three of these meanings apply to the event being celebrated. Passover was eaten in the evening, on the eve of the exodus of the people of God from Egypt; that night the Angel who destroyed the firstborn of Egypt passed by the houses of the Israelites sealed with the blood of the lamb, and their firstborn were saved. Just as the rivers were once filled with the firstborn of the Jews, so now the Egyptian tombs are filled with the firstborn of the Egyptians. Crying and sobbing filled all the dwellings, from the royal palace to the wretched hut: everyone wept for his firstborn, the firstfruits of his sons. The frightened Pharaoh not only decided to let the Israelites go, but even forced them to go quickly and take all their property with them. And Israel arose, having been in captivity in Egypt for 430 years, and on the shore of the sea, which they miraculously crossed and swallowed up Pharaoh with all his army, they sang to God, their Savior, a solemn song of praise and thanksgiving! (see: Ex. 12:31,33,37,40, 14:31). In memory of this great event, the Israelis annually, on the 14th day of Nisan, solemnly celebrated the Passover, that is, they ate the Passover lamb, which, according to the Law, had to be slaughtered only in the sanctuary: first in the tabernacle, and then in the temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish Passover was celebrated legally as long as the Law of Moses was in force. But when it was replaced by the law of grace, when the image gave way to the Prototype, when, instead of the lamb slain annually in every family, the Lamb of God, who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, was slain on Calvary, once forever and for all, then the Jewish Passover ceased to be legal, giving way to the Christian Passover! What does Christian Easter mean? The Apostle Paul answers this question. Our Easter is Christ, who sacrificed Himself for us to God (cf. 1 Cor. 5:7)! Our Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself human flesh for no other purpose than to die for us, and if He had not subjected Himself to death, then the glorious victory over death would not have followed, and there would not have been a Bright Resurrection! So, while celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord on our Easter, we also celebrate His death. In the ancient Church, the day of the Crucifixion of the Lord was considered between the great holidays; Some churches in the East, three days before Easter Sunday, celebrated another Easter, the Cross, in memory of the Lord's suffering on the cross. Now the Church, uniting the remembrance of the Resurrection and death of Jesus Christ into one solemn holiday of Easter, invites heaven, earth, the entire visible and invisible world to this joyful celebration, for Christ has risen - eternal joy! And at the same time he praises Christ - the new, cleansing Passover, the living Sacrifice, the Lamb of God, Who willingly offered Himself for all to the slaughter! One of the saints calls us to such a union - the remembrance of the glory of the Resurrection of the Lord with His humiliation to death on the cross and burial. “Triumphing Christ,” he says, “who has risen for us, let us at the same time look with a tender heart at Christ, who was crucified, suffered, died and buried for us, so that joy is not forgotten and does not become meaningless. Only he has the complete and inalienable joy of the Resurrection of Christ who, together with Christ, has himself risen internally and has the hope of rising solemnly, and only he who accepts participation in the Cross, suffering and death of Christ has this hope... Festive joy, which forgets the Cross and death of Christ, calling us to crucify the flesh with passions and lusts, is in danger - what was begun by the spirit will be completed by the flesh, and those who celebrate the Resurrection of Christ turn into those who crucify Him a second time!” And what should be the celebration of Christian Easter, it is obvious - our celebration should be just as much holier and more perfect than the celebration of the Jews, as much as our Easter is holier and more perfect than the Jewish Passover! The basis of the Jewish Passover was a temporary benefit - the liberation of the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery; The foundation of Christian Easter is an eternal good - the liberation of the entire human race from the slavery of sin and death! Establishing the Easter holiday of the Old Testament, God instilled in the Jews the special importance of this holiday and commanded it to be celebrated with all solemnity. “It is lawful,” He says, “celebrate it forever! A soul that violates the holiness of this holiday will be destroyed by the host of the children of Israel” (see: Exodus 12:14,19). At the same time, during the celebration of Passover, the Jews were commanded, also under fear of death, to beware of all leaven, which is why, even a few days before Passover, they stopped eating kvass and for seven days ate unleavened bread - unleavened bread. The legislator of the New Testament did not deign to command His disciples to write down any rules about the celebration of Christian Easter in the Holy Books of the Gospel; Easter of Christ is celebrated without any law, command or institution and will be celebrated forever until the end of the world and constitutes in itself a feast of feasts and a triumph of solemnities! Only the Apostle Paul left us instructions on how to celebrate Easter in a worthy way, so as to please the Risen Lord through the celebration. “Let us begin to celebrate,” he says, referring to the Jewish custom and the strictness of the Old Testament Church, “let us begin to celebrate not with old leaven, not with the leaven of vice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth!” (see: 1 Cor. 5:7–8). The Jew wasware of material kvass, the Christian must beware of spiritual kvass - malice and deceit; the Jew ate unleavened bread, which was only a symbol of purity, but a Christian must eat the thing itself - have spiritual purity. Why should a Christian’s festive joy be spiritual, peaceful, and elevating the soul? If a Christian should generally behave in such a way that his thoughts, feelings, words and deeds constantly reflect the lifestyle and spirit of our Savior, then even more so on the days appointed for the celebration of Easter, what better thing for him to do than remember the great events of the Gospel - the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which constitute precisely the subject of this celebration? About the custom of Christening on Holy Easter On the first day of Holy Pascha, at Matins, we perform the rite of Christhood established by the Church. This ritual is very important and comforting, which is why we consider it a sacred duty to explain its meaning. 1. Usually we say: Christ is Risen! - and we begin to share Christ with someone, and they answer us: Truly He is Risen! By doing this, we imitate the first disciples of the Lord, when, after His Resurrection, talking with each other about the Risen Lord, they said: truly the Lord has arisen (cf. Luke 24:14-35). In addition, with these same greetings, although briefly, we clearly express to each other the history of this holiday. This greeting instills inexplicable joy in our soul! Somehow it’s especially fun when you say or from someone you hear sweet words: Christ is Risen! - Truly He is Risen! We can say that they are saving for our soul, since they contain a sweet hope for our future resurrection. Christ has risen from the dead, says the Apostle Paul, who was begun by those who died (1 Cor. 15:20). Therefore, if Jesus Christ was resurrected, then we will be resurrected. This is very comforting for all of us, and especially for those whose path of real life is strewn with thorns and thistles. Indeed, to be poor for your whole life and then become a victim of death forever is terrible! But to live in poverty here, and then move on to blissful eternity and, finally, enjoy bliss together with the resurrected body... Could anything be more desirable than this? These are the reasons for the sacred joy we feel from the words Christ is Risen! - Truly He is Risen! and their universal use in our mutual greetings. 2. Having greeted each other, we kiss each other. What does it mean? Kissing in general in everyday life is accepted as a sign of heartfelt love for each other. It also has meaning during the process of Christhood. “The Easter holiday,” let us say in the words of St. John Chrysostom, “is a guarantee of peace, a source of reconciliation, the destruction of death, the destruction of the devil. Today people have united with Angels.” Therefore, is it possible for us, Christians, to remain hostile to anyone on such a bright holiday? Is it possible not to have heartfelt love for each other? “Let us be enlightened by triumph,” the Holy Church sings to us, “and we will embrace each other. We will forgive you, brothers, and those who hate us, all by the Resurrection!” These are the feelings in which our kissing should take place. Otherwise it will be like the kiss of Judas. 3. Finally, after the utterance of sweet words, Christ is Risen! - Truly He is Risen! – and after mutual kissing we give each other red eggs. The egg is a sign of our blessed resurrection from the dead, the guarantee of which we have in Jesus Christ. To understand how an egg serves as a sign of our resurrection, imagine what happens to an egg when it is incubated by a chicken for several days? In this case, a new creature emerges from it, whose life was hidden by a dead shell. In the same way, the Life-Giver rose from the grave - the dwelling place of death, and the time will come when our bodies, by the action of Almighty God, at the sound of the Archangel's trumpet, will emerge from the heart of the earth and be clothed in incorruption. This is what the eggs we give each other remind us of. Do you know where this custom came from? It is very ancient and originated, as legend says, from Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene. Having come to Rome after the Ascension of the Lord to preach the Gospel, she appeared before the Emperor Tiberius and, saying: Christ is Risen, offered him a red egg. It was then customary for poor people, as a sign of respect for rich people, friends, benefactors and authorities, to bring them an egg as a gift on New Year's Day and on their birthdays. Following the example of Mary Magdalene, the first Christians began to give each other eggs on the days of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. And from them this custom passed on to us. But how did the custom of giving each other red eggs come about? The incident, according to legend, was as follows: on the very day of the Resurrection of Christ, a Jew was carrying fresh eggs in a basket for sale to the market. On the way, he met another Jew, who said to him: “Well, friend, do you know what miracle happened in our city of Jerusalem? “After all, Christ, Who died three days ago, rose from the Tomb, and many have already seen Him.” But the Jew, who was carrying fresh eggs to sell, answered him: “No, I don’t believe that Christ rose from the Tomb: it is just as impossible as it is impossible for these white eggs to suddenly turn red.” But what? As soon as he said these words, the white eggs in the basket turned red. And this miracle was so amazing for him that he did not hesitate to accept the Christian faith. The news of this wonderful event soon spread among Christian believers, and, in memory of it, they began to give each other red eggs. That is why, perhaps, Mary Magdalene presented Emperor Tiberius with a red egg. On the other hand, the red color on the eggs has a special meaning - we will not be mistaken if we say that here it means the Life-giving Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ had not redeemed us, then we would be eternal captives of hell and death, therefore, we would have no reason to hope for our future resurrection. But we have been redeemed by nothing less than the priceless Blood of Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 1:7). Therefore, we will certainly rise again. And since our redemption was accomplished by the Blood of Jesus Christ, it means that our future resurrection was acquired by us with the same Blood. This is what the red color on the eggs reminds us of, or, more precisely, it preaches to us that our future resurrection is the fruit or consequence of the shedding of the priceless Blood by the Savior. This is what the rite of Christification means. Feast of the Resurrection of Christ - The Joy of All Joys We should rejoice, remembering that great and glorious day when our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the Tomb and by His Resurrection delivered us from death. God Himself wants us to spend the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ in joy and joy, and therefore often sends unexpected joy on this day to His faithful sons who are in some difficult circumstances. One book tells about such an event. An innocent priest was slandered before one bishop. Shortly before Easter, this priest was taken into custody and kept in prison. On the night from Holy Saturday to Bright Resurrection, an Angel of God appears to the priest and says: “By the will of God you are freed from this imprisonment; you are given freedom to serve the Liturgy in your parish village on the first day of Easter.” Having said this, the Angel led the priest out of prison and escorted him to the village. The watchman informed the bishop about the disappearance of the priest from the dungeon, saying that it happened miraculously because he kept the key to the castle. The bishop sent a messenger to the village to find out if the priest was serving the Liturgy there. Convinced that he had served, the bishop became angry and decided to dishonorably imprison him again. But the Angel of God, after the completion of the service, with the consent of the priest, returned him to the same prison. The bishop calls the priest to him and hears from him the following justification: “I was freed from prison and returned there not of my own free will. This was the will of God Himself, who sent an Angel to me twice.” The bishop made inquiries to see if any of the prison officials were to blame for the secret excommunication and return of the priest. It turned out that no one. Convinced that the priest suffered dishonor in vain, the bishop forgave the priest and ordered him to continue his ministry, and severely punished those who slandered him. So God Himself takes care that on such a holiday as Bright Resurrection, His holy service is performed in the church. The life of the Monk Paphnutius of Borovsk tells that in the monastery where the monk lived, one day on the day of Holy Easter, to the sadness of the brethren, there was no fish. Saint Paphnutius told them in consolation: “Do not grieve about this, the Lord will comfort us.” And indeed, on Holy Saturday, a sexton, who went out to the flooded river to draw water for the Divine service, noticed such a large school of fish in the water that when they caught it, it turned out that there was enough fish for all the brethren for the entire Easter week. It is remarkable that there have never been such quantities of fish in that river either before or after that Easter. Who, if not God, miraculously forced this fish to gather in such a dense flock in order to rejoice the brethren, so that their Easter joy would not be darkened by the lack of fish? The life of the Monk Benedict tells about one priest who, on the occasion of Easter, prepared himself a rich meal. However, the Lord appeared to him in a vision and said: “You have prepared a lot of everything for yourself, and my servant Benedict, loving Me, is exhausted from hunger.” The priest got up and, taking food, went to look for Saint Benedict and found him in the cave. They met with joy. “Father! “- the priest said to Saint Benedict, “let us taste the food with gratitude to God, since today is Easter.” “Today is Easter for me,” answered Saint Benedict, “since I was honored to see you!” The monk, living far from people, did not know that at that time there was Easter. “Today,” said the priest, “is truly the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, and you should not fast. This is why I was sent to you by the Lord.” Having eaten food with the holy ascetic, the priest returned to his village. In 1821, in Nizhny Novgorod, the girl Irina was so sick that she could neither see, nor speak, nor walk. When she needed to go somewhere, she was carried in their arms, she took food from strangers; If she needed to ask for something, she would knock with her hand or simply hum. But on the first day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, the unfortunate sufferer suddenly felt strength in her legs, relief in her head, light in her eyes, freedom in her tongue and the ability to hear. Then she said that a few days before the Holy Resurrection of Christ she had a vision in a dream. In a certain beautiful church, she saw two men: John the Baptist and some other Man in beautiful bishop’s vestments. This Husband commanded her to draw near to Him; With fear, she fell at His feet and noticed a deep wound on His legs and arms. He blessed her and said: “Your suffering is over; on the day of My Resurrection you will be healthy!” On the day of Easter, Irina Andreeva again saw in a dream the beautiful Virgin, who, having addressed her with the usual Easter greeting “Christ is Risen!”, immediately and suddenly disappeared. Waking up after this vision, the sick woman felt completely healthy and on the very next day of Easter she was already in church for the Divine Liturgy and a prayer service of thanks, which she had ordered for the miraculous healing. On April 22, 1823, on the first day of Holy Easter, after Matins, a miracle of healing of the deaf-mute novice Maxim took place in the city of Kyiv. By the evening of Holy Saturday, after completing his novice work, Maxim went to the large Lavra Church. Sleep began to overwhelm him, and he left the church to go to the prosphora room to sleep. But as soon as he dozed off, the Wife appeared before him in a white robe and ordered him to go to church again. Having woken up, Maxim went to church, but he again began to feel sleepy, and he returned to the prosphora. But he had barely fallen asleep when he was awakened by the same Wife, probably the Mother of God. This happened a third time. Then, arriving at the church and standing before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, Maxim heard the singing of the Easter troparion “Christ is Risen” and saw the Woman in a light robe who appeared to him in a prosphora. She commanded him to say “Truly He is Risen!” three times. Finally, in response to his silence, she blew in his face and disappeared, and Maxim at that very moment said, “Truly He is Risen!” At the end of the morning singing, Maxim happily told everyone about the miracle that had happened! It is remarkable that a year before Maxim’s miraculous return of the gift of speech by the power of God, his hearing was miraculously opened, and also before the first morning Easter singing. In 1838, from Monday to Tuesday of Holy Week, the widow Anisiya Stepanova, who was so deaf that she did not even hear the bell ringing, came to the Moscow Neopalimovskaya Church to pray before the icon of the Mother of God, called “Unexpected Joy”. During a prayer service in front of this icon, she clearly heard the singing of the Easter troparion “Christ is Risen” and “now a priest is diligent to the Mother of God” - from that time on, deafness never returned to her. So, God Himself desires that on the day of the glorious Resurrection of His Only Begotten Son all people should rejoice and that they should not have sorrows and sorrows. Now Christ has risen - eternal joy! Christ has risen and will resurrect us for an ever-blessed life with Him in heaven. He gave us the Eternal Belly - this is the reason for the joy and triumph of this Bright Holiday! Go around all the cities, towns, villages - and you will see everywhere that on the days of this holiday everyone rejoices: noble and ignorant, rich and poor, old and small, relatives and strangers, acquaintances and strangers, friends and enemies - everyone, everyone greets each other enthusiastically with the joy of the Resurrection of Christ. Let us also rejoice and be glad with pure and holy joy, sincere, heartfelt joy. Our joy from our faith is now indescribable; What joy will there be when we see the Lord Himself in the future life? It will be the joy of all joys! After the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, people who live holy lives are not afraid of death. Christ rose again and with His death trampled death, and it lost its meaning. Believers in Jesus Christ now greet her with joy and joy. I most of all desire to be freed from the body and to be at home with the Lord, says the holy Apostle Paul about himself (cf. 2 Cor. 5:8). “Death is not scary to me; it will more likely unite me with Christ,” said Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom about themselves. Why is this? Because with the Resurrection of Christ, souls who truly believe in Jesus Christ do not go to hell, for the Risen Christ opened the doors of heaven to the Kingdom of Heaven for everyone. It was revealed to many saints that the souls of the righteous, upon separation from the body, were immediately carried by Angels to the Kingdom of Heaven. So, for example, in the life of St. Anthony the Great it is told that at one time, when he was walking in the desert, he saw a host of Angels and the faces of the apostles, and between them St. Paul of Thebes ascending to heaven. Saint Gregory the Dvoeslov says that one day Saint Benedict stood up at night to pray: at midnight he saw a light that shone so much that the night became brighter than the day. Looking attentively at the other world, he saw in a fiery radiance the soul of Bishop Herman, carried by Angels to heaven. Likewise, when the Monk Ioannikis reposed, the monks saw his soul being carried up to heaven by the Angels. A similar thing is said about the Monk Macarius of Egypt. That death was truly killed by the Resurrection of Christ and lost its power is evident from those miraculous actions that holy people showed in their lives. Thus, the holy apostles resurrected the dead: for example, the holy apostle Peter resurrected Tabitha for the sake of the good that she did to the poor; the Apostle Paul resurrected the young man Eutychus, who fell from a window; The Monk Macarius of Egypt resurrected the husband of one woman to ask him about the hidden pledge; he also asked one murdered man to confirm the innocence of the slandered man in the murder, and he gave his answer. The Monk Patermufius once asked a monk who had already died what was better for him: having died, to live with Christ or to return and live in the body, to which he, having risen, said: “Why did you resurrect me? It is much better for me to live with Christ; I don’t want to live in a body.” “Sleep and pray to the Lord for me,” said Patermufius. The Resurrection of Christ is a triumph of faith, virtue and hope Christian Easter has always been celebrated with all solemnity. Even Christians did not have churches, persecuted by pagans, they hid their worship in dens and abysses of the earth, but the remembrance of the Resurrection of Christ was already the reason for a triumph so bright and long-lasting that one of the ancient defenders of Christianity (Tertullian) said for all pagans: “Your holidays, taken all together, cannot be compared in their continuation with one Christian Easter.” In fact, the Resurrection of our Lord is in itself a triumph of celebrations and holidays. It is the highest triumph of faith, for it confirms, exalts, and burns our faith; is the highest triumph of virtue, for in it the purest virtue triumphed over the greatest temptation; is the highest triumph of hope, for it serves as the surest guarantee of the most majestic promises. I. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the highest triumph of faith. The Apostle Paul, one of the first preachers of the faith, wrote to his Corinthian disciples: if Christ is not risen, then is our preaching vain, and so is your faith (1 Cor. 15:14). That is, if Christ is not resurrected, then all the truths of our faith lose their power, the Gospel and preaching no longer have dignity, all Christianity is an idle name. The thought is striking, but absolutely true, undeniable! For on what is all our faith based? “It was created,” answers Saint Paul, “on the basis of the apostle and prophet, which is the cornerstone of Jesus Christ Himself (Eph. 2:20). The risen Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, He is the Messenger and Saint of our confession (cf. Heb. 3:1), but why did this stone, neglected by those who built it, become for us the head of the corner and wondrous in our eyes (cf. Matt. 21:42)? Why do we recognize Christ, God's power and God's wisdom in him (1 Cor. 1:24)? We have a lot of evidence for this, but all of it would be insufficient without the Resurrection of our Lord. Let us imagine that we belong to the number of people who followed the Lord from the beginning to the end of His earthly ministry, heard all His conversations, saw all the deeds He accomplished. As long as He opened the eyes of the blind and raised the dead, we, of course, would calmly follow Him, exclaiming along with the apostles: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God! (John 6:69). But then comes the terrible hour of suffering: the disciple betrays Him, the insane synagogue rejects Him as a flatterer, the foolish Pilate condemns Him as a troublemaker; Jesus - our hope - ascends to the Cross along with the villains; The Father Himself leaves Him, He dies in agony, is buried; His very tomb is sealed with the seal of Caiaphas. What would have happened to us then, to our faith, if He had not risen? We hoped that this One would at least deliver Israel, but also over all these (Luke 24:21) He remained in the tomb: this is what each of us would say. Indeed, it is impossible to think that our faith would then be stronger than the faith of the apostles. But what happened to them after the death of the Lord? Didn't they all waver in their faith in Him? But without this confidence, would they have gone out to preach worldwide and given their lives for its truth? Without their preaching, would the world, immersed in the darkness of paganism, turn to the Christian faith? And what would the apostles begin to preach without the Resurrection of their Teacher? How would they say: Believe in the Son of God to have eternal life (cf. John 3:36), when the Son of God Himself would remain dead? How would they say: Christ yesterday and today, the same and forever (Heb. 13:8), when everyone knew that He was first alive, and then died and was not resurrected? Thus, without the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, His tomb would have been at the same time the tomb of the Christian faith: because all those who had previously believed in Him would have ceased to believe; because no one would take the trouble to preach faith in Him who died and did not rise again; because, finally, this sermon in itself would not be worthy of trust. But now the tomb of Jesus Christ is a sanctuary in which the triumph of the Christian faith took place. It was not in vain that Jesus Christ Himself, when the Jews demanded new miracles from Him to certify that He was the Only Begotten Son of God, answered that no other sign would be given to them except the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39–40), i.e. the Resurrection; It was not in vain that when He departed to His sufferings, He said that the time was coming when the Son of Man would be glorified (cf. John 13:31). In His Resurrection He truly became glorified, but, as the Apostle Paul noted, no longer as a prophet, lower as the Son of Man or the Messiah, but as the Son of God, in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Divinity (cf. Col. 2:9). Who does not recognize the Son of God in the Risen Jesus? In what splendor the very Cross of Christ now appears, on which, one might say, faith itself was crucified together with Jesus! Who does not see that this is a sign of curse for others - for Jesus it was an altar on which the world sacrifice was offered; that God accepted this sacrifice into the stench of fragrance; that the Lamb slain is worthy to receive honor and glory (cf. Apoc. 5:12). After this, what can shake our faith, when death and hell itself have not overcome it in the person of the Author and Finisher of faith? I know, the Apostle Paul once exclaimed, I know in Whom I believe - I know that my Savior is God, who is able to keep the guarantee of my salvation until His glorious coming (cf. 2 Tim. 1:12). II. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the highest triumph of virtue. Virtue, persecuted on earth, never completely left the face of the earth, appearing among God’s chosen ones, who shone like lights in the world (cf. Phil. 2:15). But what was their fate? They were stoned, they were despised... they died by murder with the sword, they died in death... deprived, sorrowful, embittered (Heb. 11:37). And how many times has the voice of complaint and sadness been heard: that the path of the wicked will be sung (see Jer. 12:1), but the righteous will be reaped like grapes. Providence sometimes justified its ways; more than once, in the face of the whole world, which regards the lives of the righteous as ridicule, virtue has triumphed over vice; More than once, thrown into the furnace of temptation, the righteous came out of it like pure gold, not only in the eyes of God, but also in the eyes of their enemies. But the triumph of virtue always remained incomplete; since the virtue of the sons of men is always imperfect and unclean. Meanwhile, in order to disgrace the triumph of the vain world, it was necessary to demonstrate the complete triumph of virtue. This required the purest virtue, the greatest temptation and all-perfect glory. This is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! What was His whole life if not one continuous service to God and his neighbors? Meanwhile, what righteous person was put to shame, despised, or tortured more than Jesus Christ? But behold the triumph of piety in the face of the Risen One! He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, death on the cross. In the same way, God has exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven and on earth and under the earth! (Phil. 2:8–10). He was rich, but became poor for us (cf. 2 Cor. 8:9), had no place to lay his head (cf. Matt. 8:20). And now all authority in heaven and on earth is committed to Him (Matthew 28:18)! Out of love for his neighbors, He gave His soul: and now the souls of all the sons of men are given over to His power, as the Redeemer and Judge! And these are still only traces of the triumph of the invisible, visible to us. If we, according to the Savior’s promise, saw heaven open (John 1:51), what a triumph of virtues would be revealed in His face before our eyes! There we would see the Son of Man, crowned with glory and honor for accepting death (see: Heb. 2:9), we would see twenty-four elders casting their crowns before the slain Lamb (see: Apoc. 4:10), we would see hosts of Angels no longer ascending and descending to the Son of Man (see: John 1:51), but covering their faces from the unapproachable the glory of His face. What heart that loves virtue could not rejoice at such a triumph of the Son of Man? This celebration is truly global, in which even the most pagan can participate. Let him not believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ; It is enough if he believes in God and virtue in order to rejoice that the Holiest of the sons of men is now so majestically rewarded by heaven itself. The Just God showed in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ how He glorifies those who love Him, showed before the entire human race that He never forgets any labor taken up in His name (Heb. 6:10), and that all the triumphs of the world are nothing before the triumph of the righteous. III. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the highest triumph of hope. For the mortal human race, oppressed by all kinds of disasters, nothing could be more necessary than the insight through the eye of hope into a country where there is no illness, no sorrow, no sighing. – And indeed, human thoughts and desires at all times and among all peoples rushed beyond the boundaries of this life. But who could dispel the darkness of the tomb, overthrow this barrier? The wise men appeared, but, coming from the earth (cf. John 3:31), they spoke about the earth; They boasted that they “brought philosophy down from heaven,” but not a single person was raised to heaven. Prophets came, instructed, denounced, consoled, but then they themselves died without accepting the promise (see: Heb. 11:39). Death reigned over the entire human race with such ferocity that during the time of Jesus Christ, not only many of the wise men of the pagans, but even a great part of the people of God rejected all hope of immortality, saying that there would be no resurrection (Matthew 22:23). It was necessary to restore fallen hope and demonstrate in front of the whole world that only a person’s body returns to the earth, and the spirit returns to God, Who gave him (cf. Eccl. 12:7). And so in the Resurrection of the Savior the triumph of hope takes place. The grave and death were the fault of human fear and despair: The wisdom of God turns the grave into a source of hope. Death forces one to be a conductor of immortality. For what else is the Tomb of Jesus Christ now used for, if not as proof that all the tombs will one day be empty and give up their dead? – What did the death of Jesus Christ serve for, if not for the certainty that death is only a guardian who guards what is given to him, keeps it as long as the Lord wills life, and that in the power of this guard is only our mortal frame, and not the spirit, which is completely ignorant of the grave and death! The most true celebration. It must be said decisively that all the proofs of immortality used by reason do not have as much force as it lies in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ alone. Believing this Resurrection and doubting our resurrection is a complete contradiction. Even if Christ is risen, what do the netizens say, that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen (cf. 1 Cor. 15:12–13). Indeed, Christ is the Head of believers: when the Head has risen, how can the other members remain dead? The celebration is complete. Hope for the immortality of the human spirit, although weak, was previously in the human race. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, confirming this hope, expanded its scope, showing that not only the human spirit does not die, but also the body will once become immortal, that the day will come when this corruptible will be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal will be sacrificed with life, that, according to the assurance of the Apostle, the time will come when Christ will transform the body of our humility, so that this life will be conformed to the body of His glory (Phil. 3:21). Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His many mercy begat us into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3). The Lord, the Lord Himself created this day, may we rejoice and be glad on it! Truly, it is a celebration of holidays and a triumph of triumphs: a triumph of faith, virtue and hope. What did hell, earth and heaven become after the Resurrection of Christ? The descent into hell and the Resurrection of Christ are important in the salvation of people. St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow wrote: “Is it necessary to found faith, create hope, kindle love, enlighten wisdom, resurrect prayer, bring down grace, destroy disaster, death, evil, give vitality to life, make bliss not a dream, but reality, glory - not a ghost, but the eternal lightning of eternal light, illuminating everything and not striking anyone? “There is enough power for all this in one miraculous word: Christ is Risen.” “What is hell after Christ has risen after descending into hell? The fortress into which the winner entered under the guise of a prisoner; a prison whose gates are broken and the guards are scattered; this is truly, according to the image of Christ, the monster that swallowed the prophet overthrown from the ship; but instead of devouring and destroying him, it became for him another, although not so calm, ship to lead him to the shore of life and safety. Now it becomes clear how someone hoped to pass through hell itself safely: even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me (Ps. 23:4) - You, Who came down from heaven for us, like us, walked on the earth and, like us, descended into the shadow of death, so that from then on you could pave the way for Your followers into the light of life.” “Now that Christ is Risen, what does the earth turn out to be? - She is a breeding ground for heaven; the short-term and destruction-ending life of a person in the body is the beginning life of a chick in an egg, to which, upon breaking the shell, the highest and most extensive circle of life opens; it is only necessary that the embryo of the chick be embraced, penetrated and excited by the maternal warmth of the shelter, that is, it is necessary that the embryo of heavenly life in a person be embraced, penetrated and excited by the life-giving power of the Blood of Christ.” “Now that Christ is Risen, and when He, as the God-man, has been given... all power in heaven and on earth (cf. Matt. 28:18), not only heaven has become accessible, but has even been united with earth in such a way that it is difficult to find the limit and difference between them; for the Divinity appears on earth and humanity appears in heaven; The angels whom Jacob saw ascending and descending on the ladder of heaven now walk in hosts on the earth, as messengers of the Son of Man, who rules in Heaven.” What is the Resurrection of the Dead? Just as every year at the end of winter and at the onset of spring, every year when the sun approaches our earth there is always a great change. It is by the power of this great luminary approaching the earth that all nature is resurrected, all earthly things - both plants and some animals, seemingly half-dead, and sometimes actually dead - come to life and receive new forces for action, and with these new forces a new plant and new fruitfulness manifest. In this visible way, both after the winter of the last tribulations of Antichrist, and at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the true God-man, into this world, at the return of the Great Spiritual Luminary, the Sun of Truth, in full radiance and light, in indescribable splendor and glory - so, at the return of this Luminary to our earthly circle, all human dead bodies by His hidden power will come to life, resurrect, rise; will receive a new look, new life and new actions. But what is the resurrection of the dead, what will be its significance - we cannot give a better reasoning for this and have the clearest evidence and most reliable proof than the example of the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ Himself. He proved by His resurrection that our resurrection is also possible and, without a doubt, will be; He has declared by His teaching when it will be; His own example can teach us that it will be like this. So, in order for us to know what our resurrection will consist of, let us consider what the glorious Resurrection of Christ consisted of. The Resurrection of Christ consisted in the fact that He, as a perfect man, having been betrayed by Judas, was tortured and crucified by the Jews, having died on the Cross, taken down from the tree and placed in a tomb, - that after His death He was in Divinity with the Father in heaven, a human soul in hell, and a dead body in the tomb, He showed His Divine power - that He, again Having emerged with his soul from hell and brought with Him those who were in hell and who were waiting for Him with faith, He united His soul with His body, revived it in three days, raised it, resurrected it by the power of His Divinity - He, having resurrected His flesh and united it with the Divinity, again revealed Himself to be the true God-man. He raised His flesh from the grave, no longer the same as it was before, but much more noble and majestic, restored it in a completely transformed form. His flesh, like that of other people, was previously subject to earthly sensuality and earthly inclinations, although He did not follow sensuality, but owned it; after death and after the Resurrection, this sensuality disappeared, and earthly inclinations ceased to exist in her and were destroyed. His flesh was formerly visible, tangible, rough; in the Resurrection she became invisible, subtle; from earthly and carnal - became a heavenly, spiritual Body; to put it briefly, the flesh could be both visible and tangible by the disciples - and invisible, intangible, unpossessed by gross bodies, permeable everywhere; it had the appearance of flesh and bones when Thomas touched it, and it had the appearance of spirit when the Lord came to the disciples with the doors closed (cf. John 20:19). His flesh was previously corruptible, weak, spiritual, subject to suffering and death: but in the Resurrection it rose incorruptible, strong, immortal, glorious, spiritual (see: 1 Cor. 15:42–44), glorified, clothed in the Divine light, in a word, one who was completely capable of ascending with the Divinity of the Son into heaven, entering into angelic places suitable for incorporeal spirits and sitting at the right hand of the Heavenly Father Himself. This is what the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ consisted of! And when His Resurrection consisted of such actions, then it can be said that it is a very correct conclusion that our resurrection will consist of a similar change and similar actions. And precisely: when the Sun of Truth again shines on the horizon of this visible world, when our Lord Jesus Christ again comes to earth - he will come either to reward or punish everyone according to his deeds, he will come and command the holy Angels with a trumpet voice to call out the dead; then, just as at the beginning of the world, after the mouth of God uttered this all-effective word: let there be, let there be light, and all things, and all things, and be (Gen. 1:3), all things appeared, all came from non-existence into being and received existence - then, I say, after the angelic trumpet voice, by the power of Almighty God, all the bodies of dead men from the beginning of the world, consigned to the earth, rotted, divided into their elements, transformed into fire, into water, into air and into earth; bodies that drowned in water and burned in fire, all dead bodies, small and great, male and female, will again be composed of those parts that they previously had and into which they were divided; for the parts taken from them will be given over to the elements - fire, and the sea, and death, and hell will be given up by the dead, all the dry bones will receive sinews, will be clothed with flesh, will be quickened by the spirit, will be united again with their souls, from which they were separated at death, will be united and rise from the graves, the dead will rise from the dead, and will come out and stand before the Throne of the impartial Judge, will be resurrected and will receive Judgment from written in books according to their deeds (cf.: Apoc. 20:12). The dead will rise, dead bodies will rise, but they will not rise in the same form in which they are now from the fall. Now they are rough, hard, heavy, corruptible, weak, mortal, visible, earthly, but they will rise in the general resurrection of all in a completely different form, in a form different from this. Instead of being rough, they will be refined, instead of hard, transparent and passable everywhere, instead of heavy, light, quickly soaring, so that in a single blink of an eye they from all the countries of the universe, like eagles, will gather before the Throne of God. Instead of the corruptible they will be incorruptible, instead of the weak they will be strong, instead of mortals they will be immortal, instead of those visible with bodily eyes they will be invisible, instead of earthly and carnal they will be heavenly and spiritual. However, with all this change, they will not be ghosts or spirits, but will be true bodies, having the appearance of the same people, but only they will be true spiritual bodies. For the Apostle Paul, testifying to the resurrection of the dead, says: now it is sown into corruption, and raised into incorruption; it is not sown in honor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness and raised in strength; the spiritual, carnal body is sown, the spiritual body is raised. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:42–44). This is what our resurrection will consist of! It will consist in the change that our bodies will rise from the dead, come to life, rise from the graves, come out of the earth; from being rough, earthly, corruptible, mortal, carnal, they will become the most subtle, as if completely heavenly, incorruptible, immortal, spiritual. And this change will involve not only the dead, people who have died from the beginning of the world until that time, but also the living, those who will remain alive in this last hour, those who will be alive on the Last Day of the Lord. For the living, who lived and waited for the Second Glorious Coming of Christ, will no longer die at that time: there will be no more death. But since it will be impossible for them to enter the spiritual Kingdom with their crude flesh, then instead of external death, the change that follows in their outer man will follow the general resurrection: when the living, just like the dead, hear the angelic trumpet voice, hear the thunderous message of the last hour - then, as the dead, as if from sleep, will rise and see themselves in a completely different form, in the form of spiritual beings, and the living, as if awakening from a short sleep, will see themselves in a completely different image, in a different position and in different feelings. All the living, although at that time will no longer die, will nevertheless change; All such will not fall asleep, but all will change (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51). This rough body, like a thick garment, will then fall off, and the flesh will become refined, all sensuality will go away, carnal lusts will be destroyed, passionate inclinations will cease to act; and thus, those who are alive without death will see death on themselves, and without dying they will see themselves in their outer part, in their very body, as new people, spiritual creatures. For their bodies, putting aside carnal inclinations, throwing off sensuality and corruption, will put on incorruptibility; leaving deadness, they will perceive immortality and, just like dead bodies, will become spiritual, passable everywhere and capable of eternal residence in the spiritual kingdom. Bright Sunday in Jerusalem The Russian abbot Daniel, who traveled to the Holy Land in the 12th century, describes the meeting of the Bright Feast before the Holy Sepulcher in this way. “On Holy Saturday, at six o’clock in the afternoon, countless people gather at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Natives and aliens come from other countries - from Babylon, Egypt, Antioch. Everyone gathers there that day in unspeakable numbers and fills the place near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There is great crowding in the church then: many are suffocating from the crowding. “And all these fans stand with unlit candles and wait for the church doors to open. - So they open, and everyone enters the church, pushing their way with effort and crowding each other, filling the entire church and vestibules. There are a lot of people everywhere - both in the church and outside the church, and near Golgotha ​​and the place of execution - right up to the place where the Cross of the Lord was found. And all the people pray with only one prayer: “Lord, have mercy.” These cries are so loud that the earth groans and shakes throughout this entire space from the cry of the people. People who are true believers cry at that time with tenderness, and even those whose hearts have turned to stone feel shame, remember their sins and say to themselves: “Will the Holy Light not descend now because of my sins?” Thus all the faithful stood with tears and heartfelt contrition. Suddenly, after the ninth hour, a small cloud came from the east and stood over the church (and the church was not covered with a roof), and the rain began to fall over the Holy Sepulcher and greatly wetted those who stood near the Sepulcher. Then suddenly a light shone in the Holy Sepulcher, and a bright radiance spread from the Holy Sepulcher, which everyone looked at with fear. The bishop and four deacons approached and opened the doors of the Tomb. And, taking a candle, the bishop entered the Tomb, lit it from this Holy Light and took it out of the Tomb; We all lit our candles from this candle. The Holy Light is not like the earthly light, but somehow shines differently, surprisingly brightly; and its flame is red as cinnabar. So all the people stand with burning lamps and incessantly pray: “Lord, have mercy,” looking at the Light of God in great joy and admiration. Whoever has never witnessed this joy of a bright day may not believe the story, but he who believes a small one will believe a great miracle; and for an evil person the truth appears unfair. Then everyone left the church in great joy with burning candles, and everyone watched his candle so that the wind did not put it out. With this Holy Light, pilgrims light candles in their churches and each finish their evening singing in their own church; and we, the abbot and the brethren, returned to our monastery, carrying burning candles, and there, having finished the evening singing, we went to our cells, offering praises to God, who made us worthy to see such grace. And the next morning, on the day of Bright Resurrection, having served matins in the usual way, after kissing the abbot and the brethren and after the dismissal - at the first hour of the day - they went to the Holy Sepulcher while singing the kontakion: “Even if thou didst descend into the tomb of Immortality,” and, entering the very Tomb, they kissed it with sincere love and tears.” Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem No church in the world attracts as many pilgrims from all over the world as the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Built by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine and his holy mother, Equal-to-the-Apostles Helen, this church was devastated many times, it especially suffered from a terrible fire in 1808, when its main vaults collapsed and all the decorations perished in the flames, but the foundation and most of the walls have survived from the times of Tsar Constantine to this day. There are double entrance gates leading to the church. Some of them are walled up, while others are locked at night by the Turks, who, to maintain order, are constantly in the church during the day, at the very doors. The first shrine that worshipers see at the entrance to the church, right opposite the doors, a few steps from them, is the Stone of Anointing, on which Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped shrouds and anointed the Most Pure Body of the Lord Jesus after He was taken down from the Cross. This stone is now covered with a pink marble slab; above it there is a canopy on four pillars, under the canopy of which hang many unquenchable lamps, and in the corners there are large candlesticks. From here, fans are led to the left, to the western part of the church, which represents a majestic rotunda, that is, a circle of 18 pilasters (or quadrangular pillars), connected by arches, on two floors. On these pilasters rests a huge dome, and in the middle of the rotunda stands a small chapel of yellow marble called the Edicule. This chapel houses an invaluable treasure - the Holy Sepulcher, or the cave in which our Savior Jesus Christ was buried. From the life-giving Tomb they pass by the Stone of Anointing to Golgotha, on which the Only Begotten Son of God suffered and died as a man for all of us, the sinful sons of Adam, who was slain on the Cross, as an immaculate Lamb who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world... Holy Mount Golgotha ​​occupies the southeastern part of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This sacred rock at the time of the Savior was located outside the city wall, as the Apostle also says: outside the gates the Lord deigned to suffer (Heb. 13:12). Near the rock of Golgotha ​​was also located the garden of Joseph of Arimathea: in the place where they were crucified, there was a heap, as it is said in the Gospel of John, and in the heap there was a new tomb (John 19:41); therefore, now the Holy Sepulcher and the Rock of Calvary are in the same Church of the Resurrection. The rock is lined with stone and is ascended by 28 steps. At the top of Golgotha ​​there is a church divided into two halves, like two churches; in one, where the Cross of the Lord was erected, light penetrates from the west, from inside the church - this part belongs to the Greeks. The other half, the south, where our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the Cross; Latins serve here. Greek throne made of white marble; he stands openly; a recess is made in the front side, so that a person, kneeling, can easily bend under the throne, where the very place on which the Life-giving Cross of the Lord was established is located. While singing the sacred songs: “Come, faithful ones, let us worship the Life-giving tree, on which Christ, the King of Glory, willingly stretched out His hand... Today the prophetic word has been fulfilled, for we worship in the place where Your feet stand, O Lord...”, pious worshipers ascend to Calvary, fall with fear and love to this sacred hole and with with hot tears of heartfelt contrition they kiss the edges of the sacred rock, lined with silver, with a chased image of the passion of the Lord... Behind the throne, on an elevated marble platform, stands the majestic, full-length Crucifix of the Lord: the Life-giving Blood, as it were, flows from the most pure ulcers of the Lord on Golgotha; Standing before the Cross, struck by deep sorrow, are His Most Pure Mother and his beloved disciple John... Behind the Cross, an iconostasis with the image of the Passion of the Lord is leaning against the wall, and on top hangs many unquenchable lamps, lit by the zeal of pious Christians from all countries and peoples of the earth... But, to the right and to the left of the Cross of the Lord, a little behind it, two black circles are visible on the marble: these are the places where they were The crosses of thieves crucified with Christ were erected. According to legend, the crucified Savior was facing west, so that the cross of the prudent thief crucified at His right hand was on the north side, and between it and the Cross of the Lord stood our Intercessor and Intercessor for all sinners, the Most Holy Theotokos. On the right side of the throne of Calvary, a deep crack is visible, formed during the earthquake, when the Lord gave up His Spirit on the Cross. This crack runs through the entire Golgotha ​​rock and is remarkable in that the stone has settled not along the layers of the rock, but across them, which never happens during an ordinary earthquake. It is clear that the earthquake during the death of the Savior was not an ordinary act of nature, but a special miracle of God to admonish the hard-hearted Jews. There is a small cave church under Golgotha; Here, according to legend, the king of Jerusalem, Melchizedek, the Old Testament priest of the Most High God, was buried. In the depths of this cave there is a throne in the name of the Forerunner of the Lord and our forefather Adam; behind the throne, through the iron grating, in the light of an unquenchable lamp, the same cleft of the rock is visible; here, according to ancient legend, preserved in the writings of many holy fathers, the head of Adam was buried, which is why the rock itself received the name Golgotha, which means: place of execution. And so, says legend, when a warrior hit the most pure rib of the Second Adam - our Lord with a spear, the Holy Blood and water flowing from the rib passed through the crack of the Golgotha ​​rock and washed the head of the primordial Adam. According to this legend, in our Orthodox Church, when depicting the Crucifixion of the Lord, a human skull is always depicted under the Cross, lying on two cross-shaped bones. From Golgotha, pilgrims go down to the altar of the main Church of the Resurrection. Here, in a dark semicircular gallery, there are several small chapels and a meeting in the underground churches. The first aisle from Golgotha ​​belongs to the Greeks; it is called the chapel of Reproach and the Crown of Thorns. In this altar, under the throne, is part of the gray marble pillar on which our Lord sat when the soldiers mocked Him in Pilate’s praetorium. Right there in the wall, behind glass and behind bars, part of the crown of thorns is preserved; two unquenchable lamps illuminate the mysterious darkness of this chapel. Next to this chapel there is a door to the underground church of Saints Constantine and Helen, where you go down 33 steps. This church was excavated in natural rock at the time when Queen Helen was looking for the Life-giving Cross of the Lord here; The place is vast, 30 paces in length and the same in width; the dome is supported by four thick columns. This church is owned by Armenians. On the right side of the altar there is a stone seat, where, according to legend, the Holy Queen Helen was at the time when the Cross was found; immediately they descend another 13 steps into the cave where the Holy Cross was buried for three hundred years; here three crosses were found: one of the Lord, and two of the thieves crucified with Christ. The very place where the Cross was found belongs to the Orthodox; it is lined with multi-colored marble; in the middle is an image of the Cross. Upon exiting here again into the gallery surrounding the altar of the Church of the Resurrection, worshipers enter the chapel of the Dividing of Robes, which belongs to the Orthodox. Next is the chapel of Longinus Sotnik, which belongs to the Armenians. According to Armenian legend, Longinus was from Armenia; he pierced the most pure ribs of the crucified Savior with a spear, but then believed in Him and came here to mourn his act; he died a martyr in Cappadocia. Even further under the throne, behind the bars, the bonds of Christ are visible, or two holes in the stone into which the feet of the Divine Sufferer were driven when He was imprisoned until the morning, before He was taken to Pilate. Not far from the bonds, to the left, there is a place called the Prison of Christ, where, according to legend, the Lord was kept while preparations for His crucifixion were completed, and where then the Mother of God, when they led her Divine Son to Calvary, sobbing with grief, sank to the ground, supported by pious women. This touching event is depicted on the altarpiece. The throne is in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and on the left side is the throne in memory of when our Lord was beaten tied to a pillar, by order of Pilate. Having thus bypassed the main altar, the worshipers walk along the north side of the church to the west; here, opposite the northern side of the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, is a Latin church, on the place where, according to legend, the Savior appeared after the Resurrection of His Most Pure Mother; on the sides of the main altar there are two smaller ones: on the right is the chapel of the Holy Cross, on the left is the Flagellation, where on the throne, behind an iron grate, is part of the pillar to which the Lord was tied during the scourging. Between the Church of the Apparition and the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher on the floor, two marble circles mark the places where, according to legend, the Savior appeared to Mary Magdalene in the form of the Helix. Nearby there is a Latin throne in memory of this phenomenon, and behind the throne the picture depicts the event itself. In the westernmost part of the church, in the gallery, behind the Holy Sepulcher, there is the burial cave of the righteous Joseph of Arimathea, who gave up his new tomb for the Savior; His friend, righteous Nicodemus, was also buried here. From here, bypassing the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, fans enter the main Church of the Resurrection of Christ, which belongs to the Greeks; it occupies the entire middle of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and is 40 steps long to the Royal Doors and 20 steps wide. The main iconostasis is marble, in four tiers. Local icons - good Russian writing. The royal doors are carved, gilded, crowned with a double-headed eagle; behind the iconostasis - in the altar - there are choirs in several rows; above the throne there is a marble canopy. In the middle of the church hang three large chandeliers, each containing 50 candles, all a gift from our Orthodox kings. In addition, there are many lamps everywhere, so that on holidays more than 400 of them and up to 1,500 candles are lit. Anyone who saw this church and the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher on the night of the Holy Resurrection will never forget this wondrous sight. This is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. It is comforting to recall that for those who do not have the opportunity to visit Jerusalem, we have in Russia, 57 versts from Moscow, an exact likeness of this church in the monastery called New Jerusalem. This church was built by our blessed saint, Patriarch Nikon. Walking around the holy places in this church, you involuntarily are transported in thought and heart to the cherished shrines of Jerusalem. About the descent of the Holy Fire The Holy Light among the Greeks - the Sacred Fire (or the grace of the Lord) - among Russian pilgrims, - from time immemorial, revealed in the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in Jerusalem on the last day of Holy Week, at two o'clock in the afternoon - a triumph that has no analogue in the entire Christian world. I had the opportunity to witness the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Resurrection twice. What the external senses experience at this peculiar spectacle is not easy to convey with proper accuracy. Usually on Holy Saturday, at half past one, a bell rings in the Patriarchate and the procession begins from there. The Greek clergy enters the church with a long black ribbon, preceding His Beatitude, the Patriarch. He is in full vestments, a shining miter and panagias. The clergy slowly walks past the Stone of Confirmation, goes to the platform connecting the Edicule with the cathedral, and then, between two rows of armed Turkish army, barely holding back the onslaught of the crowd, disappears into the large altar of the cathedral. The Patriarch stops in front of the Royal Doors. Two archimandrites and hierodeacons expose him. Without a miter and all the archpastoral distinctions, in a white linen robe, belted with a leather belt, he returns, accompanied by metropolitans and bishops, to the entrance to the chapel. The entrance is sealed with a Turkish seal, guarded by Turkish guards. The day before, all the candles, lamps, and chandeliers in the church had already been extinguished. Even in the distant past, this was carefully monitored: the Turkish authorities carried out a strict search inside the chapel; According to the slander of Catholics, they even went so far as to audit the pockets of the officiating metropolitan, the vicar of the patriarch, when the latter’s residence was still in Constantinople. After the clergy, preceded by the banner bearers, walk around the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre three times, singing the sixth tone of the stichera: “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior, the Angels are singing in heaven...” The Patriarch stops on the platform in front of the outer entrance to the chapel. Here an Armenian bishop in vestments awaits him. A Turkish officer removes the seal. Upon the entrance of the patriarch, and after him the Armenian bishop, the door is locked again... The Greek hierarch penetrates through the low hole in the transverse wall to the Holy Sepulcher. The absolute darkness of night reigns there. Terrible... passionate minutes follow... sometimes a quarter of an hour, sometimes twenty minutes... This is a whole century of anxious waiting... Deathly silence... Imagine the deathly silence of a wild crowd of many thousands - such that if a bird were to fly, you could hear the sound of its wings - and then you will understand the degree of intense expectation of this people. Only those who have had the opportunity to experience these minutes are able to understand how hearts beat. In the Edicule, in the chapel of the Angel, in the northern and southern walls there are two holes, oval, the size of a large table dish... In the northern one, a long candle suddenly appears... flaming! - Grace!.. Lord, have mercy! Kyrie, eleison!.. Volyadin, ilyadin, el Messiah! (in Arabic: there is no faith other than the Orthodox!)... Screams, frantic, incessant screams rush from below, from above, from the balconies of galleries, boxes, cornices; from everywhere there were deafening exclamations, the ringing of bells, the solemn sounds of wooden beats, the crackling of drums, the sharp trills of metal hammers; Everyone is jumping, screaming, everyone is climbing on each other’s shoulders... It seems to me that I am in a huge building on fire. Fire instantly appears everywhere; everyone has bunches of candles burning; they are lowered on ropes from the galleries; the lit ones fly upward. The entire church is on fire. The temperature instantly reaches 45 degrees or higher... The soldiers, with incredible efforts, barely have time to clear the way for the patriarch emerging from the Edicule. Pale, with pained features from deep mental shock, the patriarch slowly approaches the cathedral altar. So, at that time, Moses left the heights of Sinai... The Patriarch extends lighted candles in both directions; whoever has time, extinguishes his fart and catches the flame of the patriarchal candle... I could not explain to myself how the Fire, barely noticed in the northern hole of the Edicule, almost in the blink of an eye appeared almost in the altar of the cathedral. There, all the candles were already burning at a time when the Fire barely began to be intercepted and shimmered nearby near the chapel itself. At the said opening, two messengers with lanterns usually wait; one of them immediately gallops on horseback to Bethlehem... But how the other can, in a single moment, pierce the united mass of the people and penetrate the altar remains completely incomprehensible... At the altar, the patriarch rests for no more than five minutes and then leaves; Little by little, the entire clergy disappears from the church. What happened? Where did the Patriarch's Fire come from? These are the questions that the skeptic, of course, has on his tongue, so to speak. One day, shortly after Easter, I, among several newly arrived pilgrims, accompanied the patriarch on the way to Jericho and the Jordan. Halfway through the journey we were invited to his tent for lunch. One of these skeptics, choosing a convenient moment, suddenly asked the following question: – Where, Your Beatitude, do you deign to receive fire in the Edicule? The elderly archpastor, not paying attention to the irony of the question, calmly answered like this: - I, dear sir, if you please know, without glasses I am no longer a reader. When I first entered the Angel's chapel and the doors closed behind me, there was twilight. Light barely penetrated through two openings from the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre, also weakly illuminated from above. In the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, I could not discern whether I had a prayer book in my hands or what else. One could barely notice a whitish spot against the black background of the night: then, obviously, the marble plaque on the Holy Sepulcher was white. When I opened the prayer book, to my surprise, the text became completely accessible to my vision without glasses. Before I had time to read lines three or four with deep emotional excitement, looking again at the board, which was becoming more and more white and so that all four of its edges were clearly visible to me, I noticed on the board what looked like small scattered beads of different colors, or rather, like pearls the size of a pinhead and even smaller, and the board began to positively emit supposedly light. Unconsciously sweeping away these pearls with a large piece of cotton wool, which began to merge like drops of oil, I felt a certain warmth in the cotton wool and just as unconsciously touched it with the wick of a candle. It flared up like gunpowder, and the candle burned and illuminated the three images of the Resurrection, as it illuminated the face of the Mother of God and all the metal lamps above the Holy Sepulcher. I now leave it to you, dear sir, to judge my emotional excitement at that moment and get an answer to the question asked. Bright Sunday on Athos Christians have no holiday more solemn and joyful than Easter. And Athos, removed from the world, celebrates a particularly solemn celebration on this day. Tired of the labors and exploits of the Holy Pentecost, the Athonite monk, after eating the meager portion of bread and figs with a small glass of grape wine offered on Holy Saturday, at sunset, cheerfully and joyfully hurries to the cathedral church to listen to the reading of the “Acts”, in anticipation of the sacred midnight and the infinitely joyful, victorious exclamation that only a Christian can understand. Meanwhile, until midnight, in the midst of dead silence and half-light, the voice of the reader of the “Acts” sounds peacefully and quietly. On Athos, according to the custom of the Greeks, at this time the Holy Shroud does not stand among the church (it has been placed on the holy altar since the morning of Great Saturday, after going around the church at matins). Half an hour before midnight, the singing of the canon of Great Saturday begins, after which the clergy, gathered and waiting in the altar, in light vestments, all with candles in their hands, and the rector with the Holy Gospel, and singing “Thy Resurrection” and so on, proceed to the church vestibule (there is no walking around the church, as we do, at this time) and here, in front of the closed gates of the church, they make the usual beginning Easter service. The first words proclaiming the victory of our Savior over death are infinitely joyful for every Christian, but the joy of the monks is even more understandable; at the end of the singing of Easter verses, the rector knocks on the closed gates of the church, which instantly open from inside the church, thereby expressing the power of the Savior, who suddenly destroyed the power of death and with extreme ease - in an instant - opened the gates of heaven. The rest of the Easter Matins service until the verses of praise will follow in the same order as we do in Rus', with the same singing of the entire canon and censing, and with the same universal illumination in the hands of all those present. When the time of sacred greeting and kissing comes, here (with the beginning of the singing “Praise the Lord”), preceded by the clergy and banners, everyone leaves the church to the square in front of the church, where there is a larger place, and here the greeting begins: “Christ is Risen” and the kissing of the Holy Gospel and crosses. First, the officiating clergy kiss each other’s holy crosses and icons, which are in their hands, in order, starting with the rector, who has the Holy Gospel, then the hieromonks and then the hierodeacons, and then the other brethren come up to kiss one after another, then standing next to each other. It should be noted that, observing in all severity the ancient monastic order, on Athos even on this Holy Day they do not kiss on the lips, but only kiss each other on the shoulder. As, on the one hand, the mass of those waiting to kiss the Holy Gospel, crosses and icons thins, on the other hand, the circle of candle-bearers, already standing in a row waiting for their other brethren, increases. At the end of the sacred kiss, a magnificent spectacle is staged: imagine about a thousand, and sometimes more, people, all with candles in their hands, arranged in order across the vast area of ​​the monastery; they all form two or three irregular circles, closed by one person in the very center. (Usually, to establish order, one of the middle-aged monks voluntarily takes on this concern.) To fully enjoy this spectacle, you need to go up to one of the upper-floor cells at this time; from there you will be presented with a huge twisted fiery ribbon. When the mutual greeting is over, everyone returns to the church again, and at the end of Matins and the hours, mass begins. The difference between the Athonite mass and ours this time is that the Gospel is read in only one language; in different languages, reading it, probably for the sake of almost three days of labor, is postponed to Vespers (however, this custom of reading the Gospel at Vespers in all languages ​​is common in the East). Mass ends, according to our time, at about 5–6 o’clock. At about three o'clock in the afternoon, the solemn Easter Vespers begins, at which the Gospel is read in different languages, with arrangements accepted in our country; During this reading, here, just like with us, there is a ringing of bells, and in conclusion, the ringing of bells merges with the sounds of all kinds of bells and wooden and iron boards located in different places of the monastery during services, which continues almost until the end of Vespers. What will you see when you leave the church? Of course, first of all, the same joy on the faces of all Christians: everywhere you look, the faces of monks beaming with joy. But ask one of them what he is especially happy about, and if one of the Athonite monks enters into a conversation with you about this, then there can be no doubt that he will talk about heavenly joy and how he is worthy to celebrate Eternal Easter there and how sinful he is and how far from the path to this he is. The meeting of Holy Easter on Mount Athos is doubly, if not joyful, then beneficial for the soul, both for its residents and visitors. At least, even after a week-long holiday, you will not feel any mental fatigue and any heartfelt emptiness that is usually experienced in the world and which often fades the very memory of the holiday and the culprit of it. The greatest everyday consolation in these days of joy for an Athonite inhabitant, especially if he is from a distant land, such as a Russian, is a meeting with a fellow countryman and mutual memories of his homeland, but these memories rarely occupy an Athonite dweller for long, most often they are replaced by an exchange of thoughts about the real place of their stay, if those who came together live in different places. A walk through the most beautiful places, which are in the vicinity of every monastery, monastery and cell, is perhaps the best pleasure, in the ordinary sense understood; add to this the spring nature that had already blossomed by that time; all this can replace for the Athos resident all the joys he left behind in his native land. Whoever of the visitors - fans of the Holy Mountain - happened to spend Holy Easter here, even in his homeland, on the best days of his joy, remembers this with an infinitely sweet and rarely familiar spiritual mood, which is especially capable of reminiscent of the universal and Eternal Easter in heaven. Celebrating Easter in Ancient Rus' The solemn day of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, always and everywhere great and joyful, was greeted and celebrated by old Moscow with special splendor. The patriarchal service and royal appearances gave it even more solemnity and splendor. On the eve of the Holy Feast, the sovereign listened to the midnight office in his palace, in a special room, which is known as the throne room. In the same room, at the end of the midnight service, the ritual of seeing the king was performed. All the highest courtyard and service ranks were allowed here to strike the king with their foreheads and “see him, sovereign, with bright eyes,” which was accepted as the highest salary for faithful service. Officials of lower ranks were admitted by special permission of the king, by choice, and entered the room by order of one of the closest people, usually the steward, who at that time stood in the room at the hook and let them in according to the list, two people at a time. The lower ranks of service people were not allowed into the room at all, and only complained about seeing the sovereign during his journey to the Assumption Cathedral. While the boyars and other dignitaries entered the room, the sovereign sat in armchairs in a standard silk caftan, worn over a zipun. In front of him the sleeping bags held the entire outfit that was assigned to go out in the morning. This outfit included: an opashen, a stanovoy caftan, a zipun, a standing necklace (collar), a gorlatnaya hat and cap, and an Indian staff (ebony). Each of those who entered the room, seeing the sovereign’s bright eyes, struck his forehead, bowing to the ground before him, and, having given his petition, returned to his place. At first, and sometimes in the second hour of the night, a solemn message for Bright Matins was heard from the bell tower of Ivan the Great. They preached the gospel for quite a long time - until the sovereign came to the cathedral. During the good news, the patriarch entered the cathedral with all the bishops, archimandrites, abbots and priests who served him. Having gone to the altar, the patriarch and all the clergy vested themselves there “in all their most illustrious dignity.” When everything was ready for the beginning of Matins, the patriarch sent the clerk of the cross to the palace to notify the sovereign. The majestic procession of the sovereign to matins opened, accompanied by a huge retinue in precious shiny clothes. The sovereign was surrounded by boyars and okolnichy in gold and gorlat hats; In front of the sovereign walked stewards, solicitors, nobles, clerks in gold and gorlat hats. The sovereign himself was also dressed in gold with a pearl stripe, with stones and a throated hat. All the ranks who stood in the hallway and on the porches, striking the sovereign with their foreheads, walked to the cathedral in front, dividing into three people in a row. At the cathedral they stopped on both sides of the path at the western doors, in bars specially arranged for this purpose. Only those wearing golden caftans followed the sovereign into the cathedral. Having entered the cathedral and having created the beginning, the sovereign venerated the icons, miracle-working crayfish, the robe of the Lord and stood in his usual place at the right pillar, near the patriarchal place. At this time, the patriarch in vestments came out of the altar and blessed the sovereign. After this, a religious procession began, which took place along one side of the cathedral from the northern doors to the western ones. It should be noted that before leaving, the patriarch did not distribute candles to either the clergy, the tsar, the boyars or the people, and likewise, neither the lecterns for the icons nor the patriarchal place in the middle had yet been prepared in the cathedral. When the religious procession began, the keymasters ordered all the bells to be rung, and all the people were expelled from the cathedral and all the church doors were closed. The Tsar and the boyars did not go for the icons, but walked straight through the western doors and there, outside the cathedral, stopped on the right side. Meanwhile, one sacristan remained in the cathedral with half the guards and made all the preparations for performing matins: in the middle of the cathedral they placed the patriarch's seat, and in front of it two lecterns with gold hangings and shrouds, with rich and multi-colored decorations; on these lecterns after the move the Gospel and the image of the Resurrection of Christ were placed. The icon was removed from the lectern by the menain sacristan and carried to the altar. In the middle of the church, two “highlanders with coal and incense” were placed. The Patriarch performed a religious procession with the entire cathedral. In front of him were carried a smaller banner, four ripids, two crosses - a crystal and a written one, an altarpiece of the Mother of God. The icon of the Mother of God was followed by priests with the Gospel and the image of the Resurrection of Christ, which they carried in shrouds, and in front of them walked clerks with twisted candles, candlesticks and a lamp. The sovereign's singers walked in front of the priests and sang: “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior.” The Patriarch brought up the rear of the procession. “And then they call all the time, for a long time.” When the patriarch came to the closed western doors of the cathedral, and the crusaders positioned themselves “with their backbone to the doors,” “and at that time the keymasters ordered the lights to wave and stop ringing.” The keyman with a candle stood at the westernmost doors on the right side, and near him at the cathedral corner or the Faceted Chamber he placed guards with a board. When the procession was established and everything was ready for the beginning of Matins, the patriarch distributed lighted candles to the tsar, boyars, authorities and all the people, and then, taking a censer and an honorable cross in his hand, he censed the holy icons, the sovereign, the boyars, the authorities, the whole people and, turning to the east, proclaimed: “Glory to the Holy and Consubstantial and Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity always, now and ever and unto ages of ages.” The clergy who served him answered “Amen.” And then the patriarch himself single-handedly sang the Easter troparion “Christ is Risen” three times, and the third time he sang it only halfway, and the singers of the right choir finished it. Having received the troparion from the patriarch with the words “and those who are in the tombs,” the singers in both choirs sang it eighteen times. At the same time, the Patriarch proclaimed the usual verses “once,” and after him, at the sign of the keymaster, the watchman struck the board, and after the watchman they struck the bell as many times as the verse followed; after all the verses, the patriarch himself again sang “Christ is Risen” and, having conveyed to the singers “and to those in the tombs,” he himself opened the closed doors with the cross. At this moment, the housekeeper waves his lamp many times, and the watchman also strikes the bell many times, and suddenly all the bells ring, and then all the bells ring for three hours. Entering the cathedral, the patriarch stood with a cross in his hand in a prepared place in the middle of the cathedral. In front of him on lecterns they placed the Gospel and the holiday - the image of the Resurrection of Christ. The archdeacon proclaimed the great litany “Let us pray to the Lord in peace,” after which the patriarch himself began the irmos in a high voice: “Resurrection day, let us be enlightened people.” The singers received the words from the patriarch: “The Passover of the Lord, Easter” and sang the canon according to the charter. At this time they stopped calling; the patriarch began the censing of the lecterns, the altar, and the entire cathedral, according to the order: the king, the authorities, the boyars and the people. In front of the patriarch, two clerks walked with two twisted candles and a lamp, an archdeacon with the patriarch’s “tattered” candle, and the protodeacon and deacon held the patriarch by the arms, the bishops censed behind the patriarch. After the third song of the canon, the archpriest, in robes, read an article in the Explanatory Gospel. After the 6th song, the deacon in the surplice read the Prologue with the Synaxarion. During the entire duration of Matins, the king stood at the right rear pillar, on a three-step locker, its foot was upholstered in red velvet. When the singers sang “The Flesh Asleep” for the third time, the sacristans took the lecterns with the Gospel and the holiday icon and placed them opposite the patriarch’s place at the right pillar, and from the altar they brought out the menain image and placed it on the lectern in front of the king. During the stichera for praise, the patriarch and everyone who served with him entered the altar and stood behind the throne. The archdeacon or protodeacon presented him with a cross on a platter, the clergy presented the Gospel to the metropolitan, and the image of the Resurrection of Christ to another metropolitan or archbishop, and distributed icons to all authorities and priests. When everyone stood in a row at the altar, the celebration of Christ began. The Patriarch venerated the Gospel and icons in the hands of those who served with him and kissed them on the lips and greeted “Christ is Risen,” to which he received the answer: “Truly Christ is Risen.” At this consecration of Christ, the patriarch gave each person “a scarlet egg.” After the patriarch, the rest of the clergy did the same and in the same order, singing all this time incessantly “Christ is Risen from the Dead.” After Christ was celebrated in the altar, the patriarch went out with all the clergy to the middle of the cathedral and stood with the cross facing the west, and the other authorities stood in one row from the patriarch and held the Gospel and icons. Before anyone else, the Tsar came up to receive Christ, the Patriarch blessed him with the cross, and the Tsar kissed him on the mouth; Having venerated the Gospel and the images, the Tsar made Christ with other bishops, and offered his hand to the archimandrites, abbots, archpriests and priests. The sovereign gave each of them “two eggs.” After the tsar, the boyars and people shared Christ with the clergy. Having venerated the images and given gifts to the clergy, the tsar retreated to his place at the southern door of the cathedral and here he favored his boyars and distributed eggs to them. The boyars, okolnichy, Duma nobles and clerks, the clerk, neighbors and clerks, stewards, solicitors, and Moscow nobles approached the Tsar in a decorous and orderly manner. The king gave them goose, chicken and turned wooden eggs, three, two and one each, depending on the nobility of the one being complained about. The eggs were painted with gold and bright colors in a pattern or with colored herbs, “and in the herbs there were birds, and animals, and people.” At the end of the celebration of Christ, the patriarch returned to the altar and read the Paschal word of St. John Chrysostom in the Royal Doors. The Tsar approached the Royal Doors to listen to the teaching, and when the Patriarch finished it, the Tsar said: “Many years to come, Vladyka.” At the end of Matins, the sovereign and his retinue walked from the Assumption Cathedral to the Arkhangelsk Cathedral, venerated the holy icons and relics there and “made Christ with their parents,” venerating the tombs of their departed ancestors. From the Archangel Cathedral the sovereign went to the Annunciation, and then sometimes to the Ascension and Chudov monasteries and farmsteads. Everywhere, venerating holy icons and relics, the tsar rewarded the clergy with his hand and eggs. Returning to the palace, the king took Christ with all the court officials who remained in the royal chambers during Matins. Before mass, at about seven in the morning, the patriarch went to the palace to glorify Christ and call the sovereign to service. The patriarch walked from the Assumption Cathedral with all the spiritual authorities, preceded by the keymaster with a cross and holy water. During the journey, the clerks sang “Christ is Risen,” the 3rd and 9th songs of the Easter Canon. The tsar met the patriarch in the vestibule and, having received a blessing with the cross and sprinkling with holy water, escorted him to the chamber. Entering the Golden Chamber, the clerks sang: “Shine” and “Flesh asleep.” The Patriarch said: “Shine” and let go. The sovereign, the patriarch, the authorities and the boyars sat down in their places and, after sitting for a while, stood up, and the patriarch spoke to the sovereign: “Oh, Great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke (name), autocrat of all Rus', we celebrate the holiday of the Bright three-day Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and we pray to the All-Merciful and All-Bountiful and Most Good God in the Trinity, and the Most Pure Mother of God, and the great miracle workers, and all the saints for the universal dispensation and welfare of God’s holy churches and about the long-term health of you, our Great Sovereign; God grant that you, our Great Sovereign and Grand Duke (name), autocrat of all Rus', have been healthy for many years, with your sovereign’s noble and Christ-loving and God-crowned queen and Grand Duchess (name), and with your sovereign’s noble children (name), and with your with the sovereign's pilgrims, with the high priests, metropolitans, and with archbishops, and bishops, with archimandrites, and abbots, and with their sovereign princes and boyars, and with the Christ-loving army, and with good will, and with all Orthodox Christians.” Having said “Shine” and dismissed, the patriarch returned to the cathedral in the same order. Coming out of the chamber, the patriarch blessed the cleric to announce the gospel for mass by ringing the big bell “enough.” The sovereign and his entire retinue were again present at mass. Among the brilliant appearances and magnificent rituals, the king did not forget to show his mercy. On the very first day of Easter, and sometimes in the interval between Matins and Mass, he went to prisons and, telling the criminals: “Christ is Risen for you too,” he gave them clothes to break their fast. On the very first day, the sovereign provided a table for the poor brethren. From the very first day, the sovereign began ceremonial receptions of clergy and secular persons and festive visits to Moscow monasteries, hospitals and almshouses, and the holiday took place amid general joy and the most solemn services. Some of the rites and rituals associated with the celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church include the use of artos. Artos, according to the literal translation from Greek, means “bread”, and according to the church charter - whole prosphora. The symbolic meaning of artos is revealed quite clearly from those prayers that are supposed to be read for the blessing and fragmentation of artos. As in the Old Testament, in remembrance of the liberation of the people of God from the bitter work of Pharaoh, a lamb was slain at the command of the Lord, which at the same time prefigured the Lamb who takes away the sins of the whole world, the beloved Son of God; so in the New Testament, in remembrance of the glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we were delivered from eternal work by the enemy and liberated from hellish insoluble bonds, artos is brought - bread, representing the Bread of the Eternal Life, which came down from heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, having nourished us with the spiritual food of the three-day and saving Resurrection, became for us the true Bread Life. Invoking God's blessing on the consecrated artos, the priest in a prayer appeal asks the Lord to heal every ailment and illness and give health to all who partake of this artos. According to the current charter of the Greek-Russian Orthodox Church, the ecclesiastical use of artos is as follows: “In accordance with the commemoration of Easter, which combines the event of the death and Resurrection of the Lord, either a Cross crowned with thorns is inscribed on the artos, as a sign of Christ’s victory over death, or an image of the Resurrection of Christ.” Prepared in this way, on the very first day of Easter it is brought to the altar and here on the altar it is placed in a special vessel called “panagiar”. On the same day, following the prayer behind the pulpit, it is consecrated, with the reading of the established prayer and sprinkling with holy water. Throughout Bright Week, the artos lies either in the altar or in the church on a lectern, specially built for this purpose, together with the image of the Resurrection of Christ. During the procession of the cross, which takes place every day of Bright Week after Matins, but in parish churches it usually happens after the Liturgy, with banners, images of the Resurrection of the Lord, the Mother of God, the artos is carried around the church. In monasteries, every day of Bright Week, in addition, the artos is brought in a solemn procession, with the icon of the Resurrection of Christ, lamps, while all the bells are ringing and while “Christ is Risen” is chanted, to the fraternal meal, and is placed here on a specially prepared lectern. After the meal there is the so-called artos offering. When raising the artos, the cellarer says: “Christ is risen” once; those present answer him: “Truly He is Risen.” Then, marking the artos with a cross, he says: “We worship His Three-Day Resurrection,” and places the artos on the panagiar. Then everyone approaches the lectern on which the artos was placed and kisses the last one. After this, the artos, with the same solemnity with which it was brought to the meal, is taken back to the church. On the last day of Bright Week, Saturday, the artos is solemnly broken up after the Liturgy. In monasteries, this fragmentation is usually carried out in the following order: after the Liturgy, artos is brought to the meal, here “Christ is Risen” is sung three times, the Lord’s Prayer is read, and then the priest says a special prayer, and the fragmented artos is eaten by the brethren before the meal. “But,” says the Additional Breviary, “the priest can crush the artos at the Liturgy after the prayer behind the pulpit and distribute it to the faithful instead of the antidoron. Artos should not be kept all year for any superstition.” The use of artos is a custom of the Greek-Eastern Church. The West does not know this ritual. The “rite of artus” undoubtedly passed into the Russian Church along with Christianity and worship from Greece, where the offering of artos (and panagia) was a custom firmly entrenched in church practice, as Gohar’s “Euchologion” shows. From a comparison of various handwritten liturgical books belonging to the 13th-14th centuries, it is clear that in the Russian Church this rite has universal significance and was then strictly observed in monasteries. During the patriarchate, it was our custom for the artos, as well as the prosphora at mass on the first day of Easter, to be delivered to the Moscow Assumption Cathedral from the royal court. The Patriarch appeared to the sovereign on the first day after the Liturgy with the cathedral, in the procession and with the artos; here, after the presentation of the artos by the archdeacon, the artos was kissed by the sovereign, the patriarch and others. Artos was then taken back to the church, and here the archdeacon erected him again. As for the historical origin of the ritual with artos in the Orthodox Church, it is necessary to talk about this in connection with the history of the so-called “rite of panagia.” Panagia from Greek means “All-Holy” or “Most Holy,” which name is usually attached to the name of the Mother of God. By “rite of panagia” we mean the rite of offering special bread at the monastery meal, after the table, in honor of the Mother of God. Our Followed Psalter speaks about the origin of this rite. Before His suffering, the Lord Jesus Christ had a meal with his disciples at the Last Supper, when he instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and after the Resurrection he appeared more than once to bless their meals and even ate food with them. In remembrance of this, the apostles had the custom of leaving the middle place for the idle at meals and placing part of the bread in front of it, as if for the Lord present among them. After the meal, they raised this bread with prayer and thanksgiving, saying: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee! Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Great is the name of the Holy Trinity. Christ is Risen." After the day of the Ascension of the Lord, they said: “Great is the name of the Holy Trinity. Lord Jesus Christ, help us." This is how the apostles performed this custom while the Mother of God was on earth. On the third day after the Dormition of the Mother of God, when they, having been miraculously gathered all in one place for her burial, after the meal began to make the usual offering of bread in honor of the Lord and had just said: “Great is the name...”, the Mother of God suddenly appeared on a cloud with the Angels and said: “Rejoice, I am with you all the days.” The disciples were surprised by such a miracle and, instead of “Lord Jesus Christ,” they cried out: “Most Holy Theotokos, help us.” Then they went to the Tomb and, not finding Her Most Pure Body in it, were convinced of Her taking with her Body to heaven. In remembrance of this, in monasteries, the “rite of panagia” is usually performed during meals; On Easter week, this rite receives its changes and becomes the rite of offering artos. Gohar's Euchologion depicts the “rite of panagia” performed in Greek monasteries in the following way. “The most pious of the Greeks,” says Goar, “monks and clerics, have the custom, after making thanksgiving after eating, to offer up a triangular loaf of bread - panagia - with the first two fingers of both hands. The very act of offering the offering is entrusted in monasteries to someone specially chosen from the brethren. The chosen one, having asked for blessing and forgiveness from those present, takes a special piece of bread that lay during the meal in front of the image of the Mother of God, and raises it in front of everyone with two fingers of his hands, saying: “Great is the name,” and everyone adds: “Holy Trinity.” Then the ascender continues: “Most Holy Theotokos, help us.” To this those present respond: “Through your prayers, God, have mercy and save us!” Then, after censing, the brethren accept the “panagia” from the hands of the refector (cellarer), divide it among themselves, and, sending up praise to the Mother of God, they all eat. In general, the “rite of offering the panagia”, set out in our printed Followed Psalter (chap. 16), completely agrees with this Greek order of offering. "Panagia", according to Gohar, has the shape of a triangle, pointed at the top. Gohar in his “Euchologion”, in explaining the symbolic meaning of this form, quotes the words of Simeon of Thessalonica: “This cutout indicates at the same time both unity and trinity, with its three sides meaning the triple, and with its upper part the one... And so we received from the fathers, according to the apostolic tradition, to dedicate every day to the One in the Trinity to our God in honor of the Mother of God, through Whom We have come to know the Trinity." You might be interested in: