Catechetical Sermon on the Holy and Great Week of Easter

St. Theodore the Studite is the author of an extensive book of praise (πανηγυρική βίβλος). Only 12 sermons from this collection have survived to this day, including “The Catechetical Sermon on the Holy and Great Week of Easter” (8 chapters). In the word for Easter St. Theodore sings of the joy and light brought by the Resurrection of Christ. He contrasts yesterday's sadness with today's joy. Christ, being the Only Begotten God, became man for the sake of saving people, took on the form of a slave and was obedient even to death. The author quotes St. John Chrysostom, calling everyone - from those who worked to those who came at the last hour - to enter into the joy of the Lord. St. Theodore the Studite describes the miracles and signs that accompanied the crucifixion, and emphasizes that the Resurrection of Christ is a victory over the devil, liberation from sin and a guarantee of eternal life. The sermon explains the symbolic meaning of the crucifixion and the piercing of Christ's side. This was done to get rid of the "air demons", heal the sin that arose through the tree, and save not only husbands, but also wives. The author also points out the connection between the piercing of Christ's side and the Sacrament of Baptism, as well as the flow of blood and water as a means for eliminating sin and obtaining paradise. St. Theodore notes that at the moment of the Savior’s crucifixion, creation recognized its Lord and Creator: the sun was hidden, the earth shook, the stones were scattered, the church veil was torn, and the bodies of the departed saints were resurrected. He emphasizes that all this testifies to the Divine nature of Christ and His victory over death. In conclusion, Rev. Theodore the Studite calls for celebrating Easter not in the “leavenage” of malice and wickedness, but in the “freeness” of purity and truth, believing in the Trinity, consubstantial and inseparable, and waiting for the Lord to come in Glory and heavenly radiance. 1. What is this, beloved brothers, lovers of leisure and lovers of Christ? What kind of luminous celebration is this? What is this abundance of light and joy? What illuminated the Church so much? What enlightened the universe so much? What produced such joy and lightness? Yesterday - in sadness, and now - in complacency; yesterday in lamentation, and today in rejoicing; yesterday - sobs, and now - exclamations. They will ask: what is the reason for this and what produced such joy and lightness? Christ has risen from the dead and the whole world rejoices - Christ abolished death with His life-giving death, and everyone in hell was released from their bonds - Christ opened heaven and made it accessible to everyone. Oh, the depth is unimaginable! Oh, immeasurable height! Oh, a terrible mystery, surpassing the power of the mind! The angels sing, rejoicing about our salvation; the prophets rejoice, seeing their prophecies fulfilled; All creation celebrates together: for the day of salvation has risen for it, the Sun of righteousness has risen again. Who will worthily sing of the grace of this bright day? Who will majestically depict the power of such a sacrament? Who else but our golden-mouthed father John, the loudest preacher, the brightest lamp of the universe, the true shepherd and teacher, the most skillful physician of souls, the reliable representative of sinners, the river, more than the Nile, abounding with golden-streaming waves - John the golden, golden-tongued and golden-tongued? May He magnify, sing and praise the power of the sacrament and may he proclaim it in as short a word as possible. But now he is ready to speak, like a bounty of words, and like the loud-voiced trumpet of the (Holy) Spirit. Let us also be ready to listen with all attention to what this preacher of repentance will tell us. The beginning of the word Chrysostom: 2. “Whoever is pious and God-loving, let him enjoy this holy and bright celebration. Let whoever is a prudent servant enter with joy into the joy of his Lord. Whoever has labored during the fast, let him now receive a denarius. Whoever has worked since the first hour, let him now receive all his due wages. Those who came even after the third hour, give thanks and rejoice. Whoever comes after the sixth hour should not worry, for he will not lose anything. Whoever delayed and came at the ninth hour, approach without any fear. Whoever comes even at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid of his delay. For our Lord is generous: he accepts the last as the first; - calms the one who comes at the eleventh hour, just as it calms the one who has been working since the first hour. He has mercy on the last and rewards the first - he gives to this and bestows on this - and rejoices in deeds, but also praises good disposition. So, all of you, enter into the joy of our Lord! Both the first and the last will receive a bribe! Rich and poor, rejoice with each other! Toilers and careless ones, honor this day! Those who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice today! The meal is plentiful: be satisfied, everyone! Taurus is big and well-fed: no one leaves hungry. Everyone enjoy the feast of faith! Everyone, take advantage of the wealth of goodness! Let no one complain of poverty: for the kingdom has come for all. No one should cry for his sins: for forgiveness has dawned on everyone from the grave. No one should be afraid of death: since the death of the Savior freed us all from it. Embraced by death, He destroyed death; Having descended into hell, He plundered hell, and grieved the one who touched His flesh. Having foreknew this long ago, Isaiah exclaimed: hell will grieve, it will shit you (Is. 14:9). He was upset because he had been insulted; he was upset because he was killed: he was upset because he took flesh and received God in it, he took the earth and found heaven in it, he took what he saw, but was subjected to what he did not expect. Where is death's sting? Where is the victory (1 Cor. 15:55)? Christ has risen and the demons have fallen. Christ has risen and the angels rejoice. Christ has risen and life is restored. Christ has risen, and there is not one dead in the tomb. For Christ, who rose from the dead, was the firstfruits of those who had died (1 Cor. 15:20). The Lord rose from the dead, and with Him many saints. Let us celebrate joyfully and honorably, for, truly, this is the day the Lord made. Let us rejoice and rejoice in it (Psalm 117:24): let us glorify the resurrection of our Savior, or more importantly, let us sing about our resurrection. Let us proclaim the memory of the day of our salvation. Let us announce the slaying of the devil and the captivity of unclean demons, the salvation of Christians and the rising of the dead. For by the resurrection of Christ the fire of hell is extinguished, the undying worm ends, hell is afraid, the devil groans, sin is put to death, evil spirits are driven away, those on earth ascend to heaven, those who were in hell are freed from the bonds of the devil and, flowing to God, they cry out to the devil: Where is the sting of death? Where is the victory (1 Cor. 15:55)? 3. The culprit of this holy holiday and our triumph is Christ, the Giver of all good things to us. He created us in the beginning and brought us from non-existence to being. He has now saved us who perished, revived those who were dead, and delivered us from the torment of the devil. He made us free, slaves of sin, and destroyed the handwriting on us. Christ has redeemed us from the legal curse, having become a curse against us (Gal. 3:13). Therefore, it is fair to say to us: what shall we render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to us (cf. Psalm 115:3)? Being the Only Begotten God, He deigned to become man for our sake, and was obedient even to death (Phil. 2:8) in order to deliver us from eternal death. The Lord of the angels took on the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7), God the Word took on flesh, and appeared as a man of one honor and consubstantial with the Father—and He did all this to deliver us from unrighteous slavery and redeem us from dishonor. For this, the Author of life suffered in the flesh, for this, the Source of incorruption was buried, in order to give eternal life to mortals. And He remained on earth, doing good and healing all the diseases of people, but He received unworthy rewards from the ungodly Jews. Our Lord Jesus Christ, due to His many goodness, cleansed lepers, gave sight to the blind, healed the weak, drove away demons, raised four-day-old Lazarus from the dead and fed five thousand with five loaves, walked on the sea, turned water into wine, healed a woman who was bleeding, revived the dead daughter of the ruler of the synagogue; and the Jews, driven by envy and malice, either wanted to stone him, then tried to throw Him into the abyss and, finally, raised Him to the cross. 4. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not imitate the malice of the blasphemous Jews, but gave His cloaks to be scourged, according to the word of the prophet, and His cheeks to be bruised, and did not turn His face away from the cold of spitting (Isa. 50:6). And finally, like a sheep being led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearers, it is silent (Isa. 53:7) He showed no resistance, did not contradict. Whoever we reproach is not reproached, the suffering will not be forgiven; Committed to him who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:23). At His first appearance, He did not come to punish and take revenge on the unfaithful, but wanted through patience to lead the lost to the truth. And understand the great goodness and generosity of the Lord. The Jews reviled the Lord and said to Him: Imashi demons (John 7:20); The Lord, being long-suffering, cast out demons from people. The Jews spat in His face, and He healed their blind; The Jews tried to stone Christ, but He gave their lame the ability to walk. And in general (the Lord) acted, doing good to those who reviled Him and repaying these ungrateful and lawless people with good for evil; enduring reproaches without malice, perhaps even the one who was carried by the angels seemed weak. 5. But so that it doesn’t seem that by saying a lot we are lengthening the word, let’s move on to the most important thing. So, finally, the King of glory was led to the cross and death, and nailed to the tree, Glorified by the cherubim and seraphim and Worshiped by all the powers and angels. But He endured and endured it meekly (giving us an example and being a Teacher of meekness): therefore, we too must generously endure the insults of evil people. After all, while hanging on the cross, He (the Lord) performed very great deeds and miracles, in order to at least in this way tame the fury of the deicides, so that they would not have a pretext for unbelief, and they could not say that they had crucified only a common man. So, firstly, Christ accepted crucifixion and elevation into the air in order to put the air demons to flight, was hanged on a tree in order to heal the sin that anciently arose in people through the tree, was pierced and speared in the rib, for the sake of Adam’s wife taken from the rib. Since the serpent deceived Eve, and Eve contributed to the fall of Adam (the sentence was pronounced against both of them, and royal death from Adam even to Moses and over those who had not sinned - Rom. 5:14), then the rib is pierced so that we understand that the suffering of Christ brought salvation not only to husbands, but also to wives. Adam was created first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the wife, having been deceived, became transgressed (1 Tim. 2:13-14), but she will be saved through childbearing - through the birth of the Holy Virgin Mary, who gave birth to the Savior Christ, not united with her husband, as the prophet Isaiah testifies (7, 14), but as a result of the overshadowing of Her by the Holy Spirit, as the Archangel Gabriel preached (Luke 1, 14). 35). So, the side of Christ is pierced so that what was predicted would be fulfilled, and the sacrament of baptism would be announced, and future grace would shine forth. Blood and water flowed from the side of Christ in order to destroy the handwriting of sin on us (Col. 2:14), and so that we would be cleansed by the blood of Him (the Lord) and receive paradise. 6. Oh, great miracle! The robber repented; I needed water for baptism. He hung on the cross, there was no other place for baptism, no spring, no lake, no rain, no performer of the sacrament (for all the disciples fled for fear of the Jews); but Jesus Christ had no shortage of streams and, hanging on the cross, He appeared as the creator of waters. Since the thief could not enter heaven without baptism, the Savior poured out blood and water from His pierced rib in order to free the thief himself from the evils that threatened him and to make His blood a ransom for those who put their hope in Him (the Savior). If the blood of a goat and a calf, and the ashes of a young man sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies the purity of the flesh: how much more the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:13), our Savior, has become the cleanser of all Christians. So, if any of the infidels tells you: why was Christ crucified, tell him: to crucify the devil. If he asks you: why (the Lord) was hanged on the tree (and even carried thorns), then tell him: to uproot the thorns and thistles of Adam, for Adam was condemned to groan and shake with fear and to cultivate thorns and thistles. Jesus, being a lover of mankind and wanting to take care of His creation, endured everything for our sake in order to free us from condemnation, and just as He was born of a woman in order to destroy the sin that arose from a woman in people, so He was crowned with thorns, in order to make the land poorly cultivated by disobedience more fruitful through His own obedience. If an infidel asks you why (Christ) drank ocet and bile, then answer him: so that we vomit out the deadly poison of the dragon, for that bile became my sweetness, and that ocet became my medicine. If, finally, an infidel tells you why the Jews, approaching Him (Christ the Savior), bowed their knees, then tell him: so that the Jews would worship Him, even without wanting to, and so that they would recognize His rule on earth even against their will. Now, of course, they worshiped Him in mockery, not knowing what exactly they were doing (Luke 23:34), but in the future resurrection, every knee will bow to those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess as the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father. Amen (Phil. 2:10–11). But that robe also has another meaning: it was not only a sign of the kingdom, but also revealed the spirit of the bloodthirsty murderers of the Jews. They (the Jews) also gave a reed into His (Christ the Savior) hand, so that their sins might be written down. 7. So, this is what the enemies of Christ did, not knowing the Crucified One: the creature recognized its Lord and Creator. Even while the Savior was hanging on the cross, the sensual sun, seeing the Sun of righteousness - Christ, mocked by the wicked, and not bearing their insolence, ran away, plunging the earth into darkness and considering it inappropriate to illuminate the eyes of those who committed such an ungodly deed. But not only did the sun hide, but the earth also shook, not tolerating the wickedness of those who did so, showing for its part and teaching that the Crucified One was God, which is why it did not endure, but expressed indignation, not wanting to bear the deicide of the Jews. The fratricide Cain did not desecrate the land in the same way, the pandemonium caused by the giants did not desecrate it as much, the lawless Sodomites did not desecrate it as much (and even those who made idols out of it), the blood shed from Abel to Zechariah did not aggravate it as much as the Jews, who dared to commit such a great wicked act. Therefore, the hard stones were also cut into pieces (Matthew 27:51), so that the earth-born would understand that He is a spiritual and living stone. Piyahu bo, says Scripture, from the spiritual stone that follows: the stone is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). Oh, the ingratitude of the Jews! The stones split, but they do not come to their senses; soulless objects shake in confusion, but animate objects do not believe. The veil of the church is torn so that their desolation is finally revealed, for the veil is torn and the interior of the church is exposed, according to what Christ said: behold, your house is left to you empty (Matthew 23:38). And indeed, after the murder of Christ, all the holy places of the Jews were deserted: the angels who were in the city and in the church left from there and entered the church. Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were resurrected (Matthew 27:52) with Christ, so that we would understand that Christ was not alone raised, but raised from the dead all who believe in Him. 8. This, in its main features, is the honest holiday of Easter, and we glorify such sacraments of Christians because of the resurrection of the dead and eternal life. Therefore, let us celebrate not in the leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the absence of leaven of purity and truth (1 Cor. 5:8), believing in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the Trinity, consubstantial and indivisible, believing in the resurrection and waiting for the Lord to come again, but no longer in a humble form, but in the glory and radiance of heaven, accompanied by shining angels with the sound of a trumpet, with fear and joy: joy for the saints, fear for the wicked and sinners. The God of peace, who has found us all in good deeds and in the Orthodox faith, grants us the resurrection with the saints. To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: