After Easter, I went to the children's classroom. They know that since you are a cleric and a theologian, you must by all means say to them: “Christ is Risen!” And so I entered, but decided not to tell them anything - naturally, for a specific purpose. I just greeted them and asked:

Well, how are you? What you are doing?

And one of the disciples turned and said to me:

We must say "Christ is Risen," Father!

Ah, he is truly risen! Many years!

But you didn't say it!

Yes, he didn't.

The other children were surprised that the student pointed out to me What I have to say, and corrected me. At this time, there was a knock on the door, and a boy from another class came in, who wanted to take a basketball from them:

Excuse me, can you give me your basketball? And then we have nothing to play with.

Everyone shouted:

Get out! We won't give you a ball! Last time we gave it to you, and you lost it. We don't give balls anymore! Leave!

The poor child closed the door in shame and left. I turned to the class and told them:

Children, behind all these screams, you forgot to tell him what you told me.

Christ is Risen! I should have told him, “Get out of here! Christ is Risen!"

They were dumbfounded and looked at me carefully:

What do you mean?

"Christ is risen" is such a strong expression that it is not enough to say it

I mean the same thing you just meant. You remarked to me when I entered the classroom (and you correctly said!) that I should have said hello with the words "Christ is risen." But “Christ is risen” is such a strong expression, such a powerful reality, that it is not enough to say it: you need to embody it in your daily life, in your experiences, in your reborn thought, in your transfigured heart, in all everyday circumstances. You easily say: “Christ is risen”, but - “We will not give you the ball!”, “Christ is risen”, but - “Close the door and leave us alone!”

Christ is Risen means that I am resurrected with Him. Otherwise, it reminds me of something said by a young man when I was still in high school. I was small then, and, of course, he told me this with irony:

Christ is Risen! Well, what does this tell me?

He is risen, and I? And you? And we? What does this mean for our life here and now? Does it affect the reality in which I live at all?

Here are the cousins, they are so hospitable at home, they meet, open the door and:

Hello! Christ is Risen! Sit down, let's have a coffee, let's talk!

They sit down and discuss what they will say in court in such and such a case, agree on how to accuse another of their relatives on a matter related to some kind of property. They discuss what they will say, how they will get along with each other. Time passes, finally they come to an agreement and:

OK, bye. See you in court! Don't forget the detail I told you, it's very important! OK Bye! Christ is Risen!

Christ is risen, but you abolish these words in your life. You press the "Cancel", "Delete" buttons on the keyboard. In words you say “Christ is risen”, but in your life nothing has risen yet. The coffins of egoism, my passions, my vices and weaknesses still live and stink in me.

Here is the desired goal: how, O my Christ, will my life be resurrected? I pray to God about this and now I am not speaking as your teacher, but simply saying that you should be attentive to what you say.

Do you remember what the Old Testament says? “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Deut. 5:11). And you put these sacred words into your mouth, but in fact you abolish them.

I once called a Christian who I know has financial ability:

Christ is Risen!

Risen indeed! he replied.

Great: you know it, you say it, you do the right thing.

You know, there is one poor family that needs funds.

Oh, father, what can you do? You know, now there is a crisis, there are only problems all around. I pray they come up with some solution. What to do? I can't help them. We'll talk another time. Christ is risen, father!

Risen indeed! Goodbye!

“Christ is risen” - but you are still a money-lover, you are still a difficult person, your heart is still closed. You are not resurrected

“Christ is Risen,” but you are still a money-lover, you are still stingy, you are still a difficult person, your heart is still closed. You are not resurrected. The love of money and selfishness are still alive, they have not died.

I said the same thing to another person who does not go to church, he does not strongly believe in God, does not have a special external connection with the Church, like all of us, the rest. But I don't know what's going on in his heart. And in fact, what happens is what Christ says - that publicans and sinners will be the first to enter paradise. He did not tell me: “Christ is risen”, but as soon as he heard about the poor family, he immediately handed me 500 euros with the words:

Take them, father, and do what you want, give them where you need them.

I told him:

Christ is Risen!

And he answered me:

The Lord is true! I don't know if I'm saying this correctly.

Someone will say: well, is it right? No, it is wrong, it would be more correct to say: “Christ is risen”, to love the Lord, to live by the Lord and in practice to fulfill the Gospel in your life.

I'm not saying that I like it better when someone who is an atheist lives like a Christian. Because there are atheists who say they are atheists, but they are not. They have spiritual nobility in their souls, active love, philanthropic feelings, they hear the pain of another and cry, they have a sensitive heart, they are touched by the heart.

Do you remember the man who told Elder Paisios about his sister, who wandered around drinking establishments at night and worked in the hospital during the day? He said to the old man:

I will lose my sister! She's going to hell! Because he hangs around all sorts of institutions, sells himself and commits sins!

The old man said to him:

Does she work in a hospital?

When she is with the sick, is she humble, kind, helping them?

Very much, father! She loves the sick, cleans the bed for the elderly, does not shun anything, gives them everything, as if they were her parents.

Don't worry, my child, God will help her! He will grab onto it.

But she doesn’t really go to church much, she has no connection with what the rest of us are doing ...

We say: "Christ is risen." And then we stab another in the back with a very beautiful knife

“We, the rest, are doing…” And what are we doing? We say: "Christ is risen." And then we stab another in the back with a very beautiful knife, on which is inscribed: “Christ is Risen!”

Wow! On you! Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen! Risen indeed! However, has He risen in my life? Or was He resurrected simply as some kind of historical event that you are reporting in this way?

I remembered that man and his words when I was little: what does it mean that Christ is risen? What has changed because He has risen? Was He resurrected for Himself alone?

On the icons, Christ is depicted stretching out his hand and tearing Adam and Eve from the tomb. And how can He tear you away, how can He resurrect you with this Resurrection of Christ?

The Lord is truly risen. The Lord transforms people, changes them. When His love enters the soul, He transforms the soul and body, everything changes, the person is transformed, his soul changes, the quality of the heart changes, the mind calms down, the person calms down, sleeps peacefully, wakes up, and he has a desire to live. There is a desire to work, to go forward - all this is given to you by Christ.

Who forced one young man to sacrifice everything for the sake of Christ, and when I visited Holy Mount Athos, he told me: “I want to talk to you”?

You know me? I asked him.

No, but one day you said hello to me and wished me spiritual strength, so I wanted to tell you something.

He came to my cell. I asked him:

Of course, from an early age you went to church, then you became attached to the Church and now you have become a monk?

Nothing like this.

What were you like?

I was a vagabond. Hanging around, nightlife, sinning, riding motorcycles, having girlfriends, drinking, destroying everything, having fun, burning my life, me and my company.

But surely your parents are Christians?

Nothing like this. They didn't even know where the temple was. By the ringing of bells, they understood that something was happening, that there was a temple somewhere nearby, but they did not go to church.

So what happened?

What happened? My father scolded me, got drunk, beat me, pushed me away from him. I didn't feel love. And he longed for love all his life, longed for understanding, warmth, consolation and love, which he did not find where he went. I was fed up with sins, and in fact I was looking for God, but I did not find Him in all this.

So what happened in the end?

I don’t know what happened to me, I came to the Holy Mountain together with one company on a pilgrimage, it was like a walk, like an excursion, and then like a brick fell on my head from God’s love. There was a shock in me, something happened, and I wanted to change my life. That's how I changed. And before that, my mother constantly reproached me: “Well, why are you doing this, wandering around at night, constantly changing girls, committing so many sins!” And now I suddenly said to her: “I am leaving, I am moving away and going to give everything to God!”

Previously, my mother was afraid and reproached me that I was sinning, but then she began to do the opposite: she offered me new acquaintances, insisted that I should get married, that I should not go to church so much, etc. She said: “Well, of course, we told you to become a spiritual person, but not to the same extent! Marry this girl or another: this one is the priest's daughter, this one is the theologian's sister, and this one is very good!” - "No no!" - "But why?"

Another cannot understand you if you are crazy about Divine love

Because there is no “why” when it comes to the madness of Divine love: then the other cannot understand you if you are crazy about Divine love. Because if madness because of something human inspires you and steals you, if you can be inspired by a person who is just a ray of Divine beauty, if one ray drives you crazy with love, then imagine what will happen if this ray will lead you to the Source of Light, to the Light itself, so that you can see all the radiance, beauty, love? Then you will forget everything, you will be overwhelmed by this greatness that you feel. No one will understand you, they will look at you strangely, they will discuss you and ask themselves: “What happened to him?” And you will think: “I don’t care what you say about me at all.”

Love is healed by love. Love is replaced by love - when you feel something stronger, you will leave everything, and you will not have problems, you will crave God's love, which God will give you abundantly. You will leave without hatred, you will avoid everyone, but you will love them and experience something else in your soul.

When I wanted to give this monk some gifts (dried fruits, chocolate) that I brought from Athens, he told me:

Father, I don't need it even though I don't have it, because we don't eat it here. But I long for God's love and real human love.

I began the story with the words "Christ is Risen" because I could not explain the change that had taken place in this man otherwise. Who changed this man? Who made his eyes like that? This was revealed to me by his friend, with whom they were together in the world and who once also came to the Holy Mountain to see him, and he himself also repented of his past life. His friend told me:

Father, this young man whom you now see so repentant, with kind eyes from humility and tears of repentance, if you had seen how he was before, you would not believe your eyes. You would be wondering if he is or not? How did he become so kind?

This is how God changes a person when he enters his heart, how his soul is transformed, how conscience is pacified, how sleep is calmed, how sweeter and more beautiful the heart beats, how everything changes in it ...

This change comes from the right hand of the Most High. A person is changed through the resurrected and living Christ, who is not just words. A person is changed not only by stories, how we sometimes quarrel over these issues and argue with such arguments, as if we had whole disks with encyclopedic knowledge about Christ in our minds, when in fact we just need to have the seal of Christ in our hearts.

What do you prefer? A disk with boundless knowledge about Christ or a heart bearing the imprint of the face of Christ?

What do you prefer: that I retell you a book in which words, words, words, historical documents, arguments, encyclopedic data are written about Christ, or that I show you the heart? What do you prefer? This disk with boundless knowledge about Christ or a heart bearing the imprint of the bloodied palm of Christ, the face of Christ?

So what do you prefer? Do you want me to show you this sacred veil that belonged to Saint Veronica, with which the Lord wiped himself, as the legend says, and the face of Christ was imprinted on it? I do not know if this was a genuine event, but I know the power of this thought - to look for the imprint of Christ in my soul. Because everything else is words about Christ, these are theories, reasons for us to quarrel, issues that we discuss, conferences that we organize, and whether we speak - we speak to convince, to explain that we are such and such and our words are correct! Yes, that's good, but who can stand up and show us Christ?

How I wish, says Saint Silouan of Athos, to show you the face of Christ! This is a different kind of knowledge, different in And the face of Christ, without arguments, another touch. You understand?

When you love someone, you tell him: “I will do whatever you want! I will fulfill your every desire, every sigh. You understand the other, love carries intuition. When you love, you understand that your beloved loves, that he is pleased, and you please him.

But we have a problem with loving another, it's not the other's fault. If we loved him, then everything would be perfect. Christ brought this with His Resurrection: He helped us to endure, to change our view, with which we look at people, events, and different cases.

I can't hear when someone says, "Christ is risen," followed by despair, disappointment, fear, uncertainty, anxiety, confusion, stress, panic. And the rest: "Christ is Risen!" Where is it?

Christ is Risen! But I don't know if I'll pass my exams, I'm in a panic, someone says.

Of course, I don't know if you will pass the exams, and the fact that Christ has risen does not mean at all that everyone will pass the exams. 'Cause one kid at school said to me

Father, you say “Christ is risen”, but my grandfather died. Why do I need this “Christ is Risen” if grandfather died?

I told him:

Christ did not change the world outwardly, but changed us, our eyes, heart, mind, attitude to events

Listen, if you understand these words Christ is Risen in your heart, then you will look at death with different eyes, you will hear about events, and they will concern you in a different way. Christ did not change the world outwardly, but changed us, our eyes, heart, mind, attitude to events, and when we see the same events in front of us as before Christ, that is, we see floods, death, illness, problems, then everything it doesn't disappear. Problems exist, but Christ has given us new eyes, a new perspective on the life He has given us.

Here is an example. I once went to the funeral of a 25-year-old woman, very young, beautiful, beautiful, kind, and all kinds of people were standing around. Imagine: I, a priest, next to me is an atheist, next to him is an employee of a funeral agency, behind him is a young man who has his own youthful inclinations, etc., and we all look at the same thing - at the dead body of a young woman. The reason for our being there is the same, we all look at the same deceased young woman, but not all look at this death in the same way.

The priest looks at her, striving for the sake of his faith, and says to himself: "Lord, this 25-year-old girl has achieved what another succeeds in 100 years - You have prepared her for Your Kingdom." A sad, tragic, mournful event, in general it is painful, but I look at it with hope, optimism, not as “others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4: 13). We look at the same thing - at death, but we look with hope.

Next to me is an atheist, her relative, he looks at the same body and says to himself: "Hmm, the earth goes into the earth, that's it, the end comes, chemical processes, biological death, the end of everything, nothing remains, it's all over."

An employee of the funeral agency also looks at the same body and says to himself: “I see people, revival, flowers, this will bring us good profit, we will make so much money!”

A young man in the ardor of his youth looks at the same body and says to himself: “If she were alive, how many more hearts she would touch!”

We all look at the same thing but think about it differently. This happens with all things in life.

Christ does nothing more than tell you: “My child, I have brought a new brush with which you will paint the world with new colors: the color of love, the color of red blood that will flow on Golgotha, the white color of My Resurrection, the blue color of the Jordan River where I am washed away your sins with the color of the ears of wheat through which I walked. If you want, take and paint your life with My colors and look at everything differently. Want? Do you want me to strengthen you so that you and I look at things together? For me to give you the strength to succeed in your struggle?” Whether it's called temptations, sickness, failure, or exam success, there is an opportunity for everything to draw strength from the resurrected Christ. Christ does it.

But just because you believe in the Resurrection doesn't mean everything in your life will go well. But you, in spite of this, make an effort - firmly, with optimism, joy. When a heavy feeling seizes you, when it seems that you break down and lose heart, you will say: “God knows everything! Christ is Risen! So, since He is risen, I look into His eyes, and He gives me desire and says: “Read, fight, make an effort, you will succeed!” I do it, but in the end I get cut off in the exam. And Christ again says to me: “Look into my eyes! Do not lose heart, now there is another plane on which you will feel the power of My Resurrection - your failure.”

Yes, and there (we say) Christ is risen! Probably not everything is over, not everything is lost here. And it's amazing. The resurrection allows us to see endless possibilities, new opportunities that God gives us to experience.

I will tell you now something that has taken half of my life. Look into this something exceptional for me, I experienced it many times in my life, but it was enough to convince me that... However, let me tell you everything in order.

You often really want to have something in life, and you think that it will make you happy and joyful, and you say to yourself: “Only this (this person, money, house, job) will make me happy. Everything is decided, I want this and only this!” And it's not bad to want something: wish, but don't think that because you think that only this will make you happy, then God also has only this in mind. How many things can you think of that can make you happy? About two or three. And God is infinity, He is immense wealth, He is unique abundance, and He has colossal alternative solutions for everything. You, however, have a limited perception, and you say: “If this is in my life, then I will be happy, so I only want this, and I am afraid to think about anything else, because I feel that I am not ready to open up for other things, and why should I expect anything else?

Let me tell you this in a simpler way, with one classic example. Here someone meets a girl and says:

Everything is decided: it's her! She was made for me! If we don’t get to know her, don’t get along, and I don’t marry her, my life will lose all meaning. Everything will be over!

Or someone finds a new job and says:

This job is everything for me! If I don't work for her, I'll fall into despair!

God, looking at you, says: “How poor you are in your thinking! And the problem is that you think that I am also poor, just like you”

The same happens with a house, some kind of purchase. And God, looking at you, says:

How poor you are in your thinking! And the problem is not that you are poor, but that you think that I am also poor, just like you. You want to close Me in a narrow circle created by your mind, in a narrow circle of your mind, and you think that since there is only one thing in your mind, then I cannot give you any other happiness, and only through this girl, only through this profession, only through this car, only through this house I can make you happy. And I have endless solutions for you, endless proposals for your happiness.

However, you tell Him:

No no! I beg you, God! I can't rely on this Divine Infinity, I want to narrow things down! I want to think that happiness only comes through this hole I leave in my life!

It's not a bad thing to wish it - wish it: I'm just telling you so you know that if what you want doesn't happen, it doesn't mean the end of the world has come. And not only did the end of the world not come, but I think that it is then that all other endless solutions open up that you did not imagine and do not want to imagine, because you cannot stand such freedom, such wealth, such opportunities. You are used to closeness, constraint, fear: “I am afraid to see great things. I feel more secure in the dungeon of my will, in the plan, the mind, building a little hut for me.

God tells you:

I have palaces for you!

No, I beg you, do not confuse me with these palaces and such things, I have my own hut!

Of course, you say this not from humility, but from spiritual poverty and a narrow-minded understanding of life.

Let's not force God into schemes, think that we will be happy only as we imagine. It's good that you have thoughts, plans, because you are a person, but you say: “Lord, I think that this small circle will make me happy. If you feel the same way and agree with it, fine! And if you do not agree for any reason, Thy will be done! And the events to come will be much better.

I say this because things happen in life that you never imagined. I lived through it and went crazy with God's "surprises". When I thought that everything was bad and if I didn’t do something, then everything would collapse, and if I didn’t achieve this, then everything would end, suddenly God showed me how through the collapse of one new realities were formed, which I could not even imagine. Then I realized what an unbeliever I was.

We do not truly believe in God, and therefore today I will show you how much we refute this exclamation in our lives - “Christ is Risen!” I pronounce it, sing it, but I am not open and not ready, because I do not really believe in God, because if I believed in Him, I would wait for His “surprises” with wide eyes. However, I say, “I don't think God has surprises. It seems to me that He is as pathetic and miserable as my fantasy. And since I myself am like that, I think that God is like that too.

But God is not like that. I would like you to understand this, and I want to show you from my limited experience that there are good surprises ahead of you. Therefore, do not grab onto the earthly, do not be afraid to lose something, leave it all. If something does not work out for you freely, do not force the other, do not want it to be forcibly realized, for example, to maintain some kind of relationship when you see that they are not working out as they should. You go out of your way to keep them, and what's the point? Everything should develop comfortably, God is hiding there, and not in pressure and violence. Suddenly God sends something and you say, "My God, I didn't expect you to be so rich!" And God answers you: "That's why I told you that you were unfair to Me, because you did not understand Me."

So we will gradually understand God, His love, and from this we will calm down, love each other, feel loved by God, it will be easier for us to love others, and then everything will seem good to us - when you love, everything is beautiful, and love makes you look everything is different, intoxicating. And you look at the annoyance that your beloved gives you as an opportunity to show the warmth of your kindness and forgiveness even more.

Otherwise, 5 years of marriage pass, and you can no longer bear your husband. One woman told me:

I can't stand my husband, father!

Whom? Your husband, whom you love so much, whom you forgave everything and saw everything in a pink light? What happened to you?

I can't stand it!

What does he do?

Nothing. Just looking at it annoys me! If you could see how he chews! He's chugging! This makes me nervous!

She, who at first did not interfere with anything, now says so! She saw everything in pink. They went on excursions. He soiled a whole heap of shirts that needed to be ironed, and she told him: “My love, for you I will iron day and night! This is a joy for me!” And then tell him: “Get up and get out of here! Why did I go after you! Go to your mother! I made a mistake when I met you"?

And you ask yourself: where did love go, where was this gigantic eruption of love buried? How did resurrection become death again? Why?

It is necessary to nourish, update, renew, so that we do not get used in the bad sense of the word. And so that we don’t get used to it, you have to constantly get drunk, because you get drunk only once, and then you sober up, you start looking at things rudely again, and life really exhausts you. We are all annoying and burdensome. Therefore, renewal is needed, therefore every year we speak and experience events again and again (i.e. church holidays), therefore every week we remember Christ's Resurrection. There is a Resurrection for every Sunday Holy Liturgy, but every other Liturgy is Christ's Resurrection, so that we give a push to our heart and say to it: “Awake, receive new blood, receive life, experience Christ anew, feel this freshness, love your person as in the first time you met him, and look at everything in a Sunday way, light, humbly, humanly, Divinely and live your life beautifully.

Here is the answer to the question I was asked: “How can I explain the Resurrection of Christ to the person I love”? - Love him!

Let's live intelligently, live knowing why we live, live loving, forgiving, sharing our joy and sorrow, so that there is a person next to us and that we have shared feelings, so that we know that we are not one and the other us will understand. Here is the answer to the question you asked me: “How to explain the Resurrection of Christ to the person I love” - love him!

There is no need to tell him “Christ is risen” and prove apologetically that Christ is risen, since there are countless books on this subject, patristic quotations, many wonderful things, but he will not understand this. When he asked you about this, he rather wanted to see the love that came out of God's Tomb, to see what is said about, that "forgiveness, embrace, love shone to us from the Tomb."

I pray that day shines in your heart, light shines, hope shines. And again I say: everything will be much better in your life, nothing has ended yet, today you are crying, but tomorrow has not yet come. Good is coming - do not prejudge everything, do not live constantly in whining and grumbling, do not always want to experience the Crucified Heel and stay there. Because you cannot endure such great pain, and the purpose of this test is to awaken in you the lust and thirst for the Resurrection!

Description of the Easter holiday / 1zoom.ru

The rector of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl Bishop Pavel told about the holiday to the readers of Glavred.

Easter: what is it

“Christ is Risen! There is no holiday more joyful than the Bright Resurrection of Christ! There is no matins in the whole year, more solemn than the Bright Matins! At midnight, as soon as the solemn good news is heard, the entire Orthodox world exclaims in a single joyful sigh: “Christ is risen!” And each of us mentally - mind and heart - to be at the Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ, from Whom the eternal life of the Kingdom of Heaven has dawned on us. On this day, let each person think about what happened in his life through the suffering and resurrection of Christ, "said Metropolitan Pavel.

Easter in the Slavic tradition

The Metropolitan noted that we say: "Christ is risen!", sometimes not attaching much importance to this either with the mind, or with the heart, or with the human attitude.

"These words, proclaiming the great Mystery, unfortunately, for many of us have become like an ordinary greeting in life: we often perceive them as an ordinary formula - you just need to say these words of greeting on these holy days. But the Akathist to the Resurrection of Christ testifies: when was born Christ, there was no faith in salvation yet - after all, the Old Testament informs us that the souls of all who were born at that time descended into the underworld of the earth: whether it was the greatest righteous or a sinner. True, we do not know their fate, but When they descended to this place, one can guess that it was not very easy for them there, and therefore they were waiting for the One who would come and destroy the bonds of hell and by His death conquer eternal death, and through His death eternal life would triumph, "explained the abbot laurel.

"Today, nature is awakening for a new life: what seemed to have died in the winter wakes up and rises. Isn't this a miracle? Isn't this the grace of God? keeping ourselves unscathed from the vanities of the world, the flesh and the devil. After that, our salvation already depends on us - on our fidelity to our Savior and His Divine teaching. If only we would not bury in the vanity of carelessness the talents of grace given to us, would not plunder with our sins in ourselves the image of God given to us by the Creator at the time of the creation of the world,” Vladyka Pavel emphasized.

Because Christ died for our sins, by His grace we can be dead to the temptations of sin, free from its possession of us. Because the Risen Christ is forever alive, we will also live forever: death has no power over us, the metropolitan is sure. “And, although sin and death threaten us, Christ crushed them with His Cross and Resurrection. He saves us in His Church – Holy, Catholic, Apostolic,” emphasized the rector of the Lavra.

He urged us to live righteously: “It is today that we must remember once again, dear brothers and sisters, that we have been redeemed with the most precious price - the Blood of Christ the Savior. That is why we are called not just believers - no! - we are also called Christians, that is, followers of Christ, who rose again, destroying all the power of hell, and gave us eternal life, Flesh fell asleep so that we would come to life, so that we would not be dull and not forget that our earthly fatherland is a temporary life: school, an educational institution where we learn to live in Eternity with God and enjoy all these blessings.Oh, if we all could reach that blessed day of resurrection, bequeathed to us by Christ, and partake of that non-evening Pascha in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father, which will have no end! we will achieve this bliss if we look at our entire earthly life as at the Holy Forty Day - as preparation for the Great Day of the General Resurrection.

Let us pray and ask, dear brothers and sisters, that the Pascha of Christ in our hearts will not end in forty days, but that it will always and forever be in our souls. For the Lord said: "Rejoice and be glad - I have overcome the world and evil; rejoice and be glad - for you have already become heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, which will have no end." Truly, Christ is Risen!"

How did Easter come about?

Easter or the Resurrection of Christ is the oldest Christian holiday. This is the main holiday of the liturgical year. It was established in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is worth noting that for the first time Easter was celebrated 1500 years before the birth of Christ: these were the Jews whom Moses brought out of Egypt. The very word "passover" means "exodus" or "deliverance" from slavery.

As for the feast of Easter, precisely as the Resurrection of Christ, this feast was the first to be celebrated by the apostles. And in the New Testament, this triumph symbolizes the victory over death.

At the same time, clear rules and terms for celebrating Easter were developed only by the 5th century. In particular, the clergy decided that, unlike the Jewish Christian Easter, it is the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, which should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the March equinox. That is why the date of the holiday changes every year - in 2018 Orthodox Easter is celebrated on April 8, and in 2019 Orthodox Easter falls on April 28.

Easter: Traditions

On this day, Lent ends: meat is allowed again. And on the festive table there must be and.

12-04-2015, 02:34

Today, joyful exclamations of “Christ is Risen!” are heard everywhere, echoed by others: “Truly Risen!” Almost everyone, even those who do not go to the temple, are familiar with this custom, but not everyone knows where it came from.

And this custom has been around for almost two thousand years - from the very moment when the Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, after the departure of the unspeakably grieved Apostles from the Tomb of Christ, returned again to the place where Jesus Christ, so dearly beloved by her, was buried. Having reached the cave of the Sepulcher, she began to cry and mourn inconsolably for such a great loss. Thus she mourned for some time, until the Savior Himself suddenly appeared behind her; which is why the Angels who were at the Sepulcher and who had previously conversed with Mary assumed a position of special respect towards Him. At first she did not recognize the One Who cast out demons from her with a single word; but after a while, Maryino's heart felt the close presence of the Divine Teacher, in Whom all her happiness and joy were contained. Unspeakable joy filled Mary's whole soul, and she threw herself at the feet of her Savior.

“Go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.” (John 20:17) - said Jesus Christ and became invisible. The indescribably overjoyed and happy Mary Magdalene hurries to fulfill her obedience and announce to the Apostles what happened to her, and also to convey the words of the Lord. Having met the disciples of Christ, she exclaimed in delight:

Christ is risen!

It should be noted that it was precisely for this news, which Mary brought to the disciples of the Lord, that she, as the first evangelist sent from the Lord Himself, was recognized by the Church in the rank of Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Despite the fact that Mary Magdalene enjoyed the full and undoubted trust of the Apostles, however, in the oppressed irreparable loss of consciousness of the disciples of Christ, the thought of what Mary told them did not fit: Peter and John saw the Tomb of Christ empty with their own eyes ... And here is a more emotional and ardent Apostle Peter, yielding to an impulse, again goes to the holy Sepulcher. With his mind, he could not explain why he was doing this - after all, quite recently he himself saw an empty place where Christ was buried, but Peter's heart tells him otherwise. After a short time, the holy Apostle returned, residing in joyful ecstasy, and announced to the rest of the disciples:

- Truly, Christ has risen! .. I saw Him myself: He appeared to me on the way (Luke 24:33-34; 1 Cor. 15:5).

Now most of the Lord's disciples believed in this news. Mary Magdalene, along with the other Myrrh-Bearing Women, beaming with happiness, despising all the dangers from the violent enemies of Jesus Christ, began to go from house to house, from one disciple of Christ to another, enthusiastically repeating the gospel that rejoiced their hearts countless times: “Christ is Risen! He has truly risen!”, trying to convince everyone they came to see of this. And their labors were crowned with success: the Divine teaching of Christ was carried from end to end - to the whole universe of the earth (Acts 1:8), repeating the solemn words of the first gospel of St. Mary Magdalene: “Christ is Risen! Truly Risen!"

Traditionally, the celebration of Easter always begins with a service in the church, which starts from midnight Saturday to Sunday. It is this holiday that fills the human soul with joy, since it was on the day of Easter that Jesus Christ resurrected, having conquered death forever.

With the resurrection of Christ, the people were able to atone for all their sins, and the Son of God himself showed privilege over death. It has long been customary to rejoice and greet every passer-by on this day, giving a good mood and warmth.

Since ancient times and until now, the Slavic people are famous for their numerous traditions, which are strictly observed and passed down from generation to generation.

However, when people with Soviet ideology came to power, any religion became criminally punishable. Believers began to be persecuted, fired from their jobs, sent to places of exile, and in some cases it even came to execution, the site reports. Most of the traditions due to such methods of persecution have been lost, and some have been completely forgotten. But there is absolutely no place for despair, because after many years people's interest in the origins of their traditions is renewed. Most people begin to observe traditions, are interested in the past of their ancestors.

But there is another side of the coin, the problem of misunderstanding of some church rules and customs still remains. All sets of rules that were previously observed by our ancestors are now considered strange and unnecessary. But to know the traditions of your people is very important, because in order to truly know the origins of your nation, you need to sincerely feel the faith and love of the Lord.

And it is Easter that is one of the key moments for the revival of church denominations and traditions.

How and how much to say at Easter Christ is Risen: Easter greeting

There are various rituals that are performed by believers for many centuries in a row. The main tradition of this holiday is to greet each other during the onset of Easter, exalting that Christ is risen.

It is customary to greet each other with the words: “Christ is risen!” and answer "Truly Risen!", After which they kiss each other three times. With these words, the people express their joy, which is similar to the joy of the apostles, who at one time learned about the resurrection of Christ.

IS IT CORRECT TO SAY "CHRIST IS RISEN" ON EASTER?(Some questions about Easter)

“For the word about the cross is foolishness for those who are perishing,

but for us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (Apostle Paul).

Easter is the feast of Christ's bright resurrection. That's what religion says. How is it written in the Bible? The Bible is written differently.

The Holy Scriptures say that Easter is not the resurrection of Christ, but His death. On Easter, Christ died, not resurrected. That's what the Bible says.

Christ never commanded anywhere that people celebrate or celebrate His resurrection from the dead. You won't find a word about this in the Bible. This does not mean that celebrating the resurrection of Christ would be a fundamental mistake. But Christ Himself did not command to celebrate His resurrection from the dead.

The Lord commanded to celebrate, to remember His death. This is a matter of principle. And this, according to the Bible, is Easter. To say at Easter "Christ is risen!" means to demonstrate spiritual ignorance and simple illiteracy. In fact, Christ did not resurrect on Easter, but on the third day after Easter.

What do Easter cakes and colored eggs mean?

The celebration of Easter, as it happens among the people, does not correspond in any way to what the Holy Scripture says about Easter. The current celebration of Easter is the most striking example of a mockery of common sense, and of Jesus Christ Himself. So stupid and vicious mockery that does not fit in the head. A normal mind simply cannot imagine that someone can mock us so evilly and vilely. A person can't really take it!

For example, it is enough to take at least the so-called "Easter", specially baked, covered with sweetness of Easter cakes, muffin buns. Why do they have this shape? There is nothing like it in the Bible. As there are no painted eggs. But where did they come from in the people?

There is only one answer to these questions today: these are purely pagan symbols. They came from antiquity, from pagan superstition, from those peoples who professed a phallic religion and worshiped the genitals as a symbol of fertility. It is this moment that is captured in the widespread "Easter" culinary product. The baked “Easter”, which is “sanctified” in churches, is a symbolic image of the phallus that has performed fertilization. Therefore, “Easter” is necessarily watered with something else ...

In the same connection, colored eggs are always present at the celebration, as a symbol of the organs necessary for fertilization.

Such is the reality. Isn't it shocking information? The fact is that the responsible leaders of religions are well aware of all this ... Their ridiculous explanations about the use of such Easter cakes and decorated eggs in the church tradition do not stand up to criticism, and, of course, are not confirmed in any way by Holy Scripture. God is their Judge.

Easter is the death of Christ. What does the death of Christ mean for people? Why did Christ need to die?

GOD DIDN'T CREATE INTELLIGENT CREATURES WITH A "READY PROGRAM" OF BEHAVIOR. God did not create Angels or people in such a way that they were incapable of making mistakes. If the Lord created Angels or people incapable of making mistakes and sinning, this would mean that He created robots. God created His rational creatures in such a way that they themselves must make their own conscious choice. They themselves must decide whether they will be good or evil, whether they will take the side of good or evil.

Yes, God knows the future, knows who will be born and when. God knows everything. But knowing and predicting are two different things. A person himself must decide on whose side he is, he must make his own choice. And then God will accept it. God doesn't need biological machines. Do you want to live by the laws of God? Do you want to obey God? Please! Live as you want. But you won't be able to live long. Because it is impossible to live without God. Life is only from God. Whoever is without God has no eternal life. Without God, everyone will die, both Angels and people...

As you know, Adam and Eve used their right of choice, given by God, and consciously took the side of ... evil, sin. That was their choice. They had two options: Either follow God's commandments and live forever, or not follow God's commandments, live as you please, but only for a while, and then die forever. In other words, they had to decide for themselves whether to become immortal or mortal. And they chose the second option.

The Creator's wisdom is such that He does not force life on anyone, or against the will of the living. God gives everyone complete freedom, both choice and action. Showing life to a person who has come into the world, he seems to say: “Do you see how beautiful the world is and how beautiful life is? But there is also death. And you yourself choose what suits you better - life or death? .. "

This Divine principle in the Bible is formulated as follows: “Today I call heaven and earth as witnesses before you: I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose life, that you and your offspring may live." (Deut. 30:19).

For those who choose life, there is Christ who will deliver them from death. And for unbelievers, there is no God, which means that they cannot avoid death in any way, because death has become their choice.

How can you be sure that Christ will actually deliver from death? What is a guarantee?

The guarantee is His death. Christ died INSTEAD of people. It's called "The Sacrifice of Christ". Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for the people who believe in Him. The sacrificial death of Christ for sinful people worthy of death is what is called EASTER in the Bible.

Many people ask: Couldn't the issue of redemption be solved somehow differently? Why did Jesus Christ need to die? Could the Almighty God have found another solution?

Answer: It could not have been otherwise. Man is too expensive! The price was too high per person. Why was such a high price paid for a person? Because that's what a person's life is worth.

To whom was the ransom paid? The apostle writes: “You were bought with a price…” From whom were you “bought”? Who "paid" whom?

The biblical term "redemption" is a special term. In this case, it does not imply commodity-money relations. In the Bible, “redemption”, “ransom”, means “liberation”, “justification”. When it is said that Christ redeemed people from death, it means that Christ freed, delivered people from death. By His death, Christ delivered people from their deaths.

Human life is unique and unrepeatable. Every person's life is unique. Man is given one life by God. For one person, one life. This is the same as in anatomical terms: for one person - one head, one heart, etc. If the human “one heart” fails, then in order to replace it with another, you must first remove this donor heart, take it from someone else. This "other" who gave his heart to the sick person no longer lives. But for the patient, he is a savior, a redeemer, who "redeemed" him from death.

Christ, having given His life for people, became a donor of life for us. God can give life to a dead person again only if he takes it from some other person. Only in this case, it is the one who died who will resurrect, and there will not be another, newly created person similar to him, or his clone. But it will be him. Christ became a man and died as a man so that his human life could be used to bring dead people back to life.

At the resurrection of the dead, God will give the resurrected people the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. It was for this purpose that Christ voluntarily died. He gave His life as if for a "transplant", so that it would revive those who believe in Him.

So, after all, to whom did Christ offer His sacrifice?

And to whom does the donor give his blood, or kidney? A doctor, a health minister, a country's president? No. Sick.

So Christ brought His sacrifice first of all to us, sinful people, so that, thanks to His sacrifice, we could get rid of sin and death. He “amputates”, takes away from us our worn out, sinful, dying life, and in return for it “transplants” us with His perfect, not worn out, eternal life.

What does "before the foundation of the world" mean?

At the very beginning, when starting to create, God saw that some of the intelligent creatures would sin. Either by mistake, or they will be deceived. And someone foolishly wants to just “try” sin, but then will bitterly regret it. And God immediately created the possibility of repentance for such. Before setting up the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” in Eden, God already provided for the possibility of repentance for those who sinned. (It is known that the Lord called Adam and Eve to repentance. Unfortunately, they rejected God's mercy and refused to repent of their sin.)

So, God's love for people - in advance, even before their appearance, already provided for them the option of repentance if they sinned. In this regard, one remarkable text from the Holy Scriptures comes to mind. He is about Christ. And it sounds like this: “…by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who was foreordained before the foundation of the world…” (1 Peter 1:19,20).

What is being said here? It is obvious that the Heavenly Father, the Most High God and His Only Begotten Son, starting to create intelligent inhabitants of the Universe and people on Earth, immediately saw that some of the rational beings created by Them would sin and lose the right to life. And then the Son said to the Father-God: “If necessary, I will come down to earth and give my human life for them, so that they get the opportunity to repent and be saved from death ...” It so happened that the “lamb”, Christ - became “slain yet before the foundation of the world." Or, as they say in Revelation: "...Slain from the foundation of the world...", which, in principle, is one and the same. (Rev. 13:8).

Nobody forced Christ to make a sacrifice. He went voluntarily. Until the very last hour, already at the moment of execution, He had the opportunity to change His mind and not give Himself to death. And no one would reproach Him for anything. And He wouldn't be guilty of anything. He Himself said to the Apostle: “I can pray to the Father and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of Angels…”. But Christ did not seize the opportunity to escape death.

This is the feat of Christ, that He did everything voluntarily. He is a reflection of the Heavenly Father, God Almighty. That's why He said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." The love that Christ showed for people, giving His human life for them, showed what kind of love for people the Most High God has.

Since Christ on earth was not just a man, but the Son of God, His sacrifice would have been enough for everyone. If we fantasize a little and assume that all sinners would repent, then the death of Christ would probably be much easier, but it would still be. He had to die anyway, because "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins." Christ would have died in any case, would have given His life for repentant sinners. But how? We cannot know this.

HOW IN THE BIBLE IS EASTER CERTIFIED?

The voluntary death of Christ for sinners is the greatest feat in the entire universe. This event should be memorable. Christ personally commanded that the people who believe in Him remember and celebrate His death. Easter is a commemoration, a remembrance of the death of Christ. Christ died on Easter.

It is necessary to celebrate Easter, to remember the death of Christ with certain food and drink. But not with disgusting pagan Easter cakes and shameful painted eggs. And with bread, preferably with unleavened, without sourdough. And with wine.

To eat a piece of unleavened bread with prayer at Easter means with gratitude to God to remember the sinless Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, which He gave for our sinful bodies, so that we could get rid of sins, become sinless.

To take a sip of pure grape wine with prayer at Easter means to remember with gratitude to God the holy Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which He shed to cleanse our sins.

Who can eat from bread and wine? How often? What do Easter bread and wine mean?

Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, everyone who is grateful to Jesus Christ for His feat and for His sacrifice, should remember His death, should celebrate Easter.

Eating from Easter bread and wine does not mean communion with the Church of Christ, or with the "Body of Christ." And this does not mean "acceptance into the New Testament." The eating of bread and wine is a REMEMBER of the death of Christ. This ceremony has no mystical, hidden meaning.

Both Christ and the Apostle Paul pointed to only one meaning of eating the Paschal bread and wine - REMEMBERING the death of Christ. “Do this in remembrance of Me,” said the Lord. “Every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord…”, said the Apostle Paul.

Most Christians celebrate Easter once a year. But some celebrate more often, every month, or even more often. Arguing with them is useless and pointless. The Bible says that "everyone will give an account of himself to God."

In the ceremonial religion, in general, everything is turned upside down: pagan vile symbols are holy on Easter, and the “bread and wine” that should be at Easter are transferred to the so-called “communion”. Well, everything is mixed up!

EASTER HOLIDAY IS A REMINDER OF GOD'S LOVE AND THE VALUE OF MAN - THE IMAGE OF GOD

The voluntary death of Christ for sinners (Easter) showed what great love God has for people. As it is written in the Bible, God "gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Easter also showed how expensive a person is, that God's Son Himself had to die for him! The Bible says, “You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men." (1 Corinthians 7:23).

Celebrating EASTER means acknowledging that Christ died for sinful people. Now these sinners, if they believe in Christ, will be able to get rid of death, rise from the dead, because Christ died for them.

"... For our Passover, Christ, was slain for us." (Bible, 1 Corinthians 5:7).