“This is the day of Resurrection. Let us be illumined, O people.”
After the silence of Great and Holy Saturday, Pascha Sunday comes as the day of light and overturning. The tomb is empty. Christ is risen. From this moment, death no longer has the final word over man.
The Event of the Resurrection, At Deep Dawn
The Gospel leads us to the tomb in the early dawn of Sunday. The Myrrh-bearing Women, coming to anoint the Body of the Lord, find the stone rolled away. An Angel of the Lord, with countenance like lightning, proclaims the joyful message: “He is not here, for He is risen.”
The Passage (Mark 16:6)
“And he saith unto them: Be not affrighted. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified. He is risen, He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him.”
Translation
And he said to them, “Do not be afraid. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him.”
Read & listen to the excerpt from the Holy Gospel here →
The Resurrection is not presented by the Church as a return of Christ to a previous state of life, as if it were merely a coming back. It is the definitive victory over death. Christ rises not only for Himself, but as the first-fruits of the new life of the whole human race. For this reason “Christ is Risen” is not merely a festal greeting. It is the very core of the Church’s faith.
The Troparion of the Resurrection, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life,” gathers up the whole meaning of the day. Christ conquers death not by avoiding it, but by passing through it. This is the great mystery of Pascha. Death, which until then seemed absolute, now becomes a passage rather than a final destiny.
Love and Forgiveness: Agape Vespers
On the afternoon of Sunday, Agape Vespers is served. The Gospel is read in many languages, as a sign that the message of the Resurrection is addressed to the whole inhabited world. The Church calls us to forgive even those who hate us, for the Resurrection of Christ abolishes division and hatred.
Agape is not merely a feeling. It is the new state of things inaugurated by the Risen Lord. Through the Resurrection, humanity becomes one family, and the fear of the other gives way to the joy of shared salvation.
The Hymnography of the Resurrection
The hymnography of the day, above all the work of Saint John of Damascus, is a hymn of victory and light.
The Troparion of the Resurrection
“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
Translation and Meaning
Christ has risen from the dead, having conquered death by His own death, and granting life to those who were in the tombs. This is the central hymn that will be sung for forty days. It proclaims the paradox that the death of the God-Man became the very means by which the death of all was abolished.
From the Catechetical Homily of Saint John Chrysostom
“Let no one fear death, for the death of the Saviour has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He despoiled Hades when He descended into Hades... Christ is risen, and life reigns.”
Translation and Meaning
Let no one fear death, for the death of the Saviour has set us free. Death itself was taken captive by Him whom it thought to hold captive. Christ is risen, and life reigns everywhere. This homily, read at the end of the Paschal Liturgy, is the triumphant proclamation of the Church that Hades was embittered because it encountered God face to face.
Theological Meaning and Experience
Pascha Sunday is the answer to everything that has preceded it in Holy Week. To the sorrow of Great and Holy Friday, to the silence of Great and Holy Saturday, to the crushing of the disciples, and to the fear of death. Everything is illumined differently because Christ is risen. From this moment onward, man no longer sees the world only through corruption and the tomb, but through the hope of eternal life.
The Holy Light that we receive in our candles symbolizes the light that must also shine in our hearts. The Resurrection teaches us that evil, injustice, and corruption are temporary, whereas life and light are eternal. From this day forward, every Sunday of the year becomes a little Pascha, a continual reminder that Christ is with us unto the end of the ages.
The participation of the faithful | Pascha Sunday: The Day of Joy
- At midday: Agape Vespers. We take part in the reading of the Gospel in many languages, proclaiming the universal victory of life.
- Custom: The cracking of the red eggs and the paschal meal with family and friends.
From this day the greeting is one: “Christ is Risen!” and the response, “Truly He is Risen!”
