The essence of Easter in the New Testament — eternal life through faith in the resurrection of the Savior. The Holy Scriptures say: «If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring those who died in Jesus with Him». This is hope for all believers for the resurrection.
Christ is risen! — and true spring has begun for the entire universe, a bright, joyful morning of a new life. Resurrection of the Lord Jesus — is the first real victory of life over death.
Here's how it was:
After the Sabbath, at night, on the third day after His suffering and death, the Lord Jesus Christ came to life by the power of His Deity, that is, he rose from the dead. His body, the human, has been transformed. He came out of the tomb without falling off the stone, without breaking the Sanhedrin seal, and invisible to the guard. From that moment on, the soldiers, without knowing it, guarded the empty coffin.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake; The Angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He set about and rolled away the stone from the door of the Holy Sepulcher and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The warriors standing guard at the coffin were in awe and stood like the dead, and then, waking up in fear, fled.
On this day (the first day of the week), as soon as the Sabbath rest ended, very early, at dawn, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Jacob, Joanna, Salome and other women, taking the prepared fragrant myrrh, went to the tomb of Jesus Christ to anoint His body, since they did not have time to do this during burial (the Church calls these women myrrh-bearers). They did not yet know that a guard was assigned to the tomb of Christ and the entrance to the cave was sealed. That’s why they didn’t expect to meet anyone there and said among themselves: «Who will roll us a stone from the door of the coffin?». The stone was very large.
Mary Magdalene, ahead of the rest of the women myrrh-bearers, was the first to come to the tomb. It wasn't dawn yet, it was dark. Mary, seeing that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, immediately ran to Peter and John and said: «They carried the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him». Hearing such words, Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb. Mary Magdalene followed them.
At this time, the rest of the women walking with Mary Magdalene approached the coffin. They saw that the stone had been rolled away from the coffin. And when we stopped, we suddenly saw a light-hearted Angel sitting on a stone. The angel, addressing them, said: «Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified. He is not here; He has risen, as he said while he was still with you. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. And then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead».
They went inside the tomb (cave) and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But when they looked, they saw an Angel in white clothes, sitting to the right of the place where the Lord was laid; They were overcome with horror.
The angel says to them: «Do not be horrified. Jesus you are looking for the crucified Nazarene. He's risen. He's not here. This is the place where He was laid. But go, tell His disciples and Peter (who by his renunciation fell away from the number of disciples) that He will meet you in Galilee, there you will see Him, as He told you».
When the women stood in bewilderment, suddenly two Angels in shining clothes appeared before them again. The women bowed their faces to the ground in fear. The angels said to them: «What are you looking for living between the dead? He is not here: He has risen; remember how He told you when He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man should be delivered into the hands of sinful people, and be crucified, and on the third day rise».
Soon, first the myrrh-bearing woman’s wives, then — close disciples met Him alive. Thus, for the first time, the Easter exclamation — sounded, which was conveyed from mouth to mouth first by the Apostles, then by the — inhabitants of Jerusalem: «Christ is Risen!».
Resurrection of Christ (Fresco of the Chora Monastery, Constantinople, 14th century, pravoslavie.ru, Public Domain)
The Easter service begins at midnight from Saturday to Sunday; it is all filled with spiritual joy and jubilation. All of it is a solemn hymn to the Holy Resurrection of Christ, the reconciliation of God and man, the victory of life over death.
On Easter, breaking the fast begins after a long Lent, and the main attributes of the festive table are colored eggs, Easter cake and Easter (a sweet dish of cottage cheese with raisins). Painted egg (previously — these were only red eggs) — is a symbol of peace, stained with the blood of Jesus Christ and through this reborn to a new life. Easter cake (tall bread made from butter dough) — is a symbol of the body of the Lord, to which believers should receive communion. By the way, all this Easter food is blessed in the church on the eve of — on Holy Saturday.
The Easter holiday is celebrated every year on different dates of the month and the time of its celebration «transitions» according to its date, but always falls on a Sunday. All holidays associated calendar-wise with Easter (and these are Palm Resurrection, Antipascha, Ascension and Trinity) also change their date and are called moving or moving. Other twelfth feasts (Christmas, Epiphany, Candlemas and others) have a constant date and are called intransitive or motionless.
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