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Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! Христóсъ воскрéсе! Воистину воскресе!

The Paschal Stikhera

v: Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those who hate Him flee from before His face!

Today, a sacred Pascha is revealed to us: a new and holy Pascha, a mystical Pascha, a Pascha worthy of veneration, a Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer, a blameless Pascha, a great Pascha, a Pascha of the faithful, a Pascha which has opened to us the gates of Paradise, a Pascha which sanctifies all the faithful.

v: As smoke vanishes so let them vanish; as wax melts before the fire!

Come from that scene, O women bearers of glad tidings,

and say to Zion:

“Receive from us the glad tidings of joy,of Christ’s Resurrection!

Exult and be glad,

and rejoice, O Jerusalem,

seeing Christ the King, Who comes forth from the tomb

like a bridegroom in procession!”

v: So the sinners will perish before the face of God. But let the righteous be glad!

The myrrh-bearing women,

at the break of dawn,

drew near to the tomb of the Life-giver.

There they found an Angel

sitting upon the stone.

He greeted them with these words:

“Why do you seek the Living among the dead?

Why do you mourn the Incorrupt amid corruption?

Go, proclaim the glad tidings to His disciples!”

v: This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Pascha of beauty,

the Pascha of the Lord,

A Pascha worthy of honor has dawned for us.

Oh, Pascha!

Let us embrace each other joyously!

Pascha, ransom from affliction!

For today, as from a bridal chamber,

Christ has shone forth from the tomb,

and filled the women with joy saying:

“Proclaim the glad tidings to the Apostles!”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

This is the day of resurrection! Let us be illumined by the feast! Let us embrace each other! Let us call Brothers even those that hate us, and forgive all by the resurrection, and so let us cry: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”

“Give me a word!”

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior's death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was embittered, when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.


~from The Paschal Homily of St John Chrysostom


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