Christ is Risen!
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
Come, people, let us sing and worship Christ, glorifying His resurrection from the dead.
Today is the salvation of the world: the terrible and hitherto invincible enemy of the human race and the whole world, death, was trampled and defeated.
Man was created immortal, but sin struck him with death.
Many of the first people lived for centuries, but death came for them too.
There were strong men who defeated all opponents, conquered countries and peoples for themselves, but none of them could defeat death.
Others, with their wisdom, towered over everyone, enriched themselves with knowledge, discovered the secrets of nature, but none of them could kill death.
With sadness, even the righteous descended into hades in soul, feeling that everything in life is vanity and vexation of the spirit, continuing even after death.
But now death has been conquered. Christ resurrected. Christ arose, the firstborn of the resurrected. It was not for Himself that Christ, the ever-living Son of God, tasted death and resurrected.
In order to conquer death in Himself, and to open the gates of eternal life to us humans, He accepted death and burial, and, having risen from the dead, became the conqueror of death.
Having resurrected Himself by His Divine power, He grants eternal life and immortality to all who go to Him and after Him.
He nourishes His faithful ones with His resurrected Flesh and Blood, pouring into them a stream of life.
He leads to a joyful life, to a new paradise filled with the light of His Divine glory.
Like Christ, who tasted death only for a short time, people are dying now in order to rise from the dead and be with Him in His Kingdom.
Today is the Resurrection. Let's celebrate people.
Our fathers and brethren, who have gone to nothing in another world, rejoice, for the light of the Resurrection and looking forward to their resurrection, when they will be saturated with Divine glory even more.
Rejoice, all who are sick, all who are sad and mournful.
A life full of joy will come for you.
Rejoice, be glad, all people, old and young, rich and poor, strong and weak, toiling and unable to find work, dwelling in cities, villages and deserts, traveling and being in bondage. Let's all rejoice now!
We celebrate the death of death, the destruction of hades, the beginning of another eternal life.
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and to those in the tombs bestowing life!
Christ is Risen!
Paris-Brussels, 1957
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.