| The ancient Churches celebrate our Lord's Resurrection for a total of forty days (until His Ascension) in remembrance of the forty days He remained on earth teaching His chosen Apostles. After our forty day period of spiritual preparation (The Great Fast) and a week of meditation upon the Lord's last days leading up to His Crucifixion (Great Week), we regard the Resurrection as the Festival of festivals and far too glorious to be celebrated by a single day! Each day of Bright Week is also Pascha! The English word Easter, according to the Modern Catholic Dictionary, comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Eastre," the name of the Teutonic goddess of dawn and spring. When the pagan Germanic peoples were evangelized, they retained the use of the title of this pre-Christian spring festival because the feast of the Resurrection coincided with it. Thus Easter carries the connotation of the season of the rising sun and new life in Spring. Since the Greeks, Latins and Armenians were evangelized before Christianity's spread to Anglo-Saxon lands, these Churches use the primitive title of the feast of the Resurrection -Pascha- which comes from the Aramaic word for Passover. In the New Testament the Greek word Pascha is rendered into Armenian by the word Zadeeg (cf. 1 Cor 5:7). The Orthodox Study Bible explains, "Originally Pascha designated the Jewish Passover: now, it is the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Christ is the Lamb of God whose sacrifice delivers the faithful from death, as the sacrifice of the passover lamb delivered the ancient Jews from slavery and death in Egypt (Ex. 12; 13; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8)." Thus, even for Roman Catholics, "Passover remains a Christian theme of observance" (CCC #1170). Our family would like to pass on to you the following triumphal messages announcing our Lord's victory over Death and to wish you all a very Holy Pascha, a Soorp Zadeeg, a Happy Easter and a Blessed Christian Passover! What follows are Paschal greetings, Christian homilies and hymns, and other texts which illuminate the ancient Christian understanding of Christ's Resurrection as the ultimate and final Passover. That we may know Him and the power of His resurrection! -Sub-Deacon Lazarus & the Der-Ghazarian Family ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ On the Passion of the Christ: Why Did Jesus Have to Die? by Sub-Deacon Lazarus Der-Ghazarian ~ Paschal Homily Reflection for St. Thomas Sunday by Sub-Deacon Lazarus Der-Ghazarian ~ Paschal Greetings in many of the world's languages ~ The Lamb that was Slain has delivered us from Death A Paschal Meditation by St. Melitos of Sardis (2nd c.) ~ Christ's Harrowing of Hades - Ancient Christian Writings ~ The Descent of Christ into Hades by Bp. Hilarion Alfeyev ~ The Weakness of God is Stronger than Men A Paschal Relfection by Saint John Chrysostom (5th c.) ~ The Paschal Homily of Saint John Chrysostom (5th c.) ~ The Hymns of the Days of Creation & Resurrection by Saint Nersess the Grace-filled (12th c.) ~ The Resurrection of Christ in the Symbol of Faith ~ Home page of the St. Gregory the Enlightener Institute |
Christ is risen from the dead! By death He trampled Death and upon those in the tombs He granted life! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description of the Paschal Icon: The Icon of the "Harrowing of Hell" above shows Christ standing over the broken gates of Hades (depicted as coffin lids in the form of the Cross). Christ pulls up Adam and Eve out of Hades by their hands. On Christ's left, Moses, Isaiah & Elijah look on. On His right are the Old Testament kings David and Solomon along with the Baptist, St. John the Forerunner. Below Christ's feet, Death (personified) is trampled upon. "After, He willingly came to suffer and be crucified and died in the body, yet lived in His divinity." "His body was placed in the grave united with His divinity; and, with His spirit undivided from His divinity, He descended into Hades. He preached to the souls in Hades, destroyed Hades and delivered them." "After three days, He rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples." -from the St. Gregory of Datev Symbol of Faith |
| "I Am the Resurrection and the Life... he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." -The Gospel of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ According to St. John 11:25-26 |
| The Passover of our Lord Jesus Christ -from death unto Life! |
| For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast... -1 Cor 5:6-8 |
| Holy Pascha |
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