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At the conclusion of the liturgical services the archbishop spoke of the mystery of Christ’s Resurrection.

“My brothers and sisters in Christ, may the joy and peace of the Lord Jesus fill all your hearts on this beautiful Easter Sunday that commemorates the glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

As many of you are aware, Pascha is the main feast of the liturgical year.  You may wonder why Easter is the greatest of all feasts celebrated during the liturgical year? It is because it commemorates the awesome Resurrection of the Lord Jesus on the first day of the week. Based on the testimonies of “over five hundred” (1 Cor. 15:5-8) believers who have witnessed the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, it cannot be denied that “the Lord has risen indeed.” (Lk. 24:34)

On the Feast of Easter, we commemorate the most important turning point in the history of mankind. We honor the fulfillment of the “blessed hope” of every living being, “the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Tit. 2:13)

In order to appreciate the glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we have to consider what the outcome would have been if there had been no resurrection. Saint Paul summarizes this subject in the following words:

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ – whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor. 12-19)

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.” (1 Cor. 20-22)

In fact, Christ has been raised from the dead! He was not only raised from the dead to prove to us that He is God; He was raised to prove to us that “we will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?'” (1 Cor. 15:52-55; Is. 25:8)