Feast of the Resurrection - The Feast of the Open Doors
In a world where many hearts feel closed, burdened, or uncertain, the Resurrection of Christ is not merely an event remembered once a year; it is a living reality that opens what no one else can open.
This short work invites you into the mystery of the Resurrection as a personal encounter. Not as an abstract belief, but as a transforming presence in daily life; within weakness, suffering, and even in the quiet struggles no one sees.
Why does the human heart feel like a sealed tomb?
Who will roll away the stone?
And what does it truly mean that Christ rose while the doors were shut?
Through the wisdom of the Church Fathers, this book gently reveals:
How the Resurrection renews the inner life day by day
Why can no failure, fear, or past remain closed before Christ
How suffering itself can be transformed into light.
What it means to live the “open doors” of divine love
This is not simply a book about Easter or the Resurrection; it is an invitation to experience it.
No door is truly closed. The Risen Christ enters, even now.
Feast of the Resurrection - The Feast of the Open Doors
2026
Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty
Table of Contents
The Resurrection: The Kingdom’s Practical Way
Who Will Roll Away the Stone for Us?
The Resurrection in Your Daily Life
1. “Therefore we do not lose heart.”
2. The Resurrection and Daily Renewal
3. The Resurrection and Suffering
What Do the Closed Doors Mean?
2. The Closed Doors of Legalism
4. The Closed Doors of Suffering
5. The Closed Doors of Service
The Freedom of the Resurrection
The Yoke of the Cross and the Freedom of the Resurrection
Good Friday and the Freedom of the Resurrection
Bright Saturday and the Freedom of the Resurrection
The Resurrection and the Bondage of the Fear of Death
The Risen Christ, Our Eternal Feast
Free me… Carry me into Your heavens
The Blessings of the Feast of the Resurrection
Resurrection from the Tomb of the Ego
Perhaps you ask: How shall I begin?
The Resurrection: The Kingdom’s Practical Way
A Universal Bitterness
No one honest with himself fails to groan under the weight of his sins. We have inherited a corrupted nature, so that the Psalmist cries out: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). And the prophet Isaiah says: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).
Who does not groan beneath the burden of sin? Every person has their weaknesses and their struggles. Even the infant cannot escape them, for in his selfishness, he cannot bear another child sharing his mother’s breast. And the aged elder sometimes finds himself embittered even by youthful passions he once believed he had conquered, thinking himself completely freed from them.
In the midst of this weakness, even the righteous men of the Old Testament could not speak much about what lies beyond death, about the life to come, or about the resurrection of the body. From the reality of human experience, the eyes of the godly were fixed rather on awaiting the coming of a Saviour able to deliver them from the corruption of their nature.
The Old Testament came with many laws, yet, despite the abundance of commandments, all confessed their inability to fulfil them. The natural law that God planted in the depths of humanity had been shattered, and the commandments given through Moses had been broken. “There is none who does good… They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one” (Psalm 53:1,3).
When the prophet Ezekiel looked upon our human nature, he saw that it had grown hardened, having lost its communion with Love, with God Himself, and having come to dwell in cruelty and insensibility. Therefore he pleaded for the intervention of God alone, who can raise children to Abraham from stones (Matthew 3:9), saying in His name: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26–27). For the Spirit of God, the Spirit of love and tenderness, cannot dwell in a heart of stone.
Who Will Roll Away the Stone for Us?
“And they said among themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?’” (Mark 16:2).
This is the sincere conversation of humanity with itself. A person feels as though his heart has become a tomb, over which the enemy of goodness has rolled a massive stone, one that the souls — like the women at the tomb — cannot move on their own. Who will remove from them the stony nature of the old man, and instead of a grave grant them a sanctuary for the Lord within? Who will replace hardness and lifeless stone with the living power of divine love, and the old man with the new man, fashioned according to the image of his Creator?
In the waters of baptism, God granted you the crucifixion of that stony nature and offered you the risen new nature, so that you might rejoice in the Spirit of God dwelling within you. Yet now, having returned to sin by your own will, you need repentance as a second baptism, through which God rolls away the stone for you and reveals the resurrection of Christ in the depths of your soul.
Do not be afraid. Whatever your sins may be, whatever uncleanness burdens your heart, however heavy the stone may seem — even if it bears the seal of the devil who imagines that he can deprive you of the joy of the resurrection — Christ Himself, risen from the dead, will transform your stones into a new and radiant life!
The Resurrection in Your Daily Life
We may liken the righteous men of the Old Testament to a young child whose father is a university professor renowned for his brilliance. The father can scarcely do more than encourage his son to enter kindergarten; he cannot yet speak to him about the future studies and research he longs for his son to undertake. So it was with them: they were greatly limited in their ability to grasp or contemplate the mysteries of heaven, or to speak about the resurrection. For them, such things were like a distant dream, far beyond reach.
But when the Lord Christ came and became the Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, He lifted believers from early spiritual childhood into maturity. They began to delight in speaking of the resurrection as a reality that shakes the depths of the soul and touches practical daily life. They gained an experience of the risen life in Christ, a pledge of eternal life, communion with the heavenly hosts, and a longing for eternal glory and the heavenly inheritance. These became living realities for them, though they remain mere fantasies in the minds of unbelievers.
The Jews saw the Cross as a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:23), for it did not fulfil the earthly Messianic kingdom they expected. The Greeks saw it as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23), for it lacked the philosophical disputation they admired. And the resurrection of Christ appeared to them as a withdrawal from practical life.
When the disciples chose the one to take the place of Judas Iscariot, the requirement was that he be a witness with them of the Resurrection (Acts 1:22). In his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Saint Peter spoke at length about the resurrection of Christ, confirming it through the prophecy of David and concluding with the words: “This Jesus God has raised, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32).
The Athenians found it difficult even to hear about the resurrection, for it is written: “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, ‘We will hear you again on this matter’” (Acts 17:32).
In short, the Book of Acts, as the record of the work of the Holy Spirit in the apostolic age, reveals that the mission of the early Church was the manifestation of the Messiah’s resurrection in the lives of believers — a resurrection that transformed their nature, their understanding, their feelings, their behavior, their hope, and their vision of life.
The Epistles and the Book of Revelation likewise proclaim, at their very core, the resurrection of the Messiah as it is revealed in our daily lives — in our worship, our doctrine, our family life, and our social relationships — as well as in the life to come, on the great Day of the Lord. Here, I will be content with a single example from the words of the Apostle Paul:
“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:16–17). These words — and what follows in chapter five — reveal the Apostle’s practical experience of the resurrection of the Lord Christ.
1. “Therefore we do not lose heart.”
The resurrection has shattered the spirit of failure and despair. It has transformed the tomb into heaven, where believers enjoy union with God and fellowship with the heavenly hosts. We no longer fix our gaze upon the inner grave that bears the corruption of our sinful nature. We no longer fear the devil with all his hosts and works, nor are we troubled by an unknown future. The resurrection has lifted our eyes to the unseen, to the heavenly realities present within us.
The true believer, under every circumstance, does not know failure, for the Lord has risen from the tomb while the door was shut.
2. The Resurrection and Daily Renewal
The resurrection has given us a new understanding of daily repentance, as the Apostle says: “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
In Greek, the word metanoia carries a far deeper meaning than the English word “repentance”. It is composed of two parts: meta, meaning “beyond,” and nous, meaning “mind.” It signifies what lies beyond the mind — a radical transformation of thought and of the inner being.
Repentance is not merely a change in behaviour or a promise not to sin again. Even when a person makes such promises, he often cannot fulfil them. Despite his efforts, the change is often superficial and temporary, and he may fall again into the same weakness, sometimes more severely than before. Repeated attempts can lead to a sense of failure and discouragement, until repentance itself appears impossible.
But in the light and power of the resurrection, an inner transformation of the mind and of the whole human being takes place. Our old man is crucified with Christ so that the new man may rise with Him, bearing His image and His power. This happens in baptism as a burial with Christ: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
We receive the new law of Christ — the law of risen life that conquers death.
Through the resurrection, repentance is no longer merely sorrow for sin or the practice of virtues. It becomes a personal encounter with the One who raises the dead, union with Him, and participation in His risen life within us. Our corrupted nature is transformed into a radiant nature, and we become one with God, continually offering repentance until our union with Him is complete.
Through the resurrection, repentance becomes not merely a complaint about actions or behaviour, but a groaning over our very nature — a groaning born of our longing for perfection, the perfection of union with God, until we attain “to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
In other words, we grieve over our inner condition because we long for continual renewal and growth. For this reason, the Apostle Paul sincerely called himself the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), and the saints consider themselves not yet repentant.
The resurrection of Christ is a daily lived experience, through which the outward man perishes, and the inner man is renewed day by day through repentance and attachment to the Risen One.
3. The Resurrection and Suffering
The resurrection does not ignore the tomb; rather, it passes beyond it — or transforms its darkness into a source of light. No longer is there corruption within it, but the body of the risen Lord and His angels.
So also, if we regard the sufferings and trials of this present time as a tomb, faith does not deny their bitterness. Rather, it affirms their lightness in Christ, their temporary nature, and their transformation into eternal glory: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
Our afflictions — however bitter they may be — when embraced as a sharing in Christ, become His sweet and gentle yoke in this passing world and an eternal weight of glory, a treasure laid up for eternity.
I recall a practical example. A certain believer once suffered bitterly from back pain that prevented him from moving. With his gentle smile, Fr. Bishoy Kamel said to him, “Blessed are you — you share with Christ in carrying His Cross. Whenever the pain intensifies, remember Christ falling under the weight of the Cross.”
About two weeks later, the man returned and said reproachfully, “I am upset with God.” Fr. Bishoy was surprised and asked why. He answered, “When the Cross became sweet, God took it away — He removed the pain from my back!”
Thus, suffering is transformed into the exceedingly sweet and gentle Cross of Christ. This is the work of the resurrection in your life and in the midst of your suffering.
Christ of the Closed Doors
The Open Doors
We see the glorious Feast of the Resurrection as the Feast of the Open Doors, for the hymn of the Paschal night borrows the words of the Psalm: “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in… The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Psalm 24:7, 10).
The heavenly hosts beheld the crucified Christ as He stormed Hades, broke down its barricades, and carried with Him the souls of those who had fallen asleep in hope as His spoils of victory, leading them into His Paradise. Therefore, they cried out in exultation, calling for the everlasting doors to be lifted and opened before the King of glory.
The Resurrection proclaims the destruction of the gates of Hades and the opening of the gates of Paradise before believers as members of His glorified Body. It also proclaims the opening of the heart to the Savior who says: “We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). The Resurrection is a continual feast of union with Christ, the Christ of the open doors.
The Closed Doors
On the Sunday following the Feast of the Resurrection, that is, Thomas Sunday, we see our risen Lord entering the upper room while the doors were shut (John 20:19), granting His disciples His heavenly peace. Here we behold Christ of the closed doors, the Christ of the impossible. When every door is shut before you, both inwardly and outwardly, the Risen One is present within you. In your loneliness, He reveals the wounds of His surpassing love, and the doors are opened.
What Do the Closed Doors Mean?
1. The Closed Tomb
The body of the Crucified lay in the tomb, over which a great stone had been rolled. The seals were set, and the guard was made secure, and the world imagined that He would never rise. Yet while the doors were shut, the Lord went forth with those who had fallen asleep into His Paradise. And while the doors were shut, He rose and shone with the light of His resurrection upon believers struggling in this world.
Wherever we may be, Christ of the closed doors sends into us the light of His resurrection, so that we may live in the spirit of the resurrection that conquers death.
Your sins may close the doors upon you. They may seal them for many years. A stone of hardness and stagnation may be rolled upon your heart, and the seal of the enemy may be set upon you, as though you had become the property of the devil. But do not be afraid. Your Christ is the Christ of the closed doors, the Christ of the impossible, the One who alone can transform the darkness of your inner tomb into the joyful kingdom of His love.
Do not say with the women, “Who will roll away the stone for us?” For He rises within you and sends His angel to roll away the stone and reveal His resurrection in you. He transforms your inner tomb into a living testimony of His resurrection at work within you.
2. The Closed Doors of Legalism
The literalism of the Law closed the doors before Saul of Tarsus. He was unable to encounter God in the Spirit, unable to understand the prophecies or the mysteries of the scriptures, and unable to widen his heart toward others.
Behind the closed doors of legalism, “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,” he sought out men and women of the Way to bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1–2). In persecuting the Church, he persecuted Jesus Himself (Acts 9:4–5).
But the Risen One appeared to him on the road to Damascus, just as He appeared in the upper room while the doors were shut. He brought him into His free grace and into the spiritual law of Christ, in place of the closed doors of the letter.
Christ of the closed doors transformed the killing letter into the life-giving Spirit, destructive hostility into sacrificial apostolic service, and narrowness of mind and heart into a love wide enough to embrace all humanity. He became an apostle to the nations. In love, he moved from city to city and from province to province as a man passing from one room of his house to another. The whole world became to him a beloved home.
3. A World of Closed Doors
When Christ of the closed doors entered the closed heart of Saul of Tarsus, that heart was opened in love so that he might offer Christ Himself to a world of closed doors.
a. The Closed Doors of Jewish Exclusiveness
The Jews closed their doors through their zeal and their desire to possess the world, waiting for a Messiah who would reign and dominate. But Paul revealed the Messiah of the closed doors, who establishes His kingdom within the heart as a spiritual kingdom, removing alienation and making us “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
b. The Closed Doors of Greek Rationalism
The Greeks closed their doors by confining themselves to rational philosophy. The Apostle presented to them the wisdom of the Cross and the surpassing knowledge that comes through union with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Thus Christ, the Wisdom of God, sanctifies the mind without destroying it.
c. The Closed Doors of Carnal Desires
Some people closed their doors through sensual and worldly thinking. To them, the Apostle presented Christ of the closed doors, who sanctifies the body, the emotions, and the senses, and causes them to grow through His Holy Spirit in truth.
Christ enters our hearts and removes the narrow Jewish spirit, the self-confident Greek spirit, and the sensual spirit. He grants Himself as King within us, making us kings who exercise authority over thought, body, and every faculty, guiding them in Spirit and truth for the glory of God and the joy of the eternal crown.
Corinth was known for its corruption, becoming an example of sin throughout the world of that time. When the Apostle Paul entered it, he found closed doors: corruption, impurity, love of money, and excessive luxury. But Christ of the closed doors said to him: “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you… for I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:10).
Paul remained there a year and six months — longer than he served in any city except Ephesus. The Lord raised from Corinth a holy Church beyond all expectation — beyond what Paul, the servants, or the believers themselves could have imagined.
Whenever you think the doors of the world or the doors of a soul are closed, remember that the Risen Christ is the Christ of the closed doors, who reveals the power and joy of His resurrection amid impossibilities. His plan will be fulfilled, and His salvation accomplished, even when all doors appear firmly shut.
4. The Closed Doors of Suffering
Our sufferings may become so intense that the doors of our lives seem closed. Yet the Risen One reveals Himself and works through the closed doors of pain.
Paul and Silas were beaten with many stripes, thrown into the inner prison, and their feet fastened in the stocks (Acts 16:22–24). The outer doors and the inner doors were closed, their feet were bound, and the guard was invincible. Yet the Risen One filled their hearts with joy, and they sang praises to God while the prisoners listened.
Then the foundations of the prison were shaken, the doors were opened, and the jailer and all his household believed and rejoiced after being baptised.
This is your Christ, who transforms your suffering into joy for you and for those around you. He enters while the doors of your suffering are shut, binding wounds and fulfilling your calling with power and gladness of heart. He transforms your prison into a place of praise, divine visitation, heavenly vision, and living witness.
5. The Closed Doors of Service
To the Jews, the Cross was a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23). The Resurrection seemed a fantasy and an escape from reality. The doors of ministry appeared closed because the task seemed impossible.
But Christ of the impossible enters while the doors are shut and reveals the life-giving wounds of His Cross, drawing many to Himself.
The Lord rose, leaving the doors of His wounds open, so that when He enters into us — we who are people of closed doors — He grants us the wide-open doors of His love, open to every person, even those who oppose us.
We long to be wounded with Him and to die for our brethren in humanity, sharing in His open doors and listening to the Apostle’s words: “Our heart is wide open… I speak as to children: you also be open” (2 Corinthians 6:13).
Close Your Door
If Christ enters our upper room while the doors are shut to open the doors of our love to Him and to every person, He also desires that we keep our doors shut against evil, corruption, and vainglory.
Therefore, He commands: “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place” (Matthew 6:6).
He desires for us the closed door through which we meet the Risen One in a hidden and personal relationship, so that love of human praise and vainglory may not enter and corrupt it.
He desires closed doors for His Church against corruption. In love, she opens her doors to sinners and tax collectors, and in the same love, she closes them lest the leaven of corruption spread among her children (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Christ rose while the doors were shut and met His disciples in the upper room while the doors were shut, so that you might enter into Him through the closed doors in a life of holiness and in the fellowship of the Spirit.
Do not fear the closed doors of sin; He will roll away the stone and grant you the light of His resurrection.
Do not fear the closed doors of legalism; He will grant you the spiritual law of His resurrection.
Do not fear the closed doors of the world; He is the Saviour of the world who sanctifies all He has made and fulfils His will in it.
Do not fear the closed doors of suffering; He will transform them into an eternal weight of glory.
Do not fear the closed doors of ministry; He is the Christ of the impossible.
Do not fear your closed heart, He will reveal the open doors of His wounds and grant you a heart of boundless breadth.
The Freedom of the Resurrection
The Yoke of the Cross and the Freedom of the Resurrection
The Resurrection of Christ transformed His crucifixion and death from a painful historical event into a feast that changed the course of human history, reshaping humanity’s understanding, hopes, and aspirations.
In some ancient Coptic icons of the Crucifixion, the letter appears, the first letter of the Coptic word meaning victory. The Crucified One is the Giver of triumph and victory, even over death itself.
In these icons, Christ is often depicted on the cross with His eyes open. Even while dying in the flesh, in His divinity, He was embracing the whole world with His divine care and surpassing providence. Death itself could not overcome Him.
The Resurrection revealed the mystery of the Cross not through abstract philosophical concepts but through the living reality of experience. Through the Resurrection, the yoke of the Cross became sweet. The believer receives suffering with joy of heart, seeing it as a divine gift through which he shares in the Saviour’s Cross to know the power of His Resurrection (Philippians 3:10).
Good Friday and the Freedom of the Resurrection
Although the hymns of Good Friday carry a tone of sorrow, they also pour deep consolations into the soul. They draw the faithful into the events of the Passion and into the mystery of the Crucified One’s power. Again and again, the entire congregation glorifies the One who, by weakness, showed forth what is greater than power.
The worship of that entire day becomes a crown of praise offered to the Mighty One who entered into our sufferings, even into our very tombs, to free us from the fear of pain and the fear of death.
In 1972, Copts in Queens, New York, went to the pastor of the church they were renting and asked if they might use the building from Friday morning until Saturday morning. The pastor was astonished and said, “Is there really a people in the world who pray for such a long period, from seven in the morning until six in the evening on Friday, and then from midnight until six in the morning on Saturday?”
They assured him that this was indeed the case. Out of curiosity, he asked permission to attend the Great Friday service. He intended to stay for about an hour, to see with his own eyes what was happening.
When he arrived, he was astonished to see the entire congregation present, even the children, all participating in the hymns. His heart was deeply moved, and he could not bring himself to leave until the prayers had ended. His final comment was: “I have now understood, in practice, why even the children take part in this worship with such joyful delight”.
Through the Resurrection, we look upon Great Friday, and indeed upon every day of our lives, and we see the Cross as the Tree of Life planted in the Paradise of God. The Good Thief snatched its fruit while he himself was bound to the wood of his own cross. His vision and understanding were transformed. The one who had once reviled the Lord suddenly believed in His Kingdom. He believed that the Crucified One could carry him from the cross into His heavenly Kingdom.
What happened to the thief has been the experience of believers throughout all generations. They behold the Cross as a throne and as salvation.
Bright Saturday and the Freedom of the Resurrection
The rite of Great Friday, whose melodies carry a tone of sorrow mingled with divine consolation, comes to its close as the rite of Bright Saturday begins. It is the natural continuation of Great Friday.
As we remember the death and burial of the Lord Christ, we behold Him descending into Hades to meet all those who had died in hope. How great must have been the joy of Adam and Eve, of Abraham the man of the covenant and Sarah, of Jacob and his sons, of David the prophet, and of the other prophets. Their prophecies were unveiled before them more clearly than ever, and they beheld the One called the Desire of the Nations. They saw Him coming to shatter by His Cross the strongholds of Hades, carrying them as holy spoils upon His shoulders and leading them through the everlasting gates.
Our eyes rise from the visible events, the arrest of Christ, His trial, the mockery, the scourging, the crucifixion, and the burial, to behold what is unseen: Hades collapsing, the faithful meeting their Saviour, eternal gates opening, and Paradise restored.
This day is called Bright Saturday, for on this day the Sun of Righteousness shines upon those who had fallen asleep in hope, and they become shining stars in Paradise, bearing its radiance within themselves. This is what gladdens the heart of the Church on earth and fills her with hope, as she awaits her own moment to join the faithful of the Old Covenant as one Church stretching from Adam and Eve to the end of the ages.
On Bright Saturday, the faithful chant all the hymns found in both the Old and New Testaments, spoken by men and women alike, as though they themselves are joining them in the great procession of praise for the Resurrection of the Lord. All together rejoice in the glory of the Resurrection and the entrance into eternity.
The day is also called the Saturday of the Divine Revelation, or Apocalypse Saturday, for on this day the Book of Revelation is read. Having experienced the power of the Cross and understood its effectiveness, the Church senses that she shares in the vision of Saint John the Beloved, in the Day of the Lord (Revelation 1: 10). She beholds that “a door standing open in heaven” (Revelation 4:1). She chants the Book of Revelation so that she may hear the voice of her heavenly Bridegroom assuring her of the nearness of His coming. And she responds, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22: 20).
I remember a young man who knew almost nothing of Christianity except the name. When he came to Los Angeles, he felt that God had allowed him to immigrate so that he might come to know Him amid his loneliness. For the first time in his life, he participated in Holy Week.
When he wished to attend the Bright Saturday service, it was midnight. Standing on Vermont Street, he asked an American passerby if he might take him toward Robertson Street. The man replied that he was only going as far as Western Street.
As they walked together, the American asked him, “Where are you going?” The Copt replied, “To church.”
The American laughed and said, “Are you crazy? Aren’t you going to the bar to get drunk?” The Copt replied, “No, to church.”
In the end, the man drove him all the way to Robertson Street and asked him where the church was. When he dropped him off in front of it, he asked if he could come inside with him.
We were surprised to see the two of them enter together. The American was astonished when he saw the church nearly filled with worshipers, all singing together joyfully as though in heaven. The sanctuary doors were open, the seven candles were lit, and the entire atmosphere was radiant with joy.
The American began to weep and asked the Copt if he might visit him later to speak about Christ. How wondrous is that night which becomes a radiant day within the heart, as the believer experiences the freedom of the Resurrection that shattered the strongholds of Hades.
The Resurrection and the Bondage of the Fear of Death
Through His Resurrection, Christ destroyed the authority of death and freed us from the slavery of fearing it. Many people have died simply because of their fear of death. Nothing is more oppressive than the bondage of constantly dwelling upon death. When it takes hold of a person, it shatters the soul, drains vitality, and hastens a dark end.
The Resurrection of Christ not only removed our fear of death, but it has even kindled within our hearts a longing for it, so that we may say with the Apostle Paul: “For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1: 23).
Saint Ephraim the Syrian says of the One who rose from the dead:
“He is the bait that devoured the one who ate it. This is the carpenter’s Son who skillfully fashioned His Cross as a bridge over Hades, so that humanity might cross over it into the dwelling of life. Glory be to You who made Your Cross a bridge over death, by which souls pass from the abode of death to the abode of life”.
Saint Athanasius the Apostolic also says:
“For the world has been redeemed by the blood of the Saviour, and by His death, He trampled death, preparing the path of the heavenly glories without obstacles or barriers for those who grow in Him. Let us now sing the hymn of the feast, proclaiming the song of victory, saying: "I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously. The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea" (Exodus 15: 1).
The Risen Christ, Our Eternal Feast
The Resurrection of Christ proclaims His continual presence in the life of the Church and in the heart of every believer. For this reason, St. Athanasius affirms in one of his eloquent Paschal letters that Christ Himself is our true feast. When we possess Him, we possess eternal joy.
His Resurrection confirmed the truth of His divine promise: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28: 20).
Our Christ, risen from the dead and abiding in the midst of His Church, transforms our present life into a feast that is the pledge of the heavenly feast. As Saint Athanasius says: “We must come to the feast with zeal and joy, so that as we begin rejoicing here, our souls may long for the heavenly feast. If we celebrate here with diligence, we shall surely receive the perfect joy that is in heaven. Let us not celebrate the feast in an earthly manner, but as those who keep the feast in heaven with the angels. Let us rejoice not in ourselves, but in the Lord, so that we may be with the saints”.
Free me… Carry me into Your heavens
Free me, O You who rose from the dead.
By the Passover, You led Your people out of the bondage of Pharaoh into the promised land.
Through You, O divine Passover, we cross over into the bosom of Your Father
and dwell with You forever in Your heavens.
Your Resurrection has revealed to me the power of Your Cross.
I have come to know that by death You trampled death.
You delivered Yourself to death so that You might carry me into Your eternal Kingdom.
You shone forth, O Sun of Righteousness, upon those in Hades.
You made them radiant stars.
You carried them as spoils into Your Paradise.
Shine also, O Lord, within our hearts.
Bring us forth from our tombs.
Transform our lives into a day without night, that we may be with all Your saints forever.
You have become our feast.
Your Resurrection has shattered every despair and every despondency.
It has transformed our lives into an unceasing hymn and into a heaven rejoicing without end.
Rise with Him!
With his captivating style, his fiery and ardent heart, and his remarkable simplicity joined to profound depth of thought, St. Gregory of Nazianzus presents to us his Paschal homily (Oration 45), lifting us amid the troubles of this life toward a foretaste of the heavenly realities and introducing us into a joyful experience that the believer lives even while still in the flesh.
A Rejoicing Watchman
Saint Gregory the Theologian was marked by a deep experience of union with God and communion with the angels, as he revealed on more than one occasion — especially in the homily he delivered after returning from the monastery, where he had fled because he had been ordained a priest against his will, before resuming his ministry alongside his father, Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus.
In his Paschal homily, he declares that he stood with the prophet Habakkuk as a watchman upon the tower. There he saw a man seated upon the clouds of heaven, appearing like an angel, his garments flashing with lightning-like light, surrounded by countless heavenly hosts. And he heard him proclaim:
“Today, salvation has come to the world, to both the visible and the invisible.
Christ is risen from the dead; rise with Him!
Christ has returned and taken His seat; return to Him.
Christ is freed from the tomb; be freed from the chains of sin.
The gates of Hades are opened, death is undone.
The old Adam is set aside so that the New may be fulfilled.
If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; be renewed!”
Saint Gregory longed to possess a voice like the voices of the angels, so that he might proclaim the good news to the whole earth, from one end to the other. He desired to call all humanity to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection — the Christian Pascha — by experiencing the Resurrection of Christ within their own lives.
It is the feast of both humanity and the heavenly hosts, of the visible and the invisible creation. We who are human pass from the old and corrupt life as children of the first Adam, to be reckoned with the Second Adam, enjoying the new creation fashioned according to the image of our Creator. To celebrate this feast is to be set free from the bonds of sin and to let our souls ascend, as it were, into heaven, to sit with Christ even while we remain in this world.
The Feast of Feasts
Concerning the Feast of the Resurrection, Saint Gregory says:
“This is for us a Feast of feasts and a Solemnity of solemnities, as far above all others, even as the sun is above the stars.”
Through this feast, we come to experience the profound meaning of the Jewish Passover, which formed the very centre of their feasts and of their life, and which offered them extraordinary divine possibilities. This feast grants us a deeper understanding of the events recorded in Holy Scripture. Through it, we perceive the depths of Christ's commandments, His teachings, and His promises.
The Blessings of the Feast of the Resurrection
1. A True Victory over Death
“Today we celebrate the Resurrection itself — no longer merely a hope or expectation, but a living reality and a source of abiding joy in our victory over death, a victory that has embraced the whole world.”
2. Pascha — The Passing Over
“This Pascha — the great and most worthy Pascha — is called by the Hebrews ‘Pesach’ or ‘Pascha’ in their language. The word means passing over. Historically, it refers to their departure from Egypt and their journey into the land of Canaan. Spiritually, it signifies their progress and ascent from below to above, toward the land of promise.”
Moses once ascended the mountain and beheld the shadow of the heavenly beings. Now God Himself has descended to humanity, for the flesh couldn't rise to God unless God Himself came down to help and enlighten it.
In antiquity, the people were commanded to celebrate the Passover by sacrificing a lamb without blemish, a year-old lamb, offered to the Lord as the Passover. But now the Word of God has come — the Lamb of God — offering Himself as the Passover for believers, that they might pass over into heaven.
Resurrection from the Tomb of the Ego
In the radiant Feast of the Resurrection, we gather with the myrrh-bearing women, the disciples, and the apostles before Him who rose from the dead, so that each one of us may go forth with Christ into the newness of risen life. Our souls overflow with joy, and no power of darkness — not even death itself — can rob us of this gladness.
Amid the brightness of this feast, I sense the Church calling me to come forth from the tomb of the ego, that narrow prison which confines my being, my energies, and my affections within the limits of a grave. Then, in the spirit of the Resurrection, I set out with Him who rose to raise all humanity in Himself and with Himself.
The Feast of the Resurrection is a call to enter into the promise given to him that he would become a blessing to many nations and that his seed would be as the stars of heaven. When we encounter Christ, the Conqueror of death, we begin to live in a spirit of sincere love toward all humanity without exception. We become not only recipients of blessing, but living sources of blessing for those around us and for all whom we meet.
Do not belittle yourself, whatever your abilities, your age, or your circumstances may be. The smallest portion of consecrated leaven has the power to sanctify and bless an entire mass of dough.
Perhaps you ask: How shall I begin?
Go forth to meet your risen Christ. The guards could not confine Him within the tomb, nor can they deprive you of meeting Him. The sealed stone cannot extinguish your hope of encountering Him; rather, it stands as a witness that every human being may draw near to Him.
Your Christ who dwells within you longs to roll away the stone from your heart and to scatter the guards in fear, that He may fill your soul with the joy of His Resurrection. Then you shall rise with Him like a heavenly angel, endowed with new and wondrous strength.
Let your soul chant the hymn of the Resurrection:
Where is your sting, O death?
Where is your victory, O Hades?
Where are your seals, O stone of sin?
Where is your terror, O hosts of Satan?
Who can imprison me in the tomb of the self?
Who can corrupt the new nature granted to me?
In Christ I have shared in His Resurrection,
and with Him I am seated in the heavenly places.
