lib3rtarian
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Christ is Risen!
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TER
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Except the testimony of the Church long before you were born and will go on long after your flesh turns to dust speak directly against your statement. The onus is for you to prove you are right against 2000 consecutive years of testimony and witness.
Anyways, Christ is risen now for all eternity, and whether one chooses to celebrate it on the Sabbath over the Lord's Day (as it has been with the Apostles), the gospel remains the same and the truth will overcome.
I wish you a blessed Pascha to you and your family!
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TER
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On the Holy Pascha
By St. Hesychios of Jerusalem [1]
1. Τhe call of the royal trumpet. It is a sacred and royal trumpet that calls us again to this spiritual theater, the Paschal celebration in the Church. This trumpet was filled with sounds in Bethlehem, because it was there that God was born as man. Bethlehem was the beginning. But this trumpet was fired, reached its full blast in Zion, Jerusalem. Because it was in Jerusalem that the Cross was raised and the Resurrection took place. The Cross was the hummer and the Resurrection the anvil. It is impossible to everyone to speak worthily of its beauty, to describe its wondrous splendor, to recount the divine kingdom which emerges from it, to touch it and to explore it.
2. Its message: the dead God who cancels death. This paschal trumpet invites us to revisit the grave which gives birth to life, the sepulcher of corruption which becomes the bearer of incorruption, the three-day rest[2] which puts the Bridegroom to sleep, and the bridal chamber from which the bride emerges uncorrupted after the marriage. It tells us that the grave guards one who is dead,[3] but the earth is shaken by Him who is God.[4] The body says that He is dead, but the miracle cries out that He is God. The burial testifies that He is dead, but the resurrection demonstrates that He is God. The tears of the women confess Him to be dead,[5] but the words of the angels confess Him to be God.[6] Joseph prepares His internment as dead,[7] but He who is interred as man is God who denudes and abolishes death. The soldiers guard Him as dead, but the guards of the gates of Hades encounter Him and shrivel with fear.
3. The main theme: the mystery of the Godman. Who then is this dead God, is He two or one? No He is not two, but one, man and God, God and man. You cannot speak of Him as this one and that one, i.e. as one person and another person, nor as another thing in another person, nor another thing through another person. This One is “God the Word who became incarnate,”[8] became man, and conjoined by His will in a manner ineffable and these (human) things with those (divine) things. To Him belong both the flesh and the Godhead – the flesh which He offered in order to accomplish the sufferings, and the Godhead which He used in order to achieve the signs and miracles. As it is illegitimate to sever the flesh from the Word, so it is necessary to conjoin the sufferings with the miracles. Because, He who “descended into Hades”[9] is also the one who freed the dead as God. How else would the angels minister at the grave? How else would they appear to the women “dressed in white”[10] as representatives of the bridegroom? How else would they say, “Do you seek Jesus who was crucified? He is not here. He is risen as He had fore-announced it?”[11] Heaven, then, is His “place,”[12] and there you should send the “ointments.”[13] “He is Risen” by Himself.[14] We did not raise Him. We only “rolled” the stone for your sake.[15] The grace was empty before we came down to it. He is risen as He himself had fore-announced it.[16]
4. The Witness of the Prophets. The angel also said that neither the prophets could explain the mystery although they fore-announced it. Hosea spoke about the time of the Resurrection. Isaiah fore-saw it, but did not know how it would be accomplished. The prophesy of Hosea is as follows: “Come and let us return to the Lord our God, because He has captured us and will heal us, He will wound us and will attend to our wounds within two days. On the third day we shall rise again and will live in His presence.”[17] Listen also to the words of Isaiah: “Lebanon was made low and Sharon was changed into swamps. Galilee and Carmel will be exalted. Because now I will rise again, says the Lord; now I will be glorified; now I will be exalted. Now you will see, and will be brought to shame.”[18] To the Jews were these words addressed. “Now I will rise again,” because now I will raise Adam, who was thrown into death by the transgression. “Now I will be glorified,” because I will demonstrate to the nations the impassibility of My passion. “Now I will be exalted,” because now I will raise to heaven your “firstfruits,”[19] and will raise “the form of the servant”[20] which I took from you to heaven and place it on the Cherubic throne. “Now you will see,” the types to be removed and the truth to blossom (open like a bud). “Now you will be brought to shame,” because of the words which you used in order to slander Me; because you were defeated from the events; because the glory belongs to God, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and into the ages of the ages, Amen.
-----------
[1] The presbyter Hesychios was a teacher in Jerusalem during the first half of the 5th century AD. He was distinguished for his exegesis of the Bible and for his Sermons. The original text of the present Homily was published by Michel Aubineau in Subsidia Hagiographica 59 (1978) σσ. 112-116.
[2] (Matth. 27:63)
[3] (Matth. 27:62-66)
[4] (Matth. 28:2)
[5] (John 20:13)
[6] (Matth.28:5-6, Μark 16:6-7, Luke 24:5-7)
[7] (Matth.27:57-60, Μark 15:42-46, Luke 23:50-53, John 19:38-42)
[8] (John 1:14)
[9] (Εph. 4:9-10)
[10] (Matth.28:3, Mark 16:5, John 20:12, Luke24:4)
[11] (Matth.28:5-6, Mark 16:6)
[12] (Matth.28:6, Mark 16:6)
[13] (Luke 23:56, 24:1 Μark 16:1)
[14] (Matth.28:6, Μark 16:6)
[15] (Matth.28:2, Μark 16:3-4, Luke 24:2)
[16] (Matth.28:6)
[17] (Hosea 6:1-2)
[18] (Isaiah 33:9-11)
[19] (I Cor. 15:20)
[20] (Phil. 2:6)
Source: Translated by Protoresbyter George Dion Dragas. PhD. DD
By St. Hesychios of Jerusalem [1]
1. Τhe call of the royal trumpet. It is a sacred and royal trumpet that calls us again to this spiritual theater, the Paschal celebration in the Church. This trumpet was filled with sounds in Bethlehem, because it was there that God was born as man. Bethlehem was the beginning. But this trumpet was fired, reached its full blast in Zion, Jerusalem. Because it was in Jerusalem that the Cross was raised and the Resurrection took place. The Cross was the hummer and the Resurrection the anvil. It is impossible to everyone to speak worthily of its beauty, to describe its wondrous splendor, to recount the divine kingdom which emerges from it, to touch it and to explore it.
2. Its message: the dead God who cancels death. This paschal trumpet invites us to revisit the grave which gives birth to life, the sepulcher of corruption which becomes the bearer of incorruption, the three-day rest[2] which puts the Bridegroom to sleep, and the bridal chamber from which the bride emerges uncorrupted after the marriage. It tells us that the grave guards one who is dead,[3] but the earth is shaken by Him who is God.[4] The body says that He is dead, but the miracle cries out that He is God. The burial testifies that He is dead, but the resurrection demonstrates that He is God. The tears of the women confess Him to be dead,[5] but the words of the angels confess Him to be God.[6] Joseph prepares His internment as dead,[7] but He who is interred as man is God who denudes and abolishes death. The soldiers guard Him as dead, but the guards of the gates of Hades encounter Him and shrivel with fear.
3. The main theme: the mystery of the Godman. Who then is this dead God, is He two or one? No He is not two, but one, man and God, God and man. You cannot speak of Him as this one and that one, i.e. as one person and another person, nor as another thing in another person, nor another thing through another person. This One is “God the Word who became incarnate,”[8] became man, and conjoined by His will in a manner ineffable and these (human) things with those (divine) things. To Him belong both the flesh and the Godhead – the flesh which He offered in order to accomplish the sufferings, and the Godhead which He used in order to achieve the signs and miracles. As it is illegitimate to sever the flesh from the Word, so it is necessary to conjoin the sufferings with the miracles. Because, He who “descended into Hades”[9] is also the one who freed the dead as God. How else would the angels minister at the grave? How else would they appear to the women “dressed in white”[10] as representatives of the bridegroom? How else would they say, “Do you seek Jesus who was crucified? He is not here. He is risen as He had fore-announced it?”[11] Heaven, then, is His “place,”[12] and there you should send the “ointments.”[13] “He is Risen” by Himself.[14] We did not raise Him. We only “rolled” the stone for your sake.[15] The grace was empty before we came down to it. He is risen as He himself had fore-announced it.[16]
4. The Witness of the Prophets. The angel also said that neither the prophets could explain the mystery although they fore-announced it. Hosea spoke about the time of the Resurrection. Isaiah fore-saw it, but did not know how it would be accomplished. The prophesy of Hosea is as follows: “Come and let us return to the Lord our God, because He has captured us and will heal us, He will wound us and will attend to our wounds within two days. On the third day we shall rise again and will live in His presence.”[17] Listen also to the words of Isaiah: “Lebanon was made low and Sharon was changed into swamps. Galilee and Carmel will be exalted. Because now I will rise again, says the Lord; now I will be glorified; now I will be exalted. Now you will see, and will be brought to shame.”[18] To the Jews were these words addressed. “Now I will rise again,” because now I will raise Adam, who was thrown into death by the transgression. “Now I will be glorified,” because I will demonstrate to the nations the impassibility of My passion. “Now I will be exalted,” because now I will raise to heaven your “firstfruits,”[19] and will raise “the form of the servant”[20] which I took from you to heaven and place it on the Cherubic throne. “Now you will see,” the types to be removed and the truth to blossom (open like a bud). “Now you will be brought to shame,” because of the words which you used in order to slander Me; because you were defeated from the events; because the glory belongs to God, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and into the ages of the ages, Amen.
-----------
[1] The presbyter Hesychios was a teacher in Jerusalem during the first half of the 5th century AD. He was distinguished for his exegesis of the Bible and for his Sermons. The original text of the present Homily was published by Michel Aubineau in Subsidia Hagiographica 59 (1978) σσ. 112-116.
[2] (Matth. 27:63)
[3] (Matth. 27:62-66)
[4] (Matth. 28:2)
[5] (John 20:13)
[6] (Matth.28:5-6, Μark 16:6-7, Luke 24:5-7)
[7] (Matth.27:57-60, Μark 15:42-46, Luke 23:50-53, John 19:38-42)
[8] (John 1:14)
[9] (Εph. 4:9-10)
[10] (Matth.28:3, Mark 16:5, John 20:12, Luke24:4)
[11] (Matth.28:5-6, Mark 16:6)
[12] (Matth.28:6, Mark 16:6)
[13] (Luke 23:56, 24:1 Μark 16:1)
[14] (Matth.28:6, Μark 16:6)
[15] (Matth.28:2, Μark 16:3-4, Luke 24:2)
[16] (Matth.28:6)
[17] (Hosea 6:1-2)
[18] (Isaiah 33:9-11)
[19] (I Cor. 15:20)
[20] (Phil. 2:6)
Source: Translated by Protoresbyter George Dion Dragas. PhD. DD
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sailingaway
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I love reading your posts, TER!
Happy Easter, all!
Happy Easter, all!
heavenlyboy34
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One of the few things I agree with you about.
heavenlyboy34
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+1 С пасхой, всем!
robert9712000
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HE IS RISEN INDEED!
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Lucille
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Truly, He is Risen!
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2013/03/christ-is-risen.html
"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”"
- John 20:19-29
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2013/03/christ-is-risen.html
"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”"
- John 20:19-29
abacabb
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Thanks for the correction. I do the greeting once a year, I'm rusty.
TER
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The following story was told by the cardiologist of Elder Porphyrios, Dr. George Papazahos, when he visited the Elder in his cell one Bright Tuesday following Pascha:
I went to see him as a doctor. After the cardiological examination and the usual cardiogram, he asked that I not leave.
I sat on the stool near his bed. His face was shining with joy. He asked me:
"Do you know the hymn which says, 'Let us celebrate the death of death...?'"
"Yes Elder, I know it."
"Say it."
I began to say it quickly. "Let us celebrate the death of death, the destruction of hades, the beginning of eternal life. And leaping for joy, we celebrate the Cause, the only blessed and most glorious God of our fathers."
"Did you understand it?"
"Of course I understood." I thought he was asking me about its interpretation.
He made a sudden movement with his hand and told me:
"You understood nothing, George my man! You said it like a hurried chanter. Listen to what fearful things this hymn says: Christ by His Resurrection did not cross us over a lake, over a crack in the earth, over a canal, over a river like the Red Sea. He brought us over an abyss, of which it was impossible for man to cross alone. For centuries we awaited this Pascha, for this passage. Christ brought us from death to life. This is why today we 'celebrate the death of death, the destruction of hades'. Death is lost. Do you understand? Today we celebrate 'the beginning of eternal life', a life near Him."
He spoke with enthusiasm and conviction. He was moved. He paused for a moment then continued more loudly:
"Now chaos, death, and hades do not exist. Now there is all joy, thanks to the Resurrection of our Christ. Together with Him human nature was resurrected. Now we can be resurrected and live eternally near Him. What happiness is in the Resurrection! 'And leaping for joy, we celebrate the Cause.' Have you ever seen the little goats now in the Spring who jump on the grass? They eat a little from their mother and begin to jump again? This is what it means to leap - to jump. This is how we should also jump for unspeakable joy at the Resurrection of our Lord and our own."
He stopped speaking again. I breathed in a joyous atmosphere. He continued:
"Can I give you some advice? In your every sorrow, in your every failure, concentrate for a moment within yourself and say this hymn slowly-slowly. You will see that the greatest thing in your life - and in the life of the whole world - happened. The Resurrection of Christ, our salvation. And you will realize that everything that is upside down which is occurring will seem to you very small to spoil your mood."
He squeezed my hand saying:
"I pray that you leap for joy, looking at the chaos behind you from which the Risen Christ crossed you over, 'the only blessed of our fathers'. Chant now 'Christ is Risen!'"
I went to see him as a doctor. After the cardiological examination and the usual cardiogram, he asked that I not leave.
I sat on the stool near his bed. His face was shining with joy. He asked me:
"Do you know the hymn which says, 'Let us celebrate the death of death...?'"
"Yes Elder, I know it."
"Say it."
I began to say it quickly. "Let us celebrate the death of death, the destruction of hades, the beginning of eternal life. And leaping for joy, we celebrate the Cause, the only blessed and most glorious God of our fathers."
"Did you understand it?"
"Of course I understood." I thought he was asking me about its interpretation.
He made a sudden movement with his hand and told me:
"You understood nothing, George my man! You said it like a hurried chanter. Listen to what fearful things this hymn says: Christ by His Resurrection did not cross us over a lake, over a crack in the earth, over a canal, over a river like the Red Sea. He brought us over an abyss, of which it was impossible for man to cross alone. For centuries we awaited this Pascha, for this passage. Christ brought us from death to life. This is why today we 'celebrate the death of death, the destruction of hades'. Death is lost. Do you understand? Today we celebrate 'the beginning of eternal life', a life near Him."
He spoke with enthusiasm and conviction. He was moved. He paused for a moment then continued more loudly:
"Now chaos, death, and hades do not exist. Now there is all joy, thanks to the Resurrection of our Christ. Together with Him human nature was resurrected. Now we can be resurrected and live eternally near Him. What happiness is in the Resurrection! 'And leaping for joy, we celebrate the Cause.' Have you ever seen the little goats now in the Spring who jump on the grass? They eat a little from their mother and begin to jump again? This is what it means to leap - to jump. This is how we should also jump for unspeakable joy at the Resurrection of our Lord and our own."
He stopped speaking again. I breathed in a joyous atmosphere. He continued:
"Can I give you some advice? In your every sorrow, in your every failure, concentrate for a moment within yourself and say this hymn slowly-slowly. You will see that the greatest thing in your life - and in the life of the whole world - happened. The Resurrection of Christ, our salvation. And you will realize that everything that is upside down which is occurring will seem to you very small to spoil your mood."
He squeezed my hand saying:
"I pray that you leap for joy, looking at the chaos behind you from which the Risen Christ crossed you over, 'the only blessed of our fathers'. Chant now 'Christ is Risen!'"
Oh lawdy...
TER
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The Firstborn From The Dead
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
The Resurrection of Christ, the premier event in the mystery of the divine economy, gives us each year the opportunity to delve into this event and little by little to engage the mystery of the Resurrection with our own resurrection. Besides, this is the purpose for the establishment of the annual festive cycle of Pascha.
In the joy of the Resurrection of Christ we should be reminded that Christ in Holy Scripture and devotional texts is characterized as "firstborn". Besides, in one of the Resurrectional hymns we chant: "He became the firstborn of the dead" (πρωτότοκος των νεκρών εγένετο).
The word "firstborn" (πρωτότοκος) refers to the first child of a family. This name is assigned to Christ in many ways. The Apostle Paul writes that the Son and Word of God is "the firstborn of all creation" (Col. 1:15), "the firstborn of many brethren" (Rom. 5:29) and "the firstborn from the dead" (Col. 1:18).
Saint John of Damascus, analyzing these Scriptural phrases, says that the Son and Word of God is called "the firstborn of all creation" as the Only-begotten who was born from God the Father before all ages, though creation was created in time. This is why Christ is called firstborn and not first-created. He is also characterized as "firstborn of many brethren" because in His Incarnation He received flesh similar to ours, when He was born the firstborn from His mother, and we are brethren except that He is by nature the Son of God, while we are sons of God by Grace. This is why He told His disciples: "I ascend unto My Father and your Father" (Jn. 20:17).
Within this perspective, Christ is the firstborn from the dead, because He raised Himself up first as God, and then gave this gift to us. The Apostle Paul confesses: "And He is the Head of the Body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence" (Col. 1:18). Christ is the Head of the Church and has preeminence above everyone. As Christ is the firstborn of all creation, because He was born before all ages, so also He is firstborn from the dead before others. And before Him some rose from the dead by His power, but they died again. But He, with the power of His Divinity, raised His Body and remains throughout the ages alive. He was the first who emerged from Hades and arose. Saint John Chrysostom writes that He who is above all others in heaven merged Himself with those upon the earth, and in this way "He is always first; the first above, the first in the Church... first in the resurrection."
From this teaching we derive many spiritual meanings that would be good for us to recognize.
The first is that Christ is the first in the Church. The Risen Christ is Head of the Church and no one else. The Bishops are Heads of the Church in type and place and cannot exceed Christ. Nobody can exceed Christ who is the Head of the Church. Everyone must obey His commands and Christ acts through the Church, which is His Body. Christ and the Church are closely linked.
The second is that the Resurrection of Christ heralds our own resurrection at the appointed time, when Christ will come to judge the living and the dead. In as much as our big brother arose, this means he will raise us also. The image of the swimmer is very characteristic. First the swimmer's head emerges from the water, then his body comes out. Thus, Christ first arose, and then will follow the members of His Body, all His brethren, who even now partake of this life. For all those who live as members of the Body of Christ can live the resurrection, even if they are found to be in the salty sea of this life, since their head, Christ, is found outside of this sea and in this way they breath spiritual oxygen. This is why the sacred Chrysostom writes in his Catechetical Homily: "For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." Thus, Christ is the firstborn of the dead, that is, the beginning of the departed.
The third spiritual meaning is that the phrase "firstborn from the dead", which is associated with the phrase "God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death" (Acts 2:24), states that the resurrection of the dead is a birth (τόκος). According to Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, man is given three births: birth according to the flesh from his parents, spiritual birth from Holy Baptism, and eschatological birth from his resurrection which will happen at the Second Coming of Christ. Christ also is called firstborn according to these three births: after His birth from the Virgin He was presented in the Temple, after Baptism He presented to God His perfect love by His victory over the temptations of the devil, and by His resurrection He ascended into heaven and was presented to God the Father as the beginning of those to be resurrected and ascended. This is why the day of the death of the saints is called a birthday, and this is how it is celebrated; they are born in the Kingdom of God.
The Risen Christ we celebrate these days is the firstborn from the dead, our firstborn and greatest brother who arose, triumphing over death, sin and the devil. And we His brethren, by His power can be raised and conquer death, the sin and the devil. This is our greatest solace, our only hope. By the birth from our parents we are humans. With our Baptism we became Christians. With our resurrection, first the spiritual one from sin and then the bodily one at the appointed time, we will live eternally with Christ who is risen from the dead. Our goal is to live forever as brethren in Christ, when He, our first brother, will help us participate in His victory, and gain hope, light and life.
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
The Resurrection of Christ, the premier event in the mystery of the divine economy, gives us each year the opportunity to delve into this event and little by little to engage the mystery of the Resurrection with our own resurrection. Besides, this is the purpose for the establishment of the annual festive cycle of Pascha.
In the joy of the Resurrection of Christ we should be reminded that Christ in Holy Scripture and devotional texts is characterized as "firstborn". Besides, in one of the Resurrectional hymns we chant: "He became the firstborn of the dead" (πρωτότοκος των νεκρών εγένετο).
The word "firstborn" (πρωτότοκος) refers to the first child of a family. This name is assigned to Christ in many ways. The Apostle Paul writes that the Son and Word of God is "the firstborn of all creation" (Col. 1:15), "the firstborn of many brethren" (Rom. 5:29) and "the firstborn from the dead" (Col. 1:18).
Saint John of Damascus, analyzing these Scriptural phrases, says that the Son and Word of God is called "the firstborn of all creation" as the Only-begotten who was born from God the Father before all ages, though creation was created in time. This is why Christ is called firstborn and not first-created. He is also characterized as "firstborn of many brethren" because in His Incarnation He received flesh similar to ours, when He was born the firstborn from His mother, and we are brethren except that He is by nature the Son of God, while we are sons of God by Grace. This is why He told His disciples: "I ascend unto My Father and your Father" (Jn. 20:17).
Within this perspective, Christ is the firstborn from the dead, because He raised Himself up first as God, and then gave this gift to us. The Apostle Paul confesses: "And He is the Head of the Body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence" (Col. 1:18). Christ is the Head of the Church and has preeminence above everyone. As Christ is the firstborn of all creation, because He was born before all ages, so also He is firstborn from the dead before others. And before Him some rose from the dead by His power, but they died again. But He, with the power of His Divinity, raised His Body and remains throughout the ages alive. He was the first who emerged from Hades and arose. Saint John Chrysostom writes that He who is above all others in heaven merged Himself with those upon the earth, and in this way "He is always first; the first above, the first in the Church... first in the resurrection."
From this teaching we derive many spiritual meanings that would be good for us to recognize.
The first is that Christ is the first in the Church. The Risen Christ is Head of the Church and no one else. The Bishops are Heads of the Church in type and place and cannot exceed Christ. Nobody can exceed Christ who is the Head of the Church. Everyone must obey His commands and Christ acts through the Church, which is His Body. Christ and the Church are closely linked.
The second is that the Resurrection of Christ heralds our own resurrection at the appointed time, when Christ will come to judge the living and the dead. In as much as our big brother arose, this means he will raise us also. The image of the swimmer is very characteristic. First the swimmer's head emerges from the water, then his body comes out. Thus, Christ first arose, and then will follow the members of His Body, all His brethren, who even now partake of this life. For all those who live as members of the Body of Christ can live the resurrection, even if they are found to be in the salty sea of this life, since their head, Christ, is found outside of this sea and in this way they breath spiritual oxygen. This is why the sacred Chrysostom writes in his Catechetical Homily: "For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." Thus, Christ is the firstborn of the dead, that is, the beginning of the departed.
The third spiritual meaning is that the phrase "firstborn from the dead", which is associated with the phrase "God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death" (Acts 2:24), states that the resurrection of the dead is a birth (τόκος). According to Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, man is given three births: birth according to the flesh from his parents, spiritual birth from Holy Baptism, and eschatological birth from his resurrection which will happen at the Second Coming of Christ. Christ also is called firstborn according to these three births: after His birth from the Virgin He was presented in the Temple, after Baptism He presented to God His perfect love by His victory over the temptations of the devil, and by His resurrection He ascended into heaven and was presented to God the Father as the beginning of those to be resurrected and ascended. This is why the day of the death of the saints is called a birthday, and this is how it is celebrated; they are born in the Kingdom of God.
The Risen Christ we celebrate these days is the firstborn from the dead, our firstborn and greatest brother who arose, triumphing over death, sin and the devil. And we His brethren, by His power can be raised and conquer death, the sin and the devil. This is our greatest solace, our only hope. By the birth from our parents we are humans. With our Baptism we became Christians. With our resurrection, first the spiritual one from sin and then the bodily one at the appointed time, we will live eternally with Christ who is risen from the dead. Our goal is to live forever as brethren in Christ, when He, our first brother, will help us participate in His victory, and gain hope, light and life.
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