And when they looked, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, and it was very large. And when they entered into the Sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right, clothed in a white robe; And they were horrified. And the angel began to speak, and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth crucified." He is risen; He is not here. Come here, see, this is the place where He was laid. Go quickly, and tell His disciples and Peter that He has risen from the dead, and is going before you in Galilee. There you will see Him, as He told you. And hastening out of the Sepulchre with fear and great joy, they ran to tell His disciples (M. 16:1-8, Matt. 28:5-8), and Mary of James, seized with trembling and terror, went separately straight to Peter.

And as they went, behold, Jesus met them, and said, Rejoice! And they came and took hold of Her feet and worshipped Him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid!" Go and tell My brethren to go into Galilee, and there they will see Me (Matthew 28:9-10).

Meanwhile, the Galilean women, returning to the city of the Sepulchre, announced to the eleven and all the rest all that had happened to them, that is, the appearance of the angels and their announcement of the resurrection. They were joined by Mary Magdalene and Mary of James, so that they all spoke together to the Apostles. But Peter got up and ran to the Sepulchre, and stooped down and saw only the swaddling clothes lying there, and departed, marveling within himself at what had happened (Luke 24:9-12).

But Mary Magdalene and Mary of James, confirming before all those assembled, in the midst of general distrust, the testimony of the Galilean women, could not in any way dare to add to it what they alone had seen and heard. They said nothing to anyone, neither about the command to Peter and the other disciples to go to Galilee, nor about the appearance of the Lord Himself. They were afraid to speak about it openly in front of everyone and waited until there were only eleven (Mark 16:8).

And so, when this moment came, Mary Magdalene announced to them, "who were with Him," weeping and weeping, that she had seen the Lord, and relayed the words that He had spoken to her. But when they heard that He was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe (Mark 16:9-11).

Such was Sunday night. Thus the various movements of the myrrh-bearing women took place; in this way they received different and separate impressions, and in this way the material was created for their stories, unlike one another, transmitted by the Evangelists.

VIII

Perhaps someone will think that it is difficult to imagine how the wives did not meet each other on the road, moving here and there? Is it natural to think that in the course of a few hours, at short distances, when participating in one and the same event, four different groups of witnesses were formed, each with its own special path, with its own special impressions and descriptions?

It was in the evening that the ceremony of squeezing the first sheaf was to take place, and in the early morning the solemn sacrifice of it; Of course, a crowd of millions moved in the pre-dawn twilight along all the roads towards the temple, and it was incomparably more difficult for individuals who passed through this crowd to meet than not to meet.

Then it is necessary to take into account the state of mind of the myrrh-bearing women when they went to the Sepulchre, or fled from Him. They, of course, were full of one thought, one aspiration – either to reach the Sepulchre and anoint the Body of the Lord, or to come and announce to the Apostles what they had seen and heard. Not expecting to meet, completely confused in their plans by what had happened unexpectedly, they could least of all look out for each other in the innumerable crowds, in the semi-darkness of the night and the pre-dawn haze; they did not walk, but ran and ran, completely absorbed in the mighty current of sensations that had nothing to do with the surrounding crowd.

Finally, what were the movements and paths where the myrrh-bearing women could not fail to meet? Was it when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the Sepulchre, or when the former went back to her friends? But then there was no one else for them to meet: it was the first exit that preceded all of them. The same is true of the purchase of fragrances: it was made by the wives of one group with the complete impossibility of meeting the other. Then Mary Magdalene goes to the Sepulchre for the second time and about the same time as the Galilean women. But we have already said that, according to our supposition, it is probable that she either overtook them, or at any rate knew that they were immediately following her; This means that here their movements somewhat coincide. But then, it will be said, Mary Magdalene immediately flees from the Sepulchre to Peter and John, that is, just to meet the Galilean women. This is the first time they could have met, but apparently they didn't. Not to mention all the considerations mentioned above, was Mary Magdalene at the moment so early as to seek meetings with the Galilean women? She did not even take a good look at the Sepulchre: she only noticed that the stone had been rolled away from it, and this struck her so much; she immediately runs, full of one thought that the Body of the Lord has been taken somewhere, and it is not known where it has been laid... And why did she seek to meet their wives as they walked? To convey what he saw? But they will see the same thing for themselves. Wouldn't it be better for her to run to the Apostles as soon as possible so that they could somehow help the matter? Perhaps she ran along the shortest paths in order to gain time, and the Galilean wives, of course, had no need to choose the shortest and most remote streets, and they could take the more convenient and better way. Thus, even here the meeting was unlikely. After fleeing from the Tomb of Mary Magdalene, the Galilean women come to Him and go back to their homes. But they had no one to meet at that time. They were going to the dwelling where Peter was staying, and Mary Magdalene, having captured Peter, was going at that time to John and from there with both of them to the Sepulchre; Obviously, their paths did not cross each other. It remains to consider the path of Peter and John with Mary Magdalene to the Sepulchre and back, and the same Mary of James and Salome. They all came from the same place and headed for the same goal. Therefore, there was some possibility that they would meet somewhere along the way. But we have already seen that it is very difficult to assume this, in view of the crowd of millions pouring from all sides, and if the meeting did not take place, then this is quite understandable and natural. In addition, Mary of James and Salome, having left before Mary Magdalene ran from the Sepulchre, and bearing in mind that the anointing of the Lord could only be at dawn, of course, did not choose those alleys and paths that most likely led to the Sepulchre, and along which Peter and John and Mary Magdalene fled. It was very natural that it was very difficult for them to meet. And when Mary Magdalene, having been vouchsafed the appearance of the Lord, went back, she went along the same path along which the Galilean women walked, since we see her among them before the Apostles. This means that her return path did not intersect with the path of Mary of James and Salome when they walked to the Sepulchre from John's dwelling. Nothing to point to the reverse movement of the other Mary, Salome and Mary of James, from the Sepulchre. They could not meet with any of their own, because at that time no one was going to the Sepulchre. Thus, of all the movements of the myrrh-bearing women, only in two cases can we assume the possibility of a meeting, and even then the possibility is very unlikely.

* * *

For the sake of completeness of the impression, it is impossible not to conclude the divinely inspired truthful Gospel pictures of Sunday night, where among those who love the Lord and are close to Him, the news of His resurrection meets either amazement at the surprise in some, or complete doubt and unbelief in others, with the last gloomy picture of conscious and dishonorable malice towards Him among His enemies. When the women, rejoicing at the appearance of the risen Lord, were going to their homes, "some of the guards, having entered the city, announced to the chief priests all that had happened. And these, having gathered together with the elders, and having taken counsel, gave sufficient money to the soldiers, and said, Tell them that his disciples came by night and stole him while we slept. And if the news of this reaches the governor, we will convince him, and we will save you from trouble. And they took the money, and did as they had been taught; and this word has swept among the Jews to this day" (Matt. 28:11-15).

Against such a dark, but always and everywhere common, background of human stagnation and lack of faith among those who love the Lord, and malicious energy among those who hate Him, the luminous image of our resurrected Saviour, which descended for us directly from heaven, in spite of all that is human, in spite of all and everything, should shine brighter, more lightning-fast, more grace-filled.