Out of an abundance of unearthly joy I greet you, scorching you with the power of the Divine words: "Christ is risen!" And the Church of God, filled with the light of this fire, grants it to us: "Christ is risen!" Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, my friends!

Of course, you have noticed for yourself that among our many great and joyous Christian feasts, the feast of the Radiant Resurrection of Christ stands out with a special solemnity, a special joy – the feast of feasts and the triumph of celebrations! There is no service in our Orthodox Church more majestic, more heartfelt than Paschal Matins. And that is why all believers strive so long for the temple of God on Paschal night.

The Paschal service is truly like the most magnificent feast that the Lord has prepared for all who come under the grace-filled shadow of His House. Think about the content of the "Catechetical Discourse" of St. John Chrysostom! With fatherly affection and cordiality, the Lord receives those who love Him with all their being. "Blessed is he who has eaten from the first hour," these are those who from their youth have followed in His Divine footsteps.

But he does not reject those who, having overcome doubts in their souls, have approached God only in adulthood and even old age. "Let them not be afraid of their delay, for the Lord receives the latter with love, as well as the first, and accepts deeds and kisses intentions." Undoubtedly, all of you who were in church on Paschal night experienced extraordinary delight...

Our souls rejoiced, filled with a feeling of gratitude to our Lord the Savior for the eternal life He had granted to all of us. After all, the Resurrected Christ raised the human race from earth to Heaven, gave the existence of man a sublime and noble meaning. The human soul longs for eternal happy life. He is looking for her... And that is why people are so eager to go to the temple of God for the bright matins.

And not only believers, but also those who are far from the Christian religion in their consciousness. They come here not just to look at the solemnity of the Christian service. Their soul, given by God to each person at his birth, reaches out to the light of the never-setting Sun of Truth, strives for the truth. And believers on this holy night feel with special power the abundant radiant joy of the Resurrection of Christ. And no wonder.

The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith, it is an indestructible support in our earthly life. By His Resurrection, Christ made it possible for people to comprehend the truth of His Divinity, the truth of His lofty teaching, and the salvific nature of His death. The resurrection of Christ is the completion of His life's feat. There could be no other end, for this is a direct consequence of the moral meaning of Christ's life.

If Christ had not risen, says the Apostle Paul, then our preaching would have been in vain, and our faith would have been in vain. But Christ rose and resurrected all mankind with Him! The Savior brought complete joy to people on earth. And so on Paschal night we hear the hymn in church and ourselves take part in this singing: "Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Saviour, the angels sing in heaven, and vouchsafe us on earth to glorify Thee with a pure heart."

He asked His Heavenly Father to grant people this great joy in prayer before the sufferings of the Cross: "Sanctify them with Thy truth... that they may have in them My perfect joy" (John 17:17, 13). And so, with the Resurrection of Christ, a new world of holiness, the truth of beatitude, was revealed to man. During His earthly life, the Savior repeatedly pronounced the words precious to the believing soul: "... I live, and ye shall live" (John 14:19), "My peace I give unto you" (John 14:27)

"These things have I said unto you, that my joy may abide in you, and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:11). A new life has opened up for man. He is given the opportunity to die to sin in order to be resurrected with Christ and live with Him. The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans says: "If we are united to Him in the likeness of His death, we must also be united in the likeness of the resurrection...

If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall live with Him." "Pascha, which opens the doors of paradise to us," we sing in the Paschal canon. There is no joy, my dear, brighter than our Paschal joy. For we rejoice that in the Resurrection our eternal life has been revealed. Our Paschal joy is the joy of transfiguration (change)

of our entire life into an incorruptible life, in our striving for undying goodness, for imperishable beauty. We now celebrate the performance of the greatest sacrament – the Resurrection of Christ, the victory of the Giver of Life over death! Our Savior triumphed over evil and darkness, and that is why the Paschal service of our Orthodox Church is so jubilant and joyful. The faithful awaited this solemn service, preparing themselves for it during the long weeks of the Holy Forty Days.

And it is natural that now their hearts are filled with inexplicable joy. The deepest meaning of Christ's Resurrection is in eternal life, which He gave to all His followers. For nearly 2,000 years, His followers have unwaveringly believed not only that Christ had risen, but also in their future resurrection for eternal life. During His earthly life, Christ the Savior spoke many times about Himself as the bearer of life and resurrection.