Day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Where was Jesus Christ resurrected? Prophecies about the Resurrection of Christ

Usually the Romans threw the bodies of those crucified into a common pit - or worse, left them on the Cross until the bodies were pecked at by birds and animals took them away. But one of the members of the Jewish Supreme Council - the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and a disciple of Jesus, came to the Roman governor - Pontius Pilate, and asked him for permission to take the body of Jesus. On Joseph’s part, this was a manifestation of great loyalty - to express interest in the Preacher, who was executed on charges of rebellion, meant putting himself at risk. In addition, pious Jews avoided entering the house of pagan Romans. Joseph, however, went to great lengths to ensure Jesus received a proper burial. At that time, people were buried in rock-cut tombs. Joseph owned a tomb in which no one had yet been buried. He decided to sacrifice it to Jesus - and placed His body there, closing the entrance to the tomb, as was usually done, with a huge stone. The next day, the high priests and Pharisees gathered and asked Pilate to place a guard at the tomb so that the disciples would not steal the body and declare Jesus resurrected.

As the Gospel says, “After the Sabbath had passed, at dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord, who came down from heaven, came and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it; his appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow; Frightened by him, those guarding them trembled and became as if they were dead; The angel, turning his speech to the women, said: Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified; He is not here - He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly, tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there. Behold, I have told you” (Matthew 28:1-7).

The place where the Lord was buried - and resurrected - has been a subject of veneration from the very beginning of the Christian Church. After Christianity became the state religion, the Holy Sepulcher was visited by the pious Queen Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, who ordered the construction of a temple on this site in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. The temple was solemnly consecrated in the presence of Emperor Constantine on September 13, 335.

Centuries have passed since then; power in Jerusalem changed hands, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt, but the flow of pilgrims from all over the world wanting to honor the site of the Resurrection of Christ did not dry up even for a day. As Isaiah prophesied about this centuries before Christ, “And many nations will go and say: Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths; For out of Zion will come the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).

Why was Jesus Christ resurrected?

The Gospel emphasizes that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a victory over sin and death on a universal scale, a victory that concerns every person.

There were other cases of return before this dead people to life: the Lord raised, for example, the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11) and in the most amazing and miraculous way - Lazarus (John 11). But this was a return of people to ordinary life, which still ends in death. Saint Lazarus, as Church Tradition tells us, became a bishop in Cyprus and died thirty years after his resurrection. But “Christ, having risen from the dead, dies no more: death no longer has power over Him” (Rom. 6:9). It is this qualitatively different, eternal and blessed life that Christ will share with those who trust Him and follow Him: He will once again (and forever) resurrect both Lazarus and all pious Christians.

The resurrection, which the Lord repeatedly predicts even before His suffering, is also the seal of God's approval on everything that Jesus said and did.

Eyewitnesses of His ministry convey to us His words, they are preserved in the Gospels. As even His opponents admitted, “never man spoke like this Man.”

Jesus said that He was with the Father before the world was. That it is He, Jesus, who will judge all nations on the last day. That our eternal life is determined by whether we turn to Him in repentance and faith. And He said that the purpose of His coming was to suffer and die for the sins of people. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

After forty days, He ascended to the Father, giving the disciples the commission to preach the Good News of His resurrection: “And He said to them: Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15,16)

Through faith and Baptism, people enter into a mysterious union with Christ, abide “in Christ,” as Scripture says, so that He takes upon themselves their sins and imparts to them His eternal life. This union is carried out in the Church - a community where the Risen One invisibly, but effectively and savingly, dwells among His faithful.

Having completed their earthly journey, they move to Him and remain in the inexpressible light and joy of His presence. The day will come when the Lord will return in glory to bring judgment on the world, forever and finally crushing the forces of evil. Then the dead will be resurrected and enter into the blissful life of a saved and transformed universe.

And we already see the dawn of this day in the Resurrection of Christ.

In what year did Jesus Christ resurrect?

The Gospels report that Christ began his ministry when he was approximately 30 years old, and it lasted three years, therefore the Crucifixion and Resurrection occurred in 33 AD - after all, we count the years of “AD” from the Nativity of Christ. True, it is possible that in the Middle Ages a mistake was made in determining the exact date of Christmas, and in fact the Lord was born between 12 and 7 BC, which, accordingly, changes the exact date of the Resurrection, but this is not so important; The historical context of this event is important to us.

In the 1st century, the whole world was pagan, people worshiped many deities. These gods were neither omnipotent, nor omniscient, nor all-good. It couldn’t even be said that they loved people, they could have had favorites, just as rulers have favorites, but love for people in general... No, that didn’t happen. The gods could have a rather quarrelsome and dissolute character and often conflicted with each other.

But in Jerusalem they believed completely differently. The ancient Jews differed from their pagan neighbors - they were, as we now say, monotheists. They believed that there was only one true God, the Creator of everything that exists. God, who is the unconditional Master of human history and directs it to the goals that He has determined. This God entered into a Covenant with His people, that is, he entered into close, family relationships with the people whom He chose and brought closer.

The Old Testament - the part of the Bible that tells of events before the birth of Jesus Christ - recounts the long, often painful history of God's people. People swore allegiance to God, but then cheated and fell into idolatry. The sin of the people led to horrific disasters - the pagans destroyed the city and drove the people into captivity. People repented and turned to God and were given the opportunity to return. All this time, God sent prophets to the people - people who denounced the worship of false gods, injustice and oppression, and called the people and nobility to repentance. But the prophets also conveyed another message - that God would send the people a Savior, the Messiah.

The word “Messiah”, Mashiach, or, in Greek, “Christ” means “anointed one”. In ancient times, when a person was appointed to some extremely important ministry, a prophet or a king, sacred oil, a special kind of oil, was poured on his head, as a sign that God was giving him the power and strength to fulfill the mission entrusted to him.

Over time, the word “anointed” came to mean a king and prophet in some absolute, final sense - one who will establish the Kingdom of peace and justice on earth and will forever defeat the forces of evil and sin.

When the Lord Jesus came out to preach, some responded to His words with sincere faith, realizing that this was the Christ predicted by the prophets, but many saw in Him a threat to their power, their authority, their usual way of life. Jesus' opponents slandered Him before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, presenting Him as a rebel against Roman authority.

Jesus was sentenced to the terrible death that the Romans subjected those who rebelled against them - to Crucifixion. The executed person was first beaten with whips with sewn lead spikes, which cut the body to the bones, then they were nailed by the hands and feet to the cross so that his death would be as painful and terrifying as possible.

On the screensaver: photo fragment Convergence Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, author - Tsafrir Abayov

RESURRECTION OF THE LORD. History of the holiday.

RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

History of the holiday

After the Sabbath passed, at night, on the third day after His suffering and death, the Lord Jesus Christ came to life by the power of His Divinity, i.e. rose from the dead. His human body was transformed. He came out of the tomb without rolling away the stone, without breaking the Sanhedrin seal and invisible to the guards. From that moment on, the soldiers, without knowing it, guarded the empty coffin.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He approached, rolled away the stone from the door of the Holy Sepulcher and sat down on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The warriors standing guard at the coffin were in awe and became as if they were dead, and then, waking up from fear, they fled.

On this day (the first day of the week), as soon as the Sabbath rest ended, very early, at dawn, Mary Magdalene, Mary of James, Joanna, Salome and other women, taking the prepared fragrant ointment, went to the tomb of Jesus Christ to anoint His body, since they did not have time to do this during the burial. (The Church calls these women myrrh-bearers). They did not yet know that guards were assigned to the tomb of Christ and the entrance to the cave was sealed. Therefore, they did not expect to meet anyone there and said to each other: “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” The stone was very large.

Mary Magdalene, ahead of the other myrrh-bearing women, was the first to come to the tomb. It was not yet dawn, it was dark. Mary, seeing that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, immediately ran to Peter and John and said: “They have taken the Lord away from the tomb and we do not know where they laid Him.” Hearing such words, Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb. Mary Magdalene followed them.

At this time, the rest of the women walking with Mary Magdalene approached the tomb. They saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. And when they stopped, they suddenly saw a luminous angel sitting on a stone. The angel, turning to them, said: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He's not here; He has risen, as He said while still with you. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. And then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead.”

They went inside the tomb (cave) and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But when they looked, they saw an angel in white clothing sitting on the right side of the place where the Lord was laid; They were seized with horror.

The angel says to them: “Do not be alarmed; Seek Jesus the Nazarene crucified; He has risen; He's not here. This is the place where He was laid. But go tell His disciples and Peter (who by his denial fell from the number of disciples) that He will meet you in Galilee, there you will see Him, as He told you.”

When the women stood in bewilderment, suddenly two angels in shining clothes appeared before them again. The women bowed their faces to the ground in fear.

The angels said to them: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here: He has risen; Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

Then the women remembered the words of the Lord. Having come out, they ran from the tomb in trembling and fear. And then with fear and great joy they went to tell His disciples. On the way, they didn’t say anything to anyone, because they were afraid.

Having come to the disciples, the women told about everything they had seen and heard. But their words seemed empty to the disciples, and they did not believe them.

Meanwhile, Peter and John run to the Holy Sepulcher. John ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first, but did not enter the tomb, but bending down, he saw the linens lying there. Peter comes running after him, enters the tomb and sees only the shrouds lying and a cloth (bandage). Which was on the head of Jesus Christ, lying not with the swaddling clothes, but rolled up in another place apart from the swaddling clothes. Then John followed Peter, saw all this and believed in the Resurrection of Christ. Peter marveled at what had happened within himself. After this, Peter and John returned to their place.

When Peter and Joanna left, Mary Magdalene, who ran with them, remained at the tomb. She stood and cried at the entrance to the cave.

And when she cried, she bent down and looked into the cave (coffin), and saw two angels in white robes sitting, one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of the Savior lay.

The angels told her: “Wife! Why are you crying?

Mary Magdalene answered them: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Having said this, she looked back and saw Jesus Christ standing, but from great sadness, from tears and from her confidence that the dead do not rise, she did not recognize the Lord.

Jesus Christ says to her: “Woman! Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?

Mary Magdalene, thinking that this is the gardener of this garden, says to Him: “Sir! If you brought Him out, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him.”

Then Jesus Christ says to her: “Mary”!

A voice well known to her made her come to her senses from her sadness, and she saw that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was standing before her. She exclaimed: “Teacher”! - and with indescribable joy she threw herself at the feet of the Savior; and from joy she did not imagine the full greatness of the moment.

But Jesus Christ, pointing her to the great holy mystery of His resurrection, says to her: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; But go to My brothers (i.e., disciples) and say to them: I ascend to My Father and to your Father and to My God and your God.”

Then Mary Magdalene hurried to His disciples with the news that she had seen the Lord and what He had told her. This was the first appearance of Christ after the resurrection.

On the way, Mary Magdalene caught up with Mary of Jacob, who was also returning from the Holy Sepulcher. When they went to tell the disciples, suddenly Jesus Christ Himself met them and said to them: “Rejoice!”

They came up, grabbed His feet and worshiped Him.

Then Jesus Christ says to them: “Do not be afraid, go, tell my brothers so that they go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Then the risen Christ appeared a second time.

Mary Magdalene and Mary of James, going in to the eleven disciples and all the others who were crying and sobbing, announced great joy. But when they heard from them that Jesus Christ was alive and they had seen Him, they did not believe.

After this, Jesus Christ appeared separately to Peter and assured him of His resurrection. (Third phenomenon). Only then did many cease to doubt the reality of the resurrection of Christ, although there were still unbelievers among them.

But above all, as St. testifies from ancient times. Church, Jesus Christ rejoiced Holy Mother His own, who announced to Her through an angel about His resurrection.

Meanwhile, the soldiers who guarded the Holy Sepulcher and fled from fear came to Jerusalem. Some of them went to the high priests and they were told about everything that had happened at the tomb of Jesus Christ. The high priests, having gathered with the elders, held a meeting.

Due to their evil stubbornness, the enemies of Jesus Christ did not want to believe in His resurrection and decided to hide this event from the people. To do this, they bribed the soldiers. Having given a lot of money, they said: “Tell everyone that His disciples, while you were sleeping, stole Him at night, and if this reaches the governor (Pilate), then we will plead for you with him and save you from trouble.” The soldiers took the money and did as they were taught. This rumor spread among the Jews, so that many of them still believe it to this day.

The deception and lies of this rumor are visible to everyone. If the soldiers were asleep, they could not see, but if they saw, then they were not asleep and would have detained the kidnappers. The guard must watch and guard. It is impossible to imagine that the guard, consisting of several persons, could fall asleep. And if all the warriors fell asleep, they were subject to severe punishment. Why weren’t they punished, but left alone (and even rewarded)? And the frightened students, who locked themselves in their houses out of fear, could they have decided, without weapons against armed Roman soldiers, to undertake such a brave deed? And besides, why did they do this when they themselves lost faith in their Savior?

Besides, could they roll away a huge rock without waking anyone up? All this is impossible. On the contrary, the disciples themselves thought that someone had taken away the body of the Savior, but when they saw the empty tomb, they realized that this did not happen after the abduction. And, finally, why didn’t the Jewish leaders look for the body of Christ and punish the disciples? Thus, the enemies of Christ tried to overshadow the work of God with a coarse web of lies and deception, but they turned out to be powerless against the truth.

Chapter from the Law Seraphim of God Slobodsky.

Mary Magdalene and women at the tomb of Jesus Christ

Appearance of the Risen Jesus Christ to Mary Magdalene (first appearance)

Peter and John Run to the Tomb

This week, many were surprised by the news that a quarter of Britons who call themselves Christians do not believe in the resurrection of Christ (BBC data). For those of you planning to celebrate Easter this Sunday, these numbers may come as a shock...

For anyone reading this blog, I offer nine important things to know about the Resurrection.

1. Belief in the Resurrection is a core doctrine of the Christian faith.. If you do not believe in the Resurrection, you do not have a personal relationship with God in and through Jesus Christ.

“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9).

“And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is in vain: you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).

2. The Resurrection gives hope for eternal life to everyone who has died in Christ. The Bible teaches that since Jesus is now alive as a result of the resurrection, all who have a personal relationship with Him have the hope of eternal life with Him after death.

“But Christ has risen from the dead, the firstborn of those who have fallen asleep. For as death came through man, so also came the resurrection of the dead through man” (1 Cor. 20-22).

Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be” (John 14:2-3).

3. The disciples of Christ, who later became His apostles, at first did not understand the meaning of the resurrection. Jesus spoke to His disciples (His followers during His earthly ministry) about the resurrection, but they did not understand this truth until He was resurrected.

“When they came down from the mountain, He commanded that they should not tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. And they kept this word, asking each other what it meant to be raised from the dead” (Mark 9:9-10).

“Then some of His disciples said to one another, “What is it that He says to us: Soon you will not see Me, and again soon you will see Me, and: I am going to the Father?” (John 16:17).

4. Jewish Religious Leaders Feared the Possibility of the Resurrection. These religious leaders did not accept the teachings of Jesus because it threatened their power and undermined their religious system. They feared the risen Messiah and Savior.

“They went and set a guard at the tomb, and put a seal on the stone” (Matt. 27:62-66).

5. The resurrection of Christ became a source of great joy for the disciples and the foundation of their faith. When Jesus spoke to His disciples about His resurrection, He predicted that their grief over His death would then be replaced by a joy that no one could take away from them. The Apostle John recalled these words in his Gospel in order to call the reader to faith in Jesus.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will mourn and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, but your sorrow will turn into joy... So now you also have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:20-22).

6. The Resurrection of Christ was witnessed by eyewitnesses. Paul lists many who saw the risen Jesus.

“I remind you, brethren, of the gospel which I preached to you, which you received, in which you stood, and by which you are saved, if you keep what was taught, as I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I originally taught you what I myself accepted, that is, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve; then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, and some have died; then he appeared to Jacob, and also to all the Apostles; and last of all he appeared to me, as to a certain monster” (1 Cor. 15:1-8).

7. The Resurrection Demonstrated that Jesus is the Son of God. Paul saw the Resurrection as proof of the divinity and Sonship of Jesus (Rom. 1:3-4).

“...about His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and was revealed to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, through the resurrection from the dead, in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 1:3-4).

8. The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of our salvation. Jesus went to the cross because of our sins because a sacrifice was needed on which God's wrath would be poured out. And the resurrection of Christ became the basis of our justification and salvation.

“... it will also be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our sins and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:24-25.

9. The Resurrection of Christ gives us the power to live a life that glorifies God.. The power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead—as indicated by the fact of the Resurrection—is the same power that resides within us, giving hope for real change in our lives so that we can live a life that glorifies God.

“If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11).

“...and how exceedingly great is the greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens...” (Eph. 1:19-23; cf. Eph. 3 :20-21).

“...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).

Voice of Truth based on Pastor Kevin's blog

Resurrection [Greek] ἀνάστασις; lat. resurrectio] of Jesus Christ, the return of Jesus Christ to life after His death and burial caused by crucifixion. The great Christ installed in memory of this event bears the same name. holiday called the Bright Resurrection of Christ or Easter.

Events of Sunday night

The events of the night on which Jesus Christ was resurrected are described in the 4 Gospels (Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18). There is a brief mention of some of them in the 1st Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians (15. 4-5). Since the descriptions of the evangelists differ significantly, since ancient times attempts have been made to compile a general chronology of Easter events (Tatian, Hesychius); in Russian biblical studies the sequence of events of Easter night is given by the priest. T. Butkevich, A. Paharnaev, prot. M. Sobolev and others. But, in addition to the facts known from the Gospels, all chronologies are in the nature of assumptions. The facts to which the Gospels testify are as follows.

On Saturday late in the evening (ὀψὲ δὲ σαββάτων; in the Synodal translation: “after... Saturday” - Matthew 28.1), when the 1st day of the week began (τῇ ἐπιφωσκούδηι εἰς μίαν σα ββάτων; in the Synodal translation: “at the dawn of the first days of the week"; in the East, new days began in the evening), the Galilean women came to the tomb in which they laid Jesus Christ in order, according to Jewish custom, to anoint His body with embalming substances, which they did not have time to do on Friday, the evening of the week. the swarm was already considered the beginning of the Sabbath, that is, the “day of rest.” Some wives are mentioned by Ap. Matthew (28.1), others - St. Mark (16.1), “and Mary Magdalene was the companion of all, as His most zealous and zealous disciple” (Theoph. Bulg. In Matth. 28). They found that the stone had been rolled away (Mk 16:4; Lk 24:2; John 20:1) and the tomb was empty. After Saturday evening, the Lord Jesus Christ has already risen. “God raised Him up, breaking the bonds of death, because it was impossible for it to hold Him” (Acts 2:24). How the Resurrection took place is not reported in any Gospel - this is the Mystery of God's omnipotence, which cannot be described. Some interpreters believe that the Most Holy One was with the women. The Mother of God is “another Mary” (the liturgical Tradition is about this - in the synaxaran reading on the Holy Week of Easter; cf. Theophylact of Bulgaria: “By Mary, the mother of James, understand the Mother of God, for She was so called as the imaginary mother of Jacob, the son of Joseph, I mean brother of God" - Theoph. Bulg. In Luc. 24. 1-12), others believe that it was Mary of Cleopas or Mary of Jacob (perhaps this is the same person; cf.: Euseb. Hist. eccl. III 11 ), Eusebius of Caesarea believes that there were 2 Marys from Magdala, which is why the 2nd is called by the evangelist “another Mary” (Euseb. Quaest. evangel. // PG. 22. Col. 948). The facts of indirect evidence of the occurrence of the main event do not require accuracy from the evangelists. According to the Gospel of Matthew, at the moment the women arrived, “there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord came down from heaven and came and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it; His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was white as snow” (Matt 28:2-3). The Angel of the Lord (or “the young man... clothed with white clothes" - Mk 16.5, or “two men in shining robes" - Lk 24.4; cf.: Gen. 19. 5 ff.) informs the wives about the accomplishment of the great Mystery. It is only clear that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ took place with the tomb closed on the third day, as Christ Himself told the disciples about this (Matthew 16.21; 17.23; 20.19; Mark 8.31; 9.31; 10.34; Luke 9. 22; 18. 33; John 2. 19-22) and as the angel preached to the myrrh-bearing women: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here: He has risen; remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must... rise on the third day” (Luke 24:5-7; Matt 28:5-6; Mark 16:6).

Mary Magdalene reports to St. Peter and “to the other disciple whom Jesus loved (Apostle John, cf. John 21.20, 24.-M.I.): “They have taken the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him” (John 20.1 -2). Both disciples, and also, apparently, Mary Magdalene, run to the cave and find in it only “the linen cloths lying and the cloth that was on His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but especially rolled up in another place” (John 20. 3-7). Ap. John immediately “believed” that Christ had risen (John 20.8), this is the first revelation of faith in the Risen One (“he who had not seen and believed”; cf. John 20.29). Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem, and Mary remained at the tomb and wept. At this time she saw 2 angels in the cave, who asked her: “Wife! Why are you crying? Mary Magdalene replied: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him. Having said this, she turned back and saw Jesus standing; but did not recognize that it was Jesus. Jesus says to her: woman! Why are you crying? who are you looking for? She, thinking that this is the gardener, turns to Him: Master! if you have brought Him out, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him. Jesus says to her: Mary! She turned and said to Him: Rabbi! - which means: “Teacher!” Jesus says to her: Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; But go to My brothers and say to them: “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God”” (John 20. 11-17). Mary Magdalene leaves the burial place to fulfill the command of the Divine Teacher (John 20.18). At dawn, other myrrh-bearing women come to the cave. They also saw a stone rolled away from the entrance to the cave, and in the cave itself an angel and were horrified (Mk 16:1-5). The angel told them: “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, crucified; He has risen, He is not here. This is the place where He was laid. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him...” (Mark 16.6-7). The women “ran with fear and great joy to tell His disciples” (Matthew 28:8). On the way they were met by the risen Christ “and said: Rejoice!” (Matthew 28.9).

The appearance of an angel, whose appearance “was like lightning,” caused great fear among the guards guarding the cave, “those who guarded them trembled and became as if they were dead” (Matthew 28:2-4). They told the Jewish high priests about this, and they, after consulting with the elders, gave the soldiers “enough money” so that they would spread a false version of the disappearance of the body from the tomb, according to which the disciples of Christ stole His body, which the guards who were sleeping at that time did not notice ( Matthew 28.11-15).

The description of the event of the Resurrection itself, that is, how Jesus Christ came to life and found himself outside the burial cave, is absent in the canonical New Testament texts and is available only in the apocryphal “Gospel of Peter”. None of the people saw this event. Even Rev. The Virgin, to whom, according to Church Tradition, the Risen One appeared first, sees Christ after His Resurrection. Therefore, the event of V. as such was never depicted in Byzantium. and Old Russian iconography.

Testimony of Jesus Christ and the Apostles about the Resurrection

Having power over life and death (John 11.25), Christ not only raised the dead (the daughter of Jairus - Matthew 9.18-19, 23-25; the son of a widow from the city of Nain - Luke 7.11-15; Lazarus from the village of Bethany - John 11. 1 ff.), which foreshadowed His own rise from the dead, but also predicted His Resurrection. He repeatedly told His disciples “that the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise on the third day” (Mark 9.31; cf. 8.31; 10.34). At the same time, Jesus Christ referred to the Old Testament “sign of Jonah”, “for as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:39-40). He also spoke “about the temple of His body” (John 2.21): “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2.19; cf. Matt. 26.61). These words were not understood by those to whom they were addressed (John 2:20). And only the disciples of Christ, “when... He rose from the dead, they remembered that He had said these things, and believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus spoke” (John 2:22). However, they do not immediately come to faith in the Resurrection of Christ. They do not believe what they are told about the events of the Easter night of the myrrh-bearing woman (Mk 16.11; Lk 24.11); ap. Thomas does not believe that the “other disciples” “saw the Lord” (John 20:25); “two of them” (Cleopas - Luke 24. 18 and, perhaps, the evangelist Luke, which is why he hid his name; cf.: Theoph. Bulg. In Luc. 24. 13-24), called by Jesus Christ “foolish and slow heart" because of their disbelief "to everything that the prophets predicted (about Christ - M.I.)" (Luke 24.25), they believed in the Risen One only when He Himself, "beginning from Moses," explained "to them what was said about Him in all Scripture" (Luke 24:26-27), and at the end of the meeting he revealed himself to them "in the breaking of bread" (Luke 24:35). The risen Christ appeared to His apostles and disciples “for forty days” (Acts 1.3) (“for many days” - Acts 13.31). He explained the Scriptures to them (Luke 24.27, 44-46), revealed the secrets of the Kingdom of God (Acts 1.3), to assure them of His Resurrection, “He showed them His hands and feet and His side” (John 20.20, 27 ; Lk 24.39), ate food with them (Lk 24.41-43; Jn 21.9-15), prepared them for their future. evangelistic ministry (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Jn 20:21-23). The information of the evangelists about the appearances of the risen Christ is supplemented by St. Paul. He points out that Christ “appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time”; then - “To James, also to all the Apostles; and after all he appeared to me too,” that is, the ap. Paul (1 Cor 15.6-8), although the appearance of Jesus Christ to the apostle took place much later than the previous appearances (Acts 9. 3-6). Despite the fact that the disciples see the Risen One, touch Him, eat with Him, the body of Christ was no longer subject to the usual conditions of earthly life. On the day of His Resurrection, according to the testimony of the Evangelist John, “when the doors of the house where His disciples were meeting were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said to them: Peace be with you!” (20.19). Through locked doors, Christ comes to His disciples 8 days after the Resurrection (John 20:26). Even those close to Him do not recognize Him, for their eyes are “held” (Luke 24:16; John 20:15). During the breaking of bread in the village of Emmaus, when the “eyes” of Jesus Christ’s companions “were opened and they recognized Him,” “He became invisible to them” (Luke 24:30-31). The risen Christ appears “not to the world” (John 14:22), but only to a limited circle of those whom He chose, because for a world lying in evil (1 John 5:19), He is “the stone that the builders rejected... . a stone of stumbling and a stone of temptation” (1 Peter 2:7). Therefore, even the guards do not see Him, although at the moment of the Resurrection they are located directly at the burial cave.

The apostolic sermon from the time of the founding of the Church was a sermon about the risen Christ, and the apostles themselves called themselves “witnesses” of the Resurrection (Acts 2.32; 3.15). His resurrection for them is the foundation of Christ. faith, for “if Christ is not resurrected,” says the ap. Paul to the Christians of Corinth, “our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain” (1 Cor 15:14). “And if in this life only we hope in Christ,” not believing in His Resurrection, which became the guarantee of the resurrection of all people, “then we are the most miserable of all people” (1 Cor 15:19). Despite the fact that they were not witnesses to the very moment of the rise of Jesus Christ from the tomb, the apostles testify, first of all, to the very fact of the Resurrection (Acts 2.24; 4.10, etc.) and its correspondence with Scripture (i.e., the fulfillment Old Testament prophecies about Christ). Yes, app. Peter, on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, revealed to those gathered the messianic meaning of the 15th Psalm, pointing out that the words of the prophet. David: “You will not leave my soul in hell, nor will you allow Your holy one to see corruption” (Acts 2:27) - refer not to the prophet himself, for “he died and was buried” (Acts 2:29), but to the risen Christ (Acts 2:30-31). Addressing the members of the Sanhedrin, St. Peter explains that the Old Testament image of the cornerstone (Isa 28:16; cf. Ps 117:22) should also mean Jesus Christ, whom they crucified and whom God raised from the dead (Acts 4:10-12). In the Resurrection of Christ, St. Paul sees the fulfillment of the promise “given to the fathers” (Acts 13:32), while emphasizing that the Risen One “will no longer return to corruption” (Acts 13:34). The theme of the Resurrection is constantly present in his preaching: not only when he addresses the Jews with their messianic aspirations, but also to the pagans who worshiped the “unknown God” (Acts 17:23, 31-32). Chapter 15 his 1st Epistle to the Corinthians can rightly be called, as Rev. Georgy Florovsky, “Gospel of the Resurrection” (Florovsky G. O Resurrection of the Dead// Transmigration of souls: Problem. immortality in occultism and Christianity: Sat. Art. P., 1935. P. 135). In it up. Paul writes not only about the very fact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also about the significance of this event in Christ. soteriology, while correlating it with Buddhism. the general resurrection of the human race.

The theme of V.I.H. in the patristic heritage

Continuing the apostolic tradition, patristic thought constantly addresses this topic. Already at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries. in the ancient Eucharistic prayer, contained in the Didache, the first Christians thank the Heavenly Father for the “immortality” that He “revealed through Jesus His Son” (Didache. 10). At the same time, sschmch. Ignatius the God-Bearer opposes docetism, rooted in Gnosticism, which denied the reality of the physical body of Jesus Christ and, accordingly, recognized His suffering and resurrection as imaginary. Christ, emphasizes sschmch. Ignatius, “suffered truly, as truly and resurrected Himself, and not as some unbelievers say, as if He suffered ghostly. They themselves are a ghost..." (Ign. Ep. ad Smyrn. 2). Appealing to the gospel facts of the appearance of the risen Christ, sschmch. Ignatius points out that Christ, after the resurrection, ate and drank with his disciples, “as having flesh, although he was spiritually united with the Father” (Ibid. 3). He, according to Sschmch. Ignatius, allowed the apostles to touch Him so that they would be convinced that He was “not an incorporeal spirit” (Ibidem). The keeper of the apostolic Tradition about the resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals himself to be the keeper of the Apostolic Tradition. Polycarp, bishop Smirnsky. In the Epistle to the Philippians, he writes about Christ, “who suffered even death for our sins, but whom God raised, breaking the bonds of hell” (Polycarp. Ad Phil. 1; compare with the sermon of the Apostle Peter, in which he testifies, that “God raised Him (i.e., Jesus Christ. - M.I.), breaking the bonds of death” - Acts 2.24).

Patristic thought pays special attention to the expression “firstborn of the dead,” Crimea ap. Paul names the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:20, 23). At the same time, she correlates it with the name “last Adam” given by the same apostle to Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:45). Comparing, following the apostle, the two Adams (1 Cor 15. 21-22, 45, 47-49), smch. Irenaeus, bishop Lyonsky, notes that Christ, as the new Adam, “headed (recapitulavit) all humanity, giving us salvation, so that what we lost in (the first. - M.I.) Adam... we received again in Christ Jesus" (Iren. Adv . haer. III 18. 1, cf.: III 18. 7). As Christ, who led the human race, according to smch. Irenaeus, can be called the “Head”, who “resurrected from the dead”, so humanity is a “body”, “copulated through connections” (Eph 4. 15-16) with this “Head” and co-resurrected with Her (Iren Adv. III 19. 3). Continuing this exegetical tradition, St. Theophan the Recluse writes: “Christ, as the Firstborn, had to go through the entire path of restoration in order to pave the way for those being restored. For this purpose (He. - M.I.) dies, in order to destroy the power of death, for this purpose He is resurrected, in order to lay the foundation of resurrection for everyone, for this purpose He enters into glory, so that the door may be opened for everyone to enter into this glory... Behind Him how all humanity will surely follow the Firstfruits" ( Feofan (Govorov), ep. Interpretation of the First Epistle of St. ap. Paul to the Corinthians. M., 1893. S. 547, 549).

Reflecting on the Resurrection, St. the fathers ask the question: what fate would await humanity if Christianity had not been crowned with the Resurrection of its Founder? According to St. Gregory, bishop Nyssa, humanity in this case would lose the most important thing - higher meaning of its existence. If death is not defeated by Christ and “is the limit of life”, “if there is no Resurrection, then why do people work and philosophize”, entering into the fight against evil and the anomalies of the surrounding world? If the dead do not rise, “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die!” (1 Cor 15:32). (Greg. Nyss. In sanct. pascha. Col. 676). To this text app. Paul, quoted by St. Gregory, and St. Filaret, Metropolitan Moscow, calling it a “rule,” which the apostle pronounced “on behalf of those who do not know or do not want to know the resurrection.” This “rule,” notes St. Filaret, “it would be suitable for the moral philosophy of the dumb, if they had the advantage of philosophizing.” It “would constitute all wisdom, all morality, all laws among people, if the thought of a future life were removed from them. Then do not be angry, neighbor and brother, if you also become food for people who love to “eat and drink,” for if it is not worth the trouble to take good care of your own life, because “in the morning we will die,” then it is also not worth the trouble to spare the life of another, which tomorrow the grave will swallow it up without a trace.” “Philosophy of the Wordless” Met. Filaret contrasts faith in the resurrection and eternal life, which began with the risen Christ ( Filaret (Drozdov), mit. Words and speeches. M., 18482. Part 1. P. 83). Realizing that it is very difficult to have such faith (cf. Acts 17:32), St. the fathers suggest going to her through images of the resurrection observed in the surrounding nature. “Lord,” writes sschmch. Clement, bishop Roman, - constantly shows us the future resurrection, of which He made the Lord Jesus Christ the Firstfruits, raising Him from the dead.” Images of the resurrection Clement sees in the change of day and night, in the appearance of new shoots from grain thrown into the ground, in the mythological legend widespread at that time about the Phoenix bird, from a rotting body a worm is born, which then turns into new bird(Clem. Rom. Ep. I ad Cor. 24, 25). “Since the miracle of the resurrection is great and exceeds faith, then the Lord ... - according to St. Gregory, bishop Nyssa, - as if accustoming us to faith” in this miracle through other miracles of his, in which the victory of life over death is seen. “Starting with the lowest degrees of miracles” (by which St. Gregory means the healings from various diseases described in the Gospels performed by Jesus Christ), the Lord “exceeds” them with new miracles - the resurrection of people. And finally he completes them with His own Resurrection (Greg. Nyss. De hom. opif. 25).

A deep and comprehensive theological analysis of the mystery of the Resurrection is given by St. Athanasius I the Great. In explaining this mystery, he goes far beyond the scope of Christology and uses the doctrine of God - the Creator of the world, about human nature, and about sin. Before him was one of the main questions of Christ. Soteriology: who and how could defeat the mortality of human nature. Although the saint himself recognized the potential mortality of this nature even before it committed a sin, however, when this mortality from potential became real, the catastrophe that occurred turned out to be so significant that only He who omnipotently created the world “out of nothing” with His Word could overcome it. This same Word, as the “Father’s Image,” recreates man, and He, as the “source life,” resurrects the mortal, becoming, i.e. “the firstfruits of the general resurrection” (Athanas. Alex. De incarn. Verbi. 20). The resurrection of Christ radically changes the meaning of death in human destiny. The tragedy of death has been overcome; we are now “due to the mortality of the body, we are resolved (that is, we die. - M.I.) only for a while... so that we can inherit a better resurrection” (Ibid. 21). Death is terrible only outside of Christ; “those who die as lost” are mourned by those who have no hope of resurrection. For Christians, “death is defeated and disgraced by the Savior on the cross, bound hand and foot.” Therefore, “all who walk in Christ” trample on it and even laugh at it (Ibid. 27).

For St. Kirill, bishop Jerusalem, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the “diadem of victory over death”, which replaced the crown of thorns and crowned Christ at the moment of His Resurrection (Cyr. Hieros. Catech. 14). In the fact of the Resurrection of Christ, St. the fathers note 2 most important truths: human nature, perceived by the Savior, was resurrected “by the power of the Divinity dwelling in it and united with it” and “passed into a state of incorruptibility and immortality,” “putting aside corruption with the passions” (Cyr. Alex. De incarn. Domini .27).

The victory of Christ over death in the patristic works is usually depicted through His victory over hell. Hell, according to St. John Chrysostom, “put to shame” by the Lord who descended into him, “put to death,” “deposed,” “bound” (Ioan. Chrysost. Hom. in Pascha). The Risen Christ, says St. Gregory the Theologian, “repelled the sting of death, crushed the gloomy gates of dull hell, granted freedom to souls” (Greg. Nazianz. Hymn. ad Christ.). Using figurative language, St. John of Damascus likens death to a predatory fish, which, like hell, swallows sinners. “Having swallowed the Body of the Lord as a bait, (she. - M.I.) is pierced by the Divine, as if with the hook of a hook, and, having tasted the sinless and life-giving Body, she dies and gives back everyone she once swallowed up” (Ioan. Damasc. De fide orth.).

Theology of the Resurrection

The basis of Christ. The dogma of the Resurrection consists of the words of Jesus Christ Himself: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). The entire New Testament Easter gospel is built on them. Christ also points out that He is not only Life itself (John 14:6), but also the Source of life, “for as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:26) . Death, which reigns supreme over fallen humanity, has no power over the Son. And although He brings His human nature through the gates of death, subjecting itself to the conditions of a sinful existence, death cannot hold Him back. She is omnipotent only in the world, which “lies in evil” (1 John 5:19). Before Christ she shows her complete powerlessness. Jesus Christ resurrects Himself and resurrects others as the Author of life (Acts 3:15).

The mystery of the Resurrection, revealed in all its power and glory on Easter night, begins to be revealed already on the Cross. The Cross of Christ is not only an instrument of shame, but also a sign of victory and triumph. “Today we celebrate a festival and celebration,” writes St. John Chrysostom, - for our Lord was nailed to the Cross” (Ioan. Chrysost. I De cruce et latrone. 1). The death of Jesus Christ destroys the very foundation of death, pulls it out, according to St. Paul, her “thorn” (1 Cor 15:55). St. Cyril of Alexandria even calls the death of Christ “the root of life” (Cyr. Alex. In Hebr. // PG. 74. Col. 965). On the Cross, by His death, Christ tramples down death (troparion of the feast of Holy Pascha). Therefore, the “power of the Resurrection” is precisely the “Power of the Cross,” “invincible and indestructible, and the Divine power of the honorable and life-giving Cross.” On the Cross, the Lord “raises us to the first bliss,” and “through the Cross comes joy to the whole world” (Florovsky. About Death on the Cross. P. 170). “Every act and miracle-working of Christ, of course,” writes St. John of Damascus is very great, divine and amazing, but most amazing of all is His honest Cross. For nothing less than as soon as through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ death is abolished, ancestral sin is resolved, hell is deprived of its spoils, resurrection is granted... a return to original bliss is arranged, the gates of heaven are opened, our nature is seated at the right hand of God, and we have become children of God and heirs. All this was accomplished by the Cross” (Ioan. Damasc. De fide orth. IV 11). After death, the soul of Christ descends to hell, remaining there united with God the Word. Therefore, the descent into hell is the manifestation and victory of Life. “When you descended to death, Immortal Belly, then you killed hell with the brilliance of the Divine” (Sunday troparion, tone 2). The Lord Jesus Christ as the Chief and Savior (Acts 5. 30-31) “destroys” the “mortal dwelling” (the Mother of God of the Paschal canon, hymn 4) of “all-begotten Adam” (Easter troparion 6th ode) and takes him out from there. It was this event that, under the influence of Easter hymnography, began to be depicted in Byzantium. iconography of the Resurrection of Christ.

The life path of suffering, which ended with death on the Cross and the descent into hell, leads Jesus Christ to the glory of the Resurrection. This glory is the seal of the entire redemptive feat of the God-Man. He foreshadows it already at the Last Supper with his disciples: “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God was glorified in Him, then God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will soon glorify Him” (John 13:31-32). The path to this glory lay through suffering and death, because the Son of God, uniting with fallen human nature, thereby subjected Himself to the conditions of an anomalous existence caused by human sin. He “made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man; He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross” (Phil 2:7-8). Through obedience to God the Father, Christ healed man from the self-will that led him to sin, and revived his nature in Himself (see Art. Atonement). That is why “God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth...” (Phil 2:9-10). The Incarnate Word enters into the glory that He had with the Father “before the world was” (John 17:5), and introduces there the regenerated human nature. The latter, therefore, achieves such greatness that it is worthy “in heaven” to sit “at the right hand” of God the Father, “above all principality, and power, and strength, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the future" (Eph 1:20-21). God the Father, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Eph 1:20), “put all things in subjection under His feet and set Him above all” (Eph 1:22). Therefore, the risen Christ tells His disciples that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him” (Matthew 28:18).

By His Resurrection, having conquered death in Himself, Jesus Christ thereby defeated it in the entire human race, since He is the “last Adam” (or “Second Adam”) (1 Cor 15. 45-49), from whom people inherit new nature and eternal life. “We celebrate the mortification of death, the destruction of hell, the other beginning of eternal life” (troparion of the 2nd song of the Easter canon). This beginning is “...“new creation”, ἡ καινὴ κτίσις. One might even say, the eschatological beginning, the last step on the historical path of salvation. (In the NT the word καινός means not so much something “new” as “final”, “relating to the final goal.” Throughout the text, the word obviously has an eschatological meaning.)” (Florovsky G., Archpriest. Dogma and History. M ., 1998. P. 245). The “mortification” of death, however, does not mean that after the Resurrection of Christ people should no longer die. Only the absoluteness of death has been destroyed by the resurrected. Although “even now,” as St. notes, John Chrysostom, - we still die the same death, but we do not remain in it; but this does not mean dying... The power of death and true death is when the deceased no longer has the opportunity to return to life. If after death he comes to life, and moreover better life, then this is not death, but dormition” (Ioan. Chrysost. In Hebr. 17.2).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ brought not only the human race out of the ontological impasse. Its life-affirming power has a cosmic dimension. How high the dignity of nature, space, matter is, is already evidenced by the Incarnation itself. The hypostatic Word became flesh. It perceived the entire created world; in His body was concentrated “the whole substance of heaven and earth, from the simplest to the most incomprehensible” (Antony [Bloom], Metropolitan of Sourozh. Homily on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord // ZhMP. 1967. special issue. “50th anniversary of the restoration of the patriarchate” . P. 67). "Finger" taken from the earth and forming the body human body, in the Incarnation is perceived by the Divine, who again sanctifies and affirms in this act the path of the material world to transfiguration. The body of Christ cannot be imagined only as a certain part removed from space and therefore not belonging to the latter. The Incarnation was the real beginning of the transformation not only of man - the bearer of the image of his Creator, but also of matter itself - the work of the Creator's hands. After the Resurrection of Christ, “everything rushes towards ἀποκατάστασις τῶν πάντων (“restoration of all things”) - that is, to full restoration everything that is destroyed by death, to the illumination of the entire cosmos with the Glory of God...” (Lossky V. Dogmatic Theology. P. 286). In the Resurrection, the universality of the Kingdom of God was revealed, in which, along with man, both heaven, that is, the spiritual world, and earth, that is, the material world, are called upon. They are called to become the new heaven and the new earth (Rev 21:1), so that God becomes “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28). That is why “all creation,” writes St. Athanasius the Great, - solemnly celebrates the festival (of the Resurrection of Christ. - M.I.) and every breath, according to the Psalmist, praises the Lord (Ps 150. 6)” (Athanas. Alex. Ep. pasch. 6. 10).

Lit.: Sobolev M., prot. The reality of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. M., 1874; Butkevich T., priest. The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ: The Experience of Historical Criticism. presentation of the gospels. history. St. Petersburg, 1887. pp. 761-795; Voronets E. N. Resurrection of Christ // Wanderer. 1889. Apr. pp. 629-661; Tsarevsky A. WITH . Resurrection of Jesus Christ. K., 1892; Glebov I. The resurrection of the Lord and the appearance of His disciples after the resurrection. H., 1900; aka. Historical authenticity of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Kh., 1904; Tareev M. M. Christ. Serg. P., 1908. P. 340-358; Bulgakov S. The Resurrection of Christ and modern consciousness // Two cities: Sat. Art. M., 1911. T. 2. P. 166-176; Tuberovsky A. Resurrection of Christ. Serg. P., 1916; Florovsky G., prot. About the death of the godmother // PM. 1930. issue. 2. P. 148-187; Dani è lou J . La résurrection. P., 1969; Balthasar H. V. von. Theologie der drei Tage. Einsiedeln, 1969; Pannenberg W. Die Auferstehung Jesu und die Zukunft des Menschen. Münch., 1978.

M. S. Ivanov

Hymnography

Contemplation of the saving mystery of V.I.H. and glorification of this most joyful event stories find varied expression in the liturgical life of the Church. The center of this glorification is Easter, as St. Gregory the Theologian, - “holidays, a holiday and a triumph of celebrations” (PG. 36. Col. 624), quoted in the Easter canon (irmos of the 8th canto). In addition to this annual holiday, which continues for many times. days, V.I.H. is glorified weekly on Sundays, and the Octoechos contains 8 different Sunday services according to 8 voices. The Easter sequence of the Colored Triodion (the texts of which are not called Sunday or holiday texts in the Typikon, but always “Easter”) and 8 voice Sunday sequences of the Octoechos (the Octoechos system also includes 11 (corresponding to the number of Sunday morning Gospels) Sunday exapostilarii and Gospel stichera of the Octoechos and 2 Sunday troparions according to the great doxology of Matins) make up today. time the main body of Orthodox chants. Churches dedicated to V.I.Kh. Along with these 9 sequences, V.I.Kh. is spoken of in the sequences of the feasts of the Ascension of the Lord (Thursday of the 6th week of Easter), the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem (Sept. 13), and the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (Sept. 14), etc. Many hymns dedicated to V.I.Kh., now not in use, have been preserved in manuscripts.

The main themes of Sunday and Easter hymns are reflection on the relationship between the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord (and more broadly, contemplation of the entire economy of the salvation accomplished by Christ), revealing the meaning of V.I.H. as victory over death and sinful forces, a story about the historical circumstances of V.I. X.

The relationship between the Passion and Death on the Cross of Christ and His Resurrection as the mystery of the saving economy is the central theme of Sunday hymns: (troparion “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ”), (eastern stichera on Vespers 1st tone), (sedalen is resurrected, 5th tone).

The connection between the Cross and the Resurrection of the Lord is constantly mentioned in the morning canons of the Sunday successions of the Octoechos (in each voice there are 2 canons dedicated to V.I.Kh., and 1 dedicated to the Mother of God), so that the second of them are even called “Cross-Resurrection” ( The 1st troparion in them is usually dedicated to the Cross, the 2nd - to V.I.Kh.), although the theme of the Passion is also present in the 1st Sunday canons (for example, 1st tone: (troparion of the 1st canto), (troparion of the 3rd canto), etc.). Mn. Sunday hymns open with the glorification of the Passion and end with the glorification of the Resurrection of the Lord. In the period between Antipascha and the Ascension of the Lord, when the weekdays combine the Sunday and weekday successions of the Octoechos, on Wednesdays and Fridays Sunday hymns are sung not before, but after the weekdays (which on these 2 days are dedicated to the Cross); as the Colored Triodion explains, hymns of the cross are sung before Sunday hymns. In the Easter texts the theme of the suffering and death of the Lord is present, but not so emphasized: (troparion of the 3rd song of the canon), (troparion of the 6th song of the canon).

The chants emphasize the universal character of the Passion: (troparion of the 3rd song of the Sunday canon, 2nd tone), (troparion of the 3rd song of the Sunday canon, 6th tone) and the Resurrection: (troparion of the 3rd song of the Easter canon), (choruses for the 9th song of the Easter canon). In addition to the Cross and Resurrection, Sunday hymns touch on topics that are in one way or another connected with the mystery of God’s economy - the Incarnation of God the Word ( (troparion of the 9th song of the Sunday canon, 8th tone), (Sunday stichera on the stichera of the 5th tone); the connection between the Incarnation and V.I.H. is also manifested in the hymns of the Mother of God in Sunday successions), His self-impoverishment in the perception of human nature ((troparion of the 7th song of the Sunday canon of the 8th tone)), the Ascension, etc.

The most important theme of Sunday chants is the revelation of the meaning of V.I.H. as victory over hell and death: (3rd eastern stichera on Vespers, 2nd tone), (2nd troparion of the 3rd song of the Sunday canon, 6th tone); as the basis for the salvation of the faithful: (hypakoi of the 6th tone) and the whole world: (1st Sunday troparion according to the great doxology); how to start a new life: (troparion of the 7th song of the Easter canon); as a prototype of the general Resurrection at the end of time: (troparion of the 7th song of the Easter canon).

The historical description of the events associated with V.I.Kh. was reflected in Sunday hymns, for example: (troparion of dismissal of the 1st tone); (sedalen is resurrected, 1st tone). A number of hymns mention the apostles as direct participants in the events of those days, their condition and actions before and after V.I.H., and their preaching throughout the world: (troparion of the 7th canon of the Cross and Sunday canon, 8th tone); about the myrrh-bearing women together with the apostles: (sedalen resurrected 2nd tone or separately: (eastern stichera on praises in the 2nd tone); about the righteous Joseph and Nicodemus: (sedalen is resurrected, 2nd tone). About the attempt of the high priests and scribes to hide V.I.H. (Matt. 28. 11-15) is sung in the east at Vespers of the 5th tone: . Some chants are constructed in the form of dialogues or monologues of participants in the events: (Ipakoi Easter).

The retelling of the Gospel stories about V.I.Kh. constitutes the main content of the Gospel stichera and exapostilarii. Often it goes into interpretation, e.g. in the 6th exapostilary: or in prayer and glorification of the Savior. In some cases there is a call for contemplative empathy with the events of the Gospel, as, for example, in the 1st exapostilary: .

In Sunday hymns, Old Testament prototypes are recalled: the giving of water and food to Heb. to the people in the desert (which is opposed to the gall that the Savior tasted on the Cross): (troparion of the 3rd song of the Sunday canon, 5th tone); sacrifice of the Passover lamb (prefiguring Christ): (troparion of the 4th song of the Easter canon), etc.; the old Adam is contrasted with Christ - the Second Adam, for example: (troparion of the 6th song of the Sunday canon, 2nd tone).

Sunday hymns are not devoid of penitential content, for example: (Sunday verse stichera of the 6th tone), (alphabetical stichera of the 5th tone); the same in the Easter sequence: p (troparion of the 1st song of the Easter canon).

Irmos (nowadays incorrectly called the 1st troparion) of the Sunday troparion on the blessed is dedicated to the theme of repentance and forgiveness of the thief crucified at the right hand of the Savior, which is due to the initial phrase: (words of the thief - Luke 23.42), placed before the verses of the beatitudes. Troparia on the blessed are dedicated to the Crucifixion and Resurrection, the liberation of Adam, the myrrh-bearing women and the apostles; sometimes they also contain the theme of thieves crucified with Christ (for example, in the 2nd troparion of the 1st tone: ; in the 5th troparion of the 5th tone: ).

Some of the chants of Sunday services became melodic-rhythmic self-similar models for composing other chants: 1st stichera on the praises of the 8th tone, 3rd stichera on the praises of the 6th tone, 1st sedalene on the 1st 1st tone prosody, etc.

V.I.H. is often spoken of in euchological texts, especially in the texts Divine Liturgy: all anaphors in one way or another mention the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord (for example, in the anaphora of the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom:); according to the current time in Orthodox Church rite, immediately after Communion, the clergy read several. Easter hymns (“Having seen the Resurrection of Christ”

It has a long history of formation compared to other holiday icons. The peculiarity of its development is that its lit. the foundation that formed in the early period has not undergone significant changes, and the image during the III-XVII centuries. changed. Texts of the Holy The Scriptures, patristic works, hymnography, as well as the apocrypha that underlie the image of V.I.Kh., developed the same theme of the victory of the risen Christ over hell and death. However, creating the iconography of a mysterious event, to which there were no eyewitnesses on earth, presented a difficult task. Due to the fact that in the Gospels there is no description of V.I.H., in early Christ. in art it was depicted symbolically through prototypes contained in the Old Testament, for example. in the signs of the prophet. Jonah (Mt 12:40; 16:4). Numerous compositions on this theme have been known since the 3rd century. They were preserved in the paintings of the catacombs of the 3rd-4th centuries. (Priscilla, Peter and Marcellinus, Pretextatus, May Cemetery, Giordani), in the mosaics of the Cathedral of St. Theodora in Aquileia (IV century), on the reliefs of sarcophagi. A similar composition is found in the art of later times. Thus, in the miniature of the Khludov Psalter (Greek State Historical Museum. 129. L. 157, mid-9th century), the image of Jonah in the belly of a whale illustrates the text: “From the belly of hell, my cry, you heard my voice.”

In the early Byzantine period. In art, the desire to overcome symbolism led to the development of historical composition, which combined the illustration of the Gospel narrative and the image of the tomb of the Savior in the form of a cross or a temple built by the emperor. Constantine the Great on the site of V.I.Kh. On the relief of the sarcophagus of the 4th century. (Lateran Museum, Rome) there are 2 warriors on the sides of a cross crowned with a laurel wreath with the monogram of Christ, one of the warriors is sleeping, leaning on a shield; The scene is framed by trees, their crowns close together like an arch. This image indicates the location of the action - the olive garden, where the tomb is located. On the doors of the diptych (5th century, Milan Cathedral (Duomo)), the reliefs of which are dedicated to the Passionate events from the “Washing of the Feet” to the “Assurance of Thomas”, V.I.H. is presented in 3 scenes: sleeping warriors near the temple- rotunda of the Resurrection of Christ, the appearance of an angel to the myrrh-bearing women and the appearance of Christ to Mary. The last 2 scenes become the most common images of V.I.H. in the V-VI centuries. On a carved plate (420, British Museum) - wives and warriors at a temple with an open door; on the frame of the Gospel (5th century, Milan Cathedral (Duomo)) - an angel and a wife standing in front of an open tomb in the form ancient temple on a high base; on a plate (5th century, Castello Museum, Milan) - wives fall to an angel sitting on a stone near a temple with a slightly open door; on the plate (5th century, Bavarian National Museum, Munich) in the upper part of the composition above the wives, a young Christ is depicted ascending the mountain, holding the Divine right hand; on the miniature from the Gospel of Rabbi (Laurent. Plut. I. 56, 586) - the appearance of an angel to the myrrh-bearing women and the appearance of Christ to Mary; the “Crucifixion” is depicted in the upper part of the sheet; on the lid of the reliquary (VI century, Vatican Museums) - the appearance of an angel to the wives against the background of a rotunda with open doors, similar to the royal doors of the altar, with a throne covered with indium; on the ampoule of Monza (VI century, treasury of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Monza, Italy), as well as on the miniature of the Gospel of Rabbala, the composition “Appearance of an Angel to the Myrrh-Bearing Women” is combined with the “Crucifixion”. These scenes, as episodes of the Passion Events, continue to exist in art in parallel with the developing iconography of V. I. Kh. (frescoes of the Spassky Cathedral of the Mirozh Monastery, mid-12th century; Church of the Ascension in Mileshevo (Serbia), 20s . XIII century; icon of the festive row of the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1425-1427). The compositions juxtapose illustrations to the Gospel text telling about the appearance of an angel, and images of the realities of the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Thus, on the fresco of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Pskov Snetogorsk Monastery (1313) there is an edicule over the Holy Sepulcher with hanging lamps. The iconography of the historical type could not reflect the theological content of V.I.H., which was thought of as the victory of Christ over hell and death , starting with the Epistles of St. Peter (1 Pet 3. 18-19). A new iconographic solution aimed at revealing this theme is reflected in the composition “The Descent into Hell” with the inscription: “h anastasis”, known from miniatures from the Psalms. Early examples are miniatures from the Khludov Psalter, in which there are several. once there is a scene depicting Christ trampling on a defeated giant in the form of Silenus, from the womb or from the mouth of Silenus, the Savior leads Adam and Eve by the hand (illustrations to Ps 67. 2 (“Let God rise again” - L. 63), 7 (“God brings like-minded people into the house, destroying the chained” - L. 63 vol.), 81. 8 (“Rise up, O God, judge the earth” - L. 82 vol.). Christ is surrounded by a halo of glory, hell is depicted in the form of an ancient personification, which reflects. not only the widespread tradition in Christian iconography (personification of the Jordan, sea, earth, desert, etc.), but also the attitude towards hell as an animated character, sounding in narrative, hymnographic and patristic texts.

The iconography of the “Descent into Hell” as an image of V.I.H. received its established form by the 10th century. The earliest examples are known from miniatures from the Gospel of John, read at Easter (for example, Iver. Cod. 1; NLR. Greek. 21 + 21A. 21). The Savior, surrounded by a radiance of glory, with a cross in his left hand, descends into the dark cave of hell and leads Adam and Eve out of their coffins in the form of sarcophagi. On the sides are depicted the Old Testament righteous, in the foreground is the prophet. David and King Solomon. In the cave of hell there are doors, locks, and iron ropes torn off their hinges. Next to Christ, St. is depicted pointing to Him. John the Baptist with a scroll in his hand, which “told the good news to those in hell of God manifested in the flesh” (troparion of the 2nd tone).

V.I.H. - an obligatory element of the temple decoration program (“The Descent into Hell” in the katholikon of the Hosios Loukas monastery in Phokis (Greece), 30s of the 11th century - Christ with a cross in his left hand stands on torn doors, leads Adam out, on the sides are the righteous in sarcophagi, in the foreground are the prophet David and King Solomon; the Catholicon of the monastery of Nea Moni on the island of Chios, 1042-1056, next to Christ is St. John the Baptist. scroll; the church of the Assumption of the Virgin in Daphne, about 1100; Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello, about 1130, - under the composition “The Descent into Hell” Last Judgment"). The iconographic scheme is repeated almost without changes on the icons (2 epistilia of the 11th and 12th centuries, folding, 12th century, from the monastery of the Great Martyr Church of Catherine on Sinai; icon “Twelve Feasts,” 12th century, GE, - the Savior is represented in the center with arms spread to the sides, as if showing nail wounds, on the sides - Adam and Eve).

In the Paleologian era, the iconography of V. I. Kh. undergoes certain changes: a large number of characters are introduced, resurrected people in shrouds are depicted in the coffins, the composition acquires a more impetuous and dynamic character (for example, the Church of the Holy Trinity of the Sopočani monastery ( Serbia), ca. 1265). In the mon-re of Chora (Kahrie-jami) in K-pol (1316-1321) V.I.H. is placed in the conch of the apse of the pareklesion: Christ, standing on the torn doors of hell, in an almond-shaped shining halo, holds Adam and Eve with both hands , depicted as rising from sarcophagi; on the right behind Eve stands Abel with a shepherd's crook, on the left behind Adam are kings and prophets. This iconographic version became widespread in the XIV-XVI centuries, including in Russian. monuments, for example in the painting c. Vmch. Theodore Stratelates on the Stream in Novgorod (over Christ the angels hold a cross crowned with a laurel wreath - a sign of victory over death), on Pskov icons (XIV century, Russian Museum; XV century, PIAM; XVI century, Tretyakov Gallery; XVI century, Russian Museum ). The latter have a number of features: Christ is depicted in red robes, the outer ring of the mandorla is filled with seraphim and cherubs; in the cave, angels bind Satan; the doors of hell torn from their hinges are depicted standing vertically below, and above them, under the mandorla, are the open doors of heaven, where the eyes of the righteous are directed; along the outer edge of the cave there is a wall with towers; above the halo are angels.

Lit. The composition “Descent into Hell” is based on apocryphal texts, the most total reflection in iconography they received the “Gospel of Nicodemus” and “The Word of Eusebius about the Descent into Hell of St. John the Baptist." The "Gospel of Nicodemus" was compiled on behalf of the resurrected sons of rights. Simeon the Receiver of God, who, like all the Old Testament righteous people, were in hell and were witnesses to the preceding events and the very descent into hell of the Savior. Hell in this story acts as a character talking to Satan. Resurrection of rights. Lazarus was alarmed by hell, which feared that Christ would destroy its prisons. Hell strengthened its doors with iron ropes, but the Savior who descended there tore down the doors, smashed all the locks and illuminated the spaces dark for centuries. Listing the prophets and righteous men who were in hell, the author also talks about what happened in paradise during the Resurrection of Christ, about how He handed the cross to the thief, about the conversation of the prophets Enoch and Elijah with Him. In “The Word of Eusebius on the Descent into Hell of St. John the Baptist" tells about the sermon of St. John the Baptist brought to the gloomy abodes, about the rejection of this sermon by sinners and about the joy of the righteous. Dialogues of St. John the Baptist with the prophets are reflected in the inscriptions on the scrolls in the hands of the prophets (for example, on the 14th century icon, NGOMZ).

In con. XIV century The iconography of V. I. Kh., based on apocryphal narratives, is enriched with motifs drawn from ascetic literature, and the number of characters increases. In the halo around Christ, angels are depicted with lamps, with the names of virtues and with spears, with which they defeat demons in the cave of hell; above the demons are written the names of the vices overcome by the corresponding virtues; above the halo there are angels with a cross, in the cave - angels are binding Satan. Thus, V.I.H. is depicted as a victory over death and its cause - sin. This composition is repeated in a number of icons of the 14th-16th centuries. (late 14th century, from Kolomna, Tretyakov Gallery; letters of Dionysius, 1502, from Ferapontov Monastery, State Russian Museum; 16th century, State Historical Museum).

In the 17th century The complicated iconography of V. I. Kh. is becoming widespread, where in addition to the “Descent into Hell” the “Rising of Christ from the Tomb” and a number of scenes from the Passion Scenes to the Ascension are depicted. As in the early Byzantine era. monuments, in these compositions the historical narrative comes to the fore. Christ, surrounded by a halo of glory, is depicted twice: above an open tomb with shrouds and descending into hell. On the icon “Resurrection - Descent into Hell” (40s of the 17th century, Yakhm) to the left of Christ standing over the tomb, a host of angels rushes down to the gates of hell; Many people come out of hell, among whom are Eve and Christ, holding Adam with one hand and pointing up at the gates of heaven with the other; the righteous with unfolded scrolls in their hands move to the heavenly chambers following the winged saint. John the Baptist; in paradise - a prudent thief before the prophets Enoch and Elijah; Scenes are placed around: “The Crucifixion”, “The Entombment”, “The Appearance of an Angel to the Wives”, “The Appearance of Christ to Mary”, “Peter at the Empty Tomb”, “Meeting at Emmaus”, “The Assurance of Thomas”, “Appearance on the Sea of ​​Tiberias” , "Ascension".

Subsequently, the iconography of “The Descent into Hell” is replaced by the composition “The Rising of Christ from the Tomb.” Following Western Europe. engraving and painting samples, artists depict a naked Christ in a girdle, with a flag in his hand, hovering above the coffin surrounded by cloudy radiance (for example: an icon of the 17th century, the Church of the Intercession in Fili, Central Museum of Art and Culture; an icon of the Annunciation with Stamps, 18th century ., YAHM; icon of the 18th century, Irkutsk Art Museum).

Lit.: LCI. Bd. 1. Sp. 201-220; Bd. 2. Sp. 322-331; Pokrovsky N. IN . The Gospel in iconographic monuments. M., 2001r. pp. 482-519.

N. V. Kvlividze

RESURRECTION OF JESUS ​​CHRIST

Resurrection [Greek] ἀνάστασις; lat. resurrectio] of Jesus Christ, the return of Jesus Christ to life after His death and burial caused by crucifixion. The great Christ installed in memory of this event bears the same name. a holiday called the Bright Resurrection of Christ or Easter.

Events of Sunday night

The events of the night on which Jesus Christ was resurrected are described in the 4 Gospels (Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18). There is a brief mention of some of them in the 1st Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians (15. 4-5). Since the descriptions of the evangelists differ significantly, since ancient times attempts have been made to compile a general chronology of Easter events (Tatian, Hesychius); in Russian biblical studies the sequence of events of Easter night is given by the priest. T. Butkevich, A. Paharnaev, prot. M. Sobolev and others. But, in addition to the facts known from the Gospels, all chronologies are in the nature of assumptions. The facts to which the Gospels testify are as follows.

On Saturday late in the evening (ὀψὲ δὲ σαββάτων; in the Synodal translation: “after ... Saturday” - Matthew 28.1),
when the 1st day of the week began (τῇ ἐπιφωσκούδηι εἰς μίαν σαββάτων; in the Synodal translation: “at dawn of the first day of the week”; in the East, the new day began in the evening),
Galilean women came to the tomb in which they laid Jesus Christ in order, according to Jewish custom, to anoint His body with embalming substances, which they did not have time to do on Friday, the evening of which was already considered the beginning of Saturday, i.e. “day of rest” "
Some wives are mentioned by Ap. Matthew (28.1), others - St. Mark (16.1), “and Mary Magdalene was the companion of all, as His most zealous and zealous disciple” (Theoph. Bulg. In Matt. 28).
They found that the stone had been rolled away (Mk 16:4; Lk 24:2; John 20:1) and the tomb was empty.

After Saturday evening, the Lord Jesus Christ has already risen. “God raised Him up, breaking the bonds of death, because it was impossible for it to hold Him” (Acts 2:24).
How the Resurrection happened is not reported in any Gospel - this is the Mystery of God’s omnipotence, which cannot be described. Some interpreters believe that the Most Holy One was with the women. The Mother of God is “another Mary” (about this the liturgical Tradition is in the synaxaran reading on the Holy Week of Easter; cf. Theophylact of Bulgaria: “By Mary, the mother of James, understand the Mother of God, for She was so called as the imaginary mother of Jacob, the son of Joseph, I mean brother of God" - Theoph. Bulg. In Luc. 24. 1-12), others believe that it was Mary of Cleophas or Mary of Jacob (perhaps this is the same person; cf.: Euseb. Hist. eccl. III 11 ), Eusebius of Caesarea believes that there were 2 Marys from Magdala, which is why the 2nd is called by the evangelist “another Mary” (Euseb. Quaest. evangel. // PG. 22. Col. 948). The facts of indirect evidence of the occurrence of the main event do not require accuracy from the evangelists.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, at the moment the women arrived, “there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord came down from heaven and came and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it; His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was white as snow” (Matt 28:2-3). The Angel of the Lord (or “a young man... clothed in a white robe” - Mark 16.5, or “two men in shining garments” - Luke 24.4; cf. Gen. 19.5 ff.) informs the wives about the accomplishment of the great Mystery. It is only clear that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ took place with the tomb closed on the third day, as Christ Himself told the disciples about this (Matthew 16.21; 17.23; 20.19; Mark 8.31; 9.31; 10.34; Luke 9. 22; 18. 33; John 2. 19-22) and as the angel preached to the myrrh-bearing women: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here: He has risen; remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must... rise on the third day” (Luke 24:5-7; Matt 28:5-6; Mark 16:6).

Mary Magdalene reports to St. Peter and “another disciple whom Jesus loved (Apostle John, cf. John 21.20, 24.- M.I.): “They have taken the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him” (John 20.1 -2).
Both disciples, and also, apparently, Mary Magdalene, run to the cave and find in it only “the linen cloths lying and the cloth that was on His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but especially rolled up in another place” (John 20. 3-7).
Ap. John immediately “believed” that Christ had risen (John 20.8), this is the first revelation of faith in the Risen One (“he who had not seen and believed”; cf. John 20.29).

Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem, and Mary remained at the tomb and wept.
At this time she saw 2 angels in the cave, who asked her: “Wife! Why are you crying? Mary Magdalene replied: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.

Having said this, she turned back and saw Jesus standing; but did not recognize that it was Jesus. Jesus says to her: woman! Why are you crying? who are you looking for? She, thinking that this is the gardener, turns to Him: Master! if you have brought Him out, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him.

Jesus says to her: Mary! She turned and said to Him: Rabbi! - which means: “Teacher!”

Jesus says to her: Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; But go to My brothers and say to them: “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God”” (John 20. 11-17). Mary Magdalene leaves the burial place to fulfill the command of the Divine Teacher (John 20.18).

At dawn, other myrrh-bearing women come to the cave. They also saw a stone rolled away from the entrance to the cave, and in the cave itself an angel and were horrified (Mk 16:1-5).
The angel told them: “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, crucified; He has risen, He is not here. This is the place where He was laid. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him…” (Mark 16.6-7).
The women “ran with fear and great joy to tell His disciples” (Matthew 28:8). On the way they were met by the risen Christ “and said: Rejoice!” (Matthew 28.9).

The appearance of an angel, whose appearance “was like lightning,” caused great fear among the guards guarding the cave, “those who guarded them trembled and became as if they were dead” (Matthew 28:2-4).
They told the Jewish high priests about this, and they, after consulting with the elders, gave the soldiers “enough money” so that they would spread a false version of the disappearance of the body from the tomb, according to which the disciples of Christ stole His body, which the guards who were sleeping at that time did not notice ( Matthew 28.11-15).

The description of the event of the Resurrection itself, that is, how Jesus Christ came to life and found himself outside the burial cave, is absent in the canonical New Testament texts and is available only in the apocryphal “Gospel of Peter”. None of the people saw this event. Even Rev. The Virgin, to whom, according to Church Tradition, the Risen One appeared first, sees Christ after His Resurrection. Therefore, the event of V. as such was never depicted in Byzantium. and Old Russian iconography.

Testimony of Jesus Christ and the Apostles about the Resurrection

Having power over life and death (John 11.25), Christ not only raised the dead (the daughter of Jairus - Matthew 9.18-19, 23-25; the son of a widow from the city of Nain - Luke 7.11-15; Lazarus from the village of Bethany - John 11. 1 ff.), which foreshadowed His own rise from the dead, but also predicted His Resurrection.
He repeatedly told His disciples “that the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise on the third day” (Mark 9.31; cf. 8.31; 10.34).
At the same time, Jesus Christ referred to the Old Testament “sign of Jonah”, “for as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:39-40).
He also spoke “about the temple of His body” (John 2.21): “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2.19; cf. Matt. 26.61). These words were not understood by those to whom they were addressed (John 2:20).
And only the disciples of Christ, “when... He rose from the dead, they remembered that He had said these things, and believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus spoke” (John 2:22).
However, they do not immediately come to faith in the Resurrection of Christ. They do not believe what they are told about the events of the Easter night of the myrrh-bearing woman (Mk 16.11; Lk 24.11); ap. Thomas does not believe that the “other disciples” “saw the Lord” (John 20:25); “two of them” (Cleopas - Luke 24. 18 and, perhaps, the evangelist Luke, which is why he hid his name; cf.: Theoph. Bulg. In Luc. 24. 13-24), called by Jesus Christ “foolless and slow heart" because of their disbelief "to everything that the prophets predicted (about Christ - M.I.)" (Luke 24.25), they believed in the Risen One only when He Himself, "beginning from Moses," explained "to them what was said about Him in all Scripture" (Luke 24:26-27), and at the end of the meeting he revealed himself to them "in the breaking of bread" (Luke 24:35).
The risen Christ appeared to His apostles and disciples “for forty days” (Acts 1.3) (“for many days” - Acts 13.31).
He explained the Scriptures to them (Luke 24.27, 44-46), revealed the secrets of the Kingdom of God (Acts 1.3), to assure them of His Resurrection, “He showed them His hands and feet and His side” (John 20.20, 27 ; Lk 24.39), ate food with them (Lk 24.41-43; Jn 21.9-15), prepared them for their future. evangelistic ministry (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Jn 20:21-23).
The information of the evangelists about the appearances of the risen Christ is supplemented by St. Paul. He points out that Christ “appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time”; then - “To James, also to all the Apostles; and after all he appeared to me too,” that is, the ap. Paul (1 Cor 15:6-8), although the appearance of Jesus Christ to the apostle took place much later than the previous appearances (Acts 9:3-6).
Despite the fact that the disciples see the Risen One, touch Him, eat with Him, the body of Christ was no longer subject to the usual conditions of earthly life.
On the day of His Resurrection, according to the testimony of the Evangelist John, “when the doors of the house where His disciples were meeting were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said to them: Peace be with you!” (20.19).
Through locked doors, Christ comes to His disciples 8 days after the Resurrection (John 20:26). Even those close to Him do not recognize Him, for their eyes are “held” (Luke 24:16; John 20:15).
During the breaking of bread in the village of Emmaus, when the “eyes” of Jesus Christ’s companions “were opened and they recognized Him,” “He became invisible to them” (Luke 24:30-31).
The risen Christ appears “not to the world” (John 14:22), but only to a limited circle of those whom He has chosen, because for a world lying in evil (1 John 5:19), He is “the stone that the builders rejected... the stone a stumbling block and a stone of temptation” (1 Peter 2:7).
Therefore, even the guards do not see Him, although at the moment of the Resurrection they are located directly at the burial cave.

The apostolic sermon from the time of the founding of the Church was a sermon about the risen Christ, and the apostles themselves called themselves “witnesses” of the Resurrection (Acts 2.32; 3.15).
His resurrection for them is the foundation of Christ. faith, for “if Christ is not resurrected,” says the ap. Paul to the Christians of Corinth, “our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain” (1 Cor 15:14).
“And if in this life only we hope in Christ,” not believing in His Resurrection, which became the guarantee of the resurrection of all people, “then we are the most miserable of all people” (1 Cor 15:19).
Despite the fact that they were not witnesses to the very moment of the rise of Jesus Christ from the tomb, the apostles testify, first of all, to the very fact of the Resurrection (Acts 2.24; 4.10, etc.) and its correspondence with Scripture (i.e., the fulfillment Old Testament prophecies about Christ).
Yes, app. Peter, on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, revealed to those gathered the messianic meaning of the 15th Psalm, pointing out that the words of the prophet. David: “You will not leave my soul in hell, nor will you allow Your holy one to see corruption” (Acts 2:27) - refer not to the prophet himself, for “he died and was buried” (Acts 2:29), but to the risen Christ (Acts 2:30-31).
Addressing the members of the Sanhedrin, St. Peter explains that the Old Testament image of the cornerstone (Isa 28:16; cf. Ps 117:22) should also mean Jesus Christ, whom they crucified and whom God raised from the dead (Acts 4:10-12).
In the Resurrection of Christ, St. Paul sees the fulfillment of the promise “given to the fathers” (Acts 13:32), while emphasizing that the Risen One “will no longer return to corruption” (Acts 13:34).
The theme of the Resurrection is constantly present in his preaching: not only when he addresses the Jews with their messianic aspirations, but also to the pagans who worshiped the “unknown God” (Acts 17:23, 31-32).

Chapter 15 his 1st Epistle to the Corinthians can rightly be called, as Rev. Georgy Florovsky, “the gospel of the Resurrection” (Florovsky G. On the Resurrection of the Dead // Transmigration of Souls: Problems of Immortality in Occultism and Christianity: Collection of Art. P., 1935. P. 135).
In it up. Paul writes not only about the very fact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also about the significance of this event in Christ. soteriology, while correlating it with Buddhism. the general resurrection of the human race.

The theme of V.I.H. in the patristic heritage

Continuing the apostolic tradition, patristic thought constantly addresses this topic.
Already at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries. in the ancient Eucharistic prayer, contained in the Didache, the first Christians thank the Heavenly Father for the “immortality” that He “revealed through Jesus His Son” (Didache. 10).
At the same time, sschmch. Ignatius the God-Bearer opposes docetism, rooted in Gnosticism, which denied the reality of the physical body of Jesus Christ and, accordingly, recognized His suffering and resurrection as imaginary.
Christ, emphasizes sschmch. Ignatius, “suffered truly, as truly and resurrected Himself, and not as some unbelievers say, as if He suffered ghostly. They themselves are a ghost..." (Ign. Ep. ad Smyrn. 2).
Appealing to the gospel facts of the appearance of the risen Christ, sschmch. Ignatius points out that Christ, after the resurrection, ate and drank with his disciples, “as having flesh, although he was spiritually united with the Father” (Ibid. 3).
He, according to Sschmch. Ignatius, allowed the apostles to touch Him so that they would be convinced that He was “not an incorporeal spirit” (Ibidem).
The keeper of the apostolic Tradition about the resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals himself to be the keeper of the Apostolic Tradition. Polycarp, bishop Smirnsky. In the Epistle to the Philippians, he writes about Christ, “who suffered even death for our sins, but whom God raised, breaking the bonds of hell” (Polycarp. Ad Phil. 1; compare with the sermon of the Apostle Peter, in which he testifies, that “God raised Him (i.e., Jesus Christ - M.I.), breaking the bonds of death” - Acts 2.24).

Patristic thought pays special attention to the expression “firstborn of the dead,” Crimea ap. Paul names the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:20, 23).
At the same time, she correlates it with the name “last Adam” given by the same apostle to Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:45).
Comparing, following the apostle, the two Adams (1 Cor 15. 21-22, 45, 47-49), smch. Irenaeus, bishop Lyonsky, notes that Christ, as the new Adam, “headed (recapitulavit) all humanity, giving us salvation, so that what we lost in (the first. - M.I.) Adam... we received again in Christ Jesus" (Iren. Adv. haer . III 18. 1, cf.: III 18. 7).
As Christ, who led the human race, according to smch. Irenaeus, can be called the “Head”, who “resurrected from the dead”, so humanity is a “body”, “copulated through connections” (Eph 4. 15-16) with this “Head” and co-resurrected with Her (Iren Adv. III 19. 3).

Continuing this exegetical tradition, St. Theophan the Recluse writes: “Christ, as the Firstborn, had to go through the entire path of restoration in order to pave the way for those being restored. For this reason (He. - M.I.) dies, in order to destroy the power of death, for this purpose he is resurrected, in order to lay the foundation of resurrection for everyone, for this purpose he enters into glory, so that he can open the door for everyone to enter into this glory... Behind Him as for Of course, all humanity will follow the firstfruits” (Theophan (Govorov), bishop. Interpretation of the First Epistle of St. Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. M., 1893. P. 547, 549).

Reflecting on the Resurrection, St. the fathers ask the question: what fate would await humanity if Christianity had not been crowned with the Resurrection of its Founder?
According to St. Gregory, bishop Nyssky, humanity in this case would have lost the most important thing - the highest meaning of its existence. If death is not defeated by Christ and “is the limit of life”, “if there is no Resurrection, then why do people work and philosophize”, entering into the fight against evil and the anomalies of the surrounding world?
If the dead do not rise, " Let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die!"(1 Cor 15:32). (Greg. Nyss. In sanct. pascha. Col. 676).

To this text app. Paul, quoted by St. Gregory, and St. Filaret, Metropolitan Moscow, calling it a “rule,” which the apostle pronounced “on behalf of those who do not know or do not want to know the resurrection.”
This “rule,” notes St. Filaret, “it would be suitable for the moral philosophy of the dumb, if they had the advantage of philosophizing.”
It “would constitute all wisdom, all morality, all laws among people, if the thought of a future life were removed from them. Then do not be angry, neighbor and brother, if you also become food for people who love to “eat and drink,” for if it is not worth the trouble to take good care of your own life, because “in the morning we will die,” then it is also not worth the trouble to spare the life of another, which tomorrow the grave will swallow it up without a trace.”

“Philosophy of the Wordless” Met. Filaret contrasts faith in the resurrection and eternal life, the beginning of which was laid by the risen Christ (Filaret (Drozdov), Metropolitan Slovo i rechi. M., 18482. Part 1. P. 83).
Realizing that it is very difficult to have such faith (cf. Acts 17:32), St. the fathers suggest going to her through images of the resurrection observed in the surrounding nature.
“Lord,” writes sschmch. Clement, bishop Roman, - constantly shows us the future resurrection, of which He made the Lord Jesus Christ the Firstfruits, raising Him from the dead.”
Images of the resurrection Clement sees in the change of day and night, in the appearance of new shoots from grain thrown into the ground, in the mythological legend about the Phoenix bird, widespread at that time, a worm is born from a rotting body, which then turns into a new bird (Clem. Rom. Ep. I ad Cor. 24, 25).
“Since the miracle of the resurrection is great and exceeds faith, then the Lord ... - according to St. Gregory, bishop Nyssa, - as if accustoming us to faith” in this miracle through other miracles of his, in which the victory of life over death is seen.
“Starting with the lowest degrees of miracles” (by which St. Gregory means the healings from various diseases described in the Gospels performed by Jesus Christ), the Lord “exceeds” them with new miracles—the resurrection of people. And finally he completes them with His own Resurrection (Greg. Nyss. De hom. opif. 25).

A deep and comprehensive theological analysis of the mystery of the Resurrection is given by St. Athanasius I the Great.
In explaining this mystery, he goes far beyond the scope of Christology and uses the doctrine of God - the Creator of the world, about human nature, and about sin.
Before him was one of the main questions of Christ. Soteriology: who and how could defeat the mortality of human nature.
Although the saint himself recognized the potential mortality of this nature even before it committed a sin, however, when this mortality from potential became real, the catastrophe that occurred turned out to be so significant that only He who omnipotently created the world “out of nothing” with His Word could overcome it.
This same Word, as the “Father’s Image,” recreates man, and He, as the “source life,” resurrects the mortal, becoming, i.e. “the firstfruits of the general resurrection” (Athanas. Alex. De incarn. Verbi. 20).
The resurrection of Christ radically changes the meaning of death in human destiny.
The tragedy of death has been overcome; we are now “due to the mortality of the body, we are resolved (that is, we die - M.I.) only for a while... so that we can inherit a better resurrection” (Ibid. 21). Death is terrible only outside of Christ; “those who die as lost” are mourned by those who have no hope of resurrection.

For Christians, “death is defeated and disgraced by the Savior on the cross, bound hand and foot.” Therefore, “all who walk in Christ” trample on it and even laugh at it (Ibid. 27).<

For St. Kirill, bishop Jerusalem, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the “diadem of victory over death”, which replaced the crown of thorns and crowned Christ at the moment of His Resurrection (Cyr. Hieros. Catech. 14).

In the fact of the Resurrection of Christ, St. the fathers note 2 most important truths: human nature, perceived by the Savior, was resurrected “by the power of the Divinity dwelling in it and united with it” and “passed into a state of incorruptibility and immortality,” “putting aside corruption with the passions” (Cyr. Alex. De incarn. Domini .27).

The victory of Christ over death in the patristic works is usually depicted through His victory over hell.
Hell, according to St. John Chrysostom, “put to shame” by the Lord who descended into him, “put to death,” “deposed,” “bound” (Ioan. Chrysost. Hom. in Pascha). The Risen Christ, says St. Gregory the Theologian, “repelled the sting of death, crushed the gloomy gates of dull hell, and granted freedom to souls” (Greg. Nazianz. Hymn. ad Christ.). Using figurative language, St. John of Damascus likens death to a predatory fish, which, like hell, swallows sinners. “Having swallowed the Body of the Lord as a bait, (she - M.I.) is pierced by the Divine, as if with the hook of a hook, and, having tasted the sinless and life-giving Body, she dies and gives back everyone she once swallowed up” (Ioan. Damasc. De fide orth.).

Theology of the Resurrection

The basis of Christ. The dogma of the Resurrection consists of the words of Jesus Christ Himself: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
The entire New Testament Easter gospel is built on them. Christ also points out that He is not only Life itself (John 14:6), but also the Source of life, “for as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:26) .
Death, which reigns supreme over fallen humanity, has no power over the Son.
And although He brings His human nature through the gates of death, subjecting itself to the conditions of a sinful existence, death cannot hold Him back.
She is omnipotent only in the world, which “lies in evil” (1 John 5:19).
Before Christ she shows her complete powerlessness. Jesus Christ resurrects Himself and resurrects others as the Author of life (Acts 3:15).

The mystery of the Resurrection, revealed in all its power and glory on Easter night, begins to be revealed already on the Cross.
The Cross of Christ is not only an instrument of shame, but also a sign of victory and triumph.
“Today we celebrate a festival and celebration,” writes St. John Chrysostom, - for our Lord was nailed to the Cross” (Ioan. Chrysost. I De cruce et latrone. 1).
The death of Jesus Christ destroys the very foundation of death, pulls it out, according to St. Paul, her “thorn” (1 Cor 15:55).
St. Cyril of Alexandria even calls the death of Christ “the root of life” (Cyr. Alex. In Hebr. // PG. 74. Col. 965).
On the Cross, by His death, Christ tramples down death (troparion of the feast of Holy Pascha).
Therefore, the “power of the Resurrection” is precisely the “Power of the Cross,” “invincible and indestructible, and the Divine power of the honorable and life-giving Cross.”
On the Cross, the Lord “raises us to the first bliss,” and “through the Cross comes joy to the whole world” (Florovsky. About Death on the Cross. P. 170).
“Every act and miracle-working of Christ, of course,” writes St. John of Damascus is very great, divine and amazing, but most amazing of all is His honest Cross.
For nothing else, as soon as through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ death is abolished, ancestral sin is resolved, hell is deprived of its spoils, resurrection is granted... a return to original bliss is arranged, the gates of heaven are opened, our nature is seated at the right hand of God, and we have become children of God and heirs .
All this was accomplished by the Cross” (Ioan. Damasc. De fide orth. IV 11).

After death, the soul of Christ descends to hell, remaining there united with God the Word.
Therefore, the descent into hell is the manifestation and victory of Life. “When you descended to death, Immortal Belly, then you killed hell with the brilliance of the Divine” (Sunday troparion, tone 2).

The Lord Jesus Christ as the Chief and Savior (Acts 5. 30-31) “destroys” the “mortal dwelling” (the Mother of God of the Paschal canon, hymn 4) of “all-begotten Adam” (Easter troparion 6th ode) and takes him out from there.

It was this event that, under the influence of Easter hymnography, began to be depicted in Byzantium. iconography of the Resurrection of Christ.

The life path of suffering, which ended with death on the Cross and the descent into hell, leads Jesus Christ to the glory of the Resurrection.
This glory is the seal of the entire redemptive feat of the God-Man.
He foreshadows it already at the Last Supper with his disciples: “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God was glorified in Him, then God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will soon glorify Him” (John 13:31-32).
The path to this glory lay through suffering and death, because the Son of God, uniting with fallen human nature, thereby subjected Himself to the conditions of an anomalous existence caused by human sin.
He “made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man; He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross” (Phil 2:7-8).
Through obedience to God the Father, Christ healed man from the self-will that led him to sin, and revived his nature in Himself.
That is why “God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth...” (Phil 2:9-10). The Incarnate Word enters into the glory that He had with the Father “before the world was” (John 17:5), and introduces there the regenerated human nature.
The latter, therefore, achieves such greatness that it is worthy “in heaven” to sit “at the right hand” of God the Father, “above all principality, and power, and strength, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the future" (Eph 1:20-21).
God the Father, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Eph 1:20), “put all things in subjection under His feet and set Him above all” (Eph 1:22). Therefore, the risen Christ tells His disciples that “to Him has been given... all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).

By His Resurrection, having conquered death in Himself, Jesus Christ thereby defeated it in the entire human race, since He is the “last Adam” (or “Second Adam”) (1 Cor 15. 45-49), from whom people inherit new nature and eternal life.
“We celebrate the mortification of death, the destruction of hell, the other beginning of eternal life” (troparion of the 2nd song of the Easter canon).
This beginning is “…“new creation”, ἡ καινὴ κτίσις.
One might even say, the eschatological beginning, the last step on the historical path of salvation. (In the NT the word καινός means not so much something “new” as “final”, “pertaining to the final goal.”
Throughout the text, the word obviously has an eschatological meaning.)” (Florovsky G., Archpriest Dogma and History. M., 1998. P. 245).
The “mortification” of death, however, does not mean that after the Resurrection of Christ people should no longer die.
Only the absoluteness of death has been destroyed by the resurrected.
Although “even now,” as St. notes, John Chrysostom, - we still die the same death, but we do not remain in it; but that doesn't mean dying...
The power of death and true death is when the deceased no longer has the opportunity to return to life.
If after death he comes to life, and with a better life, then this is not death, but dormition” (Ioan. Chrysost. In Hebr. 17.2).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ brought not only the human race out of the ontological impasse.
Its life-affirming power has a cosmic dimension.
How high the dignity of nature, space, matter is, is already evidenced by the Incarnation itself.
The hypostatic Word became flesh. It perceived the entire created world; in His body was concentrated “the whole substance of heaven and earth, from the simplest to the most incomprehensible” (Antony [Bloom], Metropolitan of Sourozh. Homily on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord // ZhMP. 1967. special issue. “50th anniversary of the restoration of the patriarchate” . P. 67).
The “finger” taken from the earth and forming the corporeal human organism is perceived in the Incarnation by the Divine, who again sanctifies and affirms in this act the path of the material world to transfiguration.
The body of Christ cannot be imagined only as a certain part removed from space and therefore not belonging to the latter.
The Incarnation was the real beginning of the transformation not only of man - the bearer of the image of his Creator, but also of matter itself - the work of the Creator’s hands.
After the Resurrection of Christ, “everything rushes towards ἀποκατάστασις τῶν πάντων (“restoration of all things”) - that is, to the complete restoration of everything that was destroyed by death, to the illumination of the entire cosmos with the Glory of God...” (Lossky V. Dogmatic Theology. P. 286).
In the Resurrection, the universality of the Kingdom of God was revealed, in which, along with man, both heaven, that is, the spiritual world, and earth, that is, the material world, are called upon.
They are called to become the new heaven and the new earth (Rev 21:1), so that God becomes “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28).
That is why “all creation,” writes St. Athanasius the Great, - solemnly celebrates the celebration (of the Resurrection of Christ. - M.I.) and every breath, according to the Psalmist, praises the Lord(Ps 150. 6)" (Athanas. Alex. Ep. pasch. 6. 10).