DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD, GOD, AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF OUR
LORD, GOD, AND SAVIOR
JESUS CHRIST.

The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ were originally celebrated jointly, as a single feast. Although eventually the two events came to be celebrated separately according to their chronological order, their unity remained. CRUCIFIXION, DEATH AND RESURRECTION were understood AS A SINGLE LIFE-SAVING EVENT, celebrated over a three-day period, keeping track with the historical events. If early on the Church emphasized in its liturgical commemoration the Passion of Christ, in subsequent times He combined it with the Resurrection of the Lord. The hymnology of Holy and Great Friday speaks of the Resurrection.

The unity of Crucifixion and Resurrection is clearly seen in the weekly celebration of the event, the Divine Liturgy, which is an older and more genuinely Christian commemoration of PASCHA than the annual one. Thus in the Anamnesi, during the Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, we see the commemoration encompassing ALL SAVING EVENTS. The emphasis of the Eucharistic service is, of course, more on the Resurrection of the Lord than on His Passion or on any other event. This is quite amazing, considering that the Divine Eucharist IS BASED ON THE WORD OF THE LORD, "THIS IS MY BODY WHICH IS BROKEN FOR YOU… THIS IS MY BLOOD… WHICH IS POURED OUT FOR YOU." The Divine Liturgy closes with a prayer to Christ "RISEN FROM THE DEAD."

The Holy Body and Blood of the Lord communed by the faithful ARE THE "DIVINE," HOLY, PURE, IMMORTAL, HEAVENLY, LIFE-GIVING, AND AWESOME MYSTERIES OF CHRIST." In a post-communion prayer, the faithful address Christ as the "Loving Master, Who died and rose for our sake, and granted to us these awesome and Life-Giving Mysteries for the well being and sanctification of our souls and bodies."

THE RESURRECTIONAL CHARACTER
OF THE DIVINE LITURGY

We need to expand on the Resurrectional Character of the Liturgy. In the Divine Liturgy we "REMEMBER" Christ, especially a Christ IMMOLATED FOR THE SALVATION OF THE WORLD. We remember"those events which seem to denote nothing but weakness: His Cross, His Passion, His Death–these are the happenings which He asks us to commemorate." Yet,

the remembrance of the Passion and Death of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as a remembrance of the same Christ Who arose,, is always within the Light of the Resurrection. It is characteristic that the day par excellence of this remembrance, THE DAY OF THE Holy Eucharist is NOT Friday, but SUNDAY. Furthermore, it should be noted that on the day of Christ’s Passion, Great and Holy Friday, the Orthodox Church DOES NOT ALLOW THE CELEBRATION OF THE DIVINE LITURGY. The Divine Liturgy is the remembrance of Christ’s Passion and Death which only has meaning in the light of the Resurrection.

In fact, we may say that WITHOUT THE RESURRECTION "The Eucharist would be merely the remembrance of a departure with no return. The Divine Eucharist is especially tied to the Lord’s Resurrection, celebrated on the "first day of the week" (Acts 20:6-11; cf. 1 Corinthians 16:2), that is on the weekly commemoration of the Death and Resurrection of the Lord. The early Church seems to be aware only of the SUNDAY CELEBRATION. The weekly celebration of the Divine Eucharist on "the Lord’s Day" gives a resurrectional character to the service. The "remembrance" is that of the crucified, but also risen and glorified Lord. Later on, the Divine Eucharist was celebrated on the anniversaries of the Martyrs (dies natalis, birthday), which is an attestation of the faith in the Resurrection of the dead. The direct connection of the Divine Eucharist with the Resurrection is also shown by the fact that the Divine Eucharist was celebrated OVER THE TOMB OF A MARTYR, AND IN CURRENT PRACTICE, ON A Table in which are embedded the holy relics of Saints.

There is another "connecting link" between the Divine Eucharist and the resurrection. The Divine Eucharist has a direct bearing over the General Resurrection of the dead. The Lord said categorically, "He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:54). The resurrection of the dead will not come from the outside. Christ, Who enters the heart OF THE BELIEVING COMMUNICANT and KEEPS THE SOUL ALIVE, will affect the resurrection of the body "FROM WITHIN." He Who is "the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25) WILL RAISE THE DEAD "TO THE RESURRECTION OF LIFE" (John 5:29). "The dead in Christ" (1 Thessalonians 4:16), i.e., those who have Christ within them and live His life, "WILL RISE… AND SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH THE LORD" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). As Saint Irenaeus of200) Lyons (A.D. 200) tells us, those who "RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST, ARE NO LONGER CORRUPTIBLE, HAVING HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION TO ETERNITY."

The Holy Anaphora in Saint Basil’s Liturgy, after teh words of the Institution, "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24), continues: "For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you proclaim My Death, and you confess My Resurrection" (cr. 1 Corinthians 11:26). Therefore in our Offering (Oblation) and in partaking of the CONSECRATED GIFTS we "remember" primarily these two main events (DEATH AND RESURRECTION), WHICH ACCOMPLISHED OUR SALVATION. However, the Body and Blood we partake is that of the Eternally Resurrected Christ.

Twice in the Divine Liturgy (before the Procession with the Holy Gifts and after receiving Holy Communion) the priest recites, albeit in current practice inaudibly, a prayer which mentions the Resurrection four times:

"Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the Only Sinless One. We venerate Your Cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify Your Holy Resurrection. You are our God. We know no other than You, and we call upon Your Name. Come, all faithful, let us venerate the Holy Resurrection of Christ. For behold, through the Cross joy has come to all the world. Blessing the Lord always, let us praise His Resurrection. For enduring the Cross for us, He destroyed death by death." [Resources: The Heavenly Banquet]

___________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine, Blessed and Glorious Descent,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George