Holy Pascha

Pascha is the celebration of Christ’s rising from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion, as all four Gospels relate. For Orthodox Christians it is the “Feast of Feasts”: the center of the whole church year, from which the dates of Lent, Pentecost and many other days are counted.

The traditional icon does not show the empty tomb so much as Christ’s descent into Hades: He stands on the broken gates of death and pulls Adam and Eve up by the hand, showing that His victory is for all humanity.

Pascha begins at midnight with a candlelit procession and the joyful greeting “Christ is risen!” – “Truly He is risen!”, which replaces ordinary greetings for forty days. The week that follows, Bright Week, is fast-free.