“We celebrated the death of death and the overthrow of hell, the beginning of another life which is eternal, and in exultation we sing the praises of its source. He alone is blessed and most glorious, the God of our fathers.” (Pascha Matins)
Christ, the incarnate God, is the source of eternal life. By His death, He destroys death – Death cannot hold the Christ and is forced to surrender to God all those whom Death had held captive. Christ is our liberator from death; salvation is liberation from bondage to Death. The Gospel message which Christianity proclaimed to the world from the beginning: “Christ is risen from the dead!” The implication is shocking: Christ defeats death, which is our enemy. Christianity came to understand that all the suffering, sorrow, grief, impermanence, morbidity and mortality of this world results from our separation from God. God in Christ is the Good Shepherd seeking us His lost sheep, separated from Him, battered by sin and hunted down by death. Christ carries us to His safe haven, making a path to the resurrection through the grave and through Hades itself. We will follow our Lord in faith and with love.
Fraternized 