For Orthodox Christians the Resurrection of Christ is the greatest and most venerated among all Christian holidays for having brought the Light of Salvation. This is the day celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who through His death took upon the sins of mankind, and with His resurrection gave the hope of life after death. No wonder that the Bulgarian word for Easter is Velikden, meaning Great Day. It is celebrated in the course of three days. According to archpriest Vasilii Saryan from the Holy Transfiguration Church in Sofia, the essence of this great day is in the promise that humans will be able to go back to Eden from where they were once expelled.

“The idea of the Creator was not to make man suffer and to live in this painful, mortal world. He wanted people to rejoice in eternity, but because of the original sin and the sins that stifle the world again and again, we continue to suffer”, Father Saryan explains. “In the days of holy service all texts from the New Testament speak about the last days – the Day of the Apocalypse, of suffering and disasters that will devastate the Universe before the Second Coming of the Savior. Let us hope we won’t witness Doomsday, because it will be time of great suffering. In fact everything depends on us. If we are good and live according to religious rules this may never occur. With Resurrection the Savior laid the foundations of Eternity, so that when souls part with the flesh, they can freely go where they deserve.”

Now we can see that 2000 years after the sacrifice of the Redeemer people fail to grasp its meaning and are in need of redemption, Father Vasilii Saryan says.

“Here is what Easter chants sing about: the way we all die like Adam, all of us will live through Chris. So when we carry out a funeral, we say that those buried in the name of Christ, will resurrect. There is hope for them. Faith and baptism open the doors to salvation. When one makes the sign of the cross this is a kind of resurrection through which we break down the shackles that keep the soul locked, and it embarks on the path of salvation. Everybody is sinful, the point is not to repeat the same sins, and to try to fight off the ones that are coming. The enemy of human salvation is vigilant and will always challenge us. Christ allows all this to test whether humans are worth the Resurrection. Life is school, and this means exams. If we stick to Christian virtues, the hope of earning eternal life is great. This life is only the preparation for the real eternity, and it is time for us to make choices what path to take.”

For the people visiting churches on Easter, resurrection is the day that makes them become better. Late on Saturday night a solemn service is held in all churches. At midnight the priest declares Resurrection with the phrase “God is risen”. The answer is “He has risen indeed!” The priest then takes a lighted candle out of the church and the congregation light their candles from it to take them home. On Easter Sunday people visit churches again. One of the symbols of the day is the dyed egg. The stronger the egg, the more healthy the year.

© Photo: BGNES

“I expect the holiday with impatience and with joy”, says nurse Maria Andonova. “I often visit church service. Many people prepare carefully for this holiday. I personally try to understand the meaning of prayers during church service. Otherwise, I try to be kind to people and to help sick and helpless people. The hard times that we live in leave no time to analyze our behavior. When things go wrong, we always turn to God for help. I am happy there is such a great day that enables us to shake off our sins.”

English version Daniela Konstantinova