Christ Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he 
live:” (John 11:25)

	Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the 
spices which they had prepared., and .. they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in 
and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.  .. and as they were perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them 
in shining garments, .. they said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen." 
(Luke 24:1).

	The Coptic Orthodox Church, guided by the Holy Spirit and at the request of the fathers gathered at the 
Council of Nicea, was given the responsibility of declaring the time of Easter celebration. Our Church has 
continued to carry the responsibility set by the fathers of the church and follows the guidelines set at Nicea as to 
when to celebrate Easter. Although, one should not make a big deal of when to celebrate an important occasion like 
Easter, it is better for the church if we all agree on one date. We Copts consider Easter the most sacred of all feasts 
and adhere to the rules set in the first Ecumenical Council at Nicea, 325 A.D. 

	In Arabic, we call Easter "Eid Kebeer" or the Great Feast as opposed to Christmas which is called "Eid 
Sagheer" which means Small Feast. This is in contrast to the Western Churches which start preparation for 
Christmas in July, and hardly make a mention of Easter. Easter is the celebration of resurrection, and without 
resurrection there would be no redepmtion "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). Christ died for us all on the 
wood of the cross carrying the sins of the whole world and by his resurrection he defeated death and sin. Satan, the 
prince of this world was defeated by Christ's resurrection, which is the reason of the unspeakable joy we sense 
when we think about Christ the Risen Lord.

	Easter celebration gives us hope for our own resurrection in the latter day. We will rise again "the 
righteous will enjoy the resurrection of the righteous and share in his glory of our risen God and the evil to the 
resurrection of the wicked where eternal punishment will be in the fire of damnation”. It is the pleasure of the 
righteous to think about Easter, because he can see that life of pain and sorrow is not the aim, but rather a 
transition state in which we prepare ourselves for eternal life with Christ and his saints about which the Apostle 
Paul said: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Phi 1:21). This is the first time man speaks about death 
without fear. Instead, the Apostle considers it gain because through Christ's resurrection we all received the 
promise of the same victory over death: "Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be 
changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (I Cor 15:51-52). Hence we fear death no more: "O death, 
where is thy victory?" (I Cor 15:55).

	Satan and his agents may grudgingly accept the Holy birth of Christ, but they can never see him risen 
again. That is why many resist accepting the fact that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again inspite of the 
overwhelming evidence. The authenticity of the bible has been proven many times over. Pantius Pilate wrote a 
complete report to Caesar, Historians were able to find it and translate it from Latin to live languages, it details all 
the events mentioned in the four Gospels about Jesus crucifixion and death. Jesus is the only historic figure whose 
tomb is empty. 

	The excuse the Roman soldiers gave was very lame, poor scared fishermen could not steal a corpse of a 
person condemned by the head priests and executed by a governor who could not find a single fault in him except 
for trying to appease his accusers. Pantius Pilate was warned by the leaders of the Jews that he was to guard his 
tomb heavily. The napkin of Veronica and the shroud of Turin are relics which were kept for centuries. The cross 
uncovered by Queen Hellen(a), the mother of the pious emperor Constantine, was passed from generation to 
generation. My grandparents as well as many others were given a small piece of the cross when they visited the 
Holy Land in the 1940's. Only a small piece is kept in the museums of the Vatican. We believe it not only because 
it was told, but also, because it makes life worth living. The God of the Universe dies for his creation, so we can 
claim our place of eternal life with him through the forgiveness of our sins. One philosopher said it: 'If Jesus did 
not exist, Paul the Apostle would have invented him" I dare add because it made great sense to this gifted scholar 
who studied under the feet of Ghamalael. Listen to Ghamalael himself in the book of Acts: “And now I say unto 
you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” (Acts 5:38,39)
 
	We believe it not because of the physical evidence, but more importantly because our hearts are convicted 
that we need our salvation and in the fullness of time Jesus was born, lived among men, taught us the ways of 
salvation and committed the greatest act one can do for his beloved. There is no love greater than this: For one to 
die for his beloved. Can you imagine life as described by Jacob the Father of the Fathers, as the church calls him: 
"Your servants days are 4 scores and ten (130 years), the best of it is sorrow and pain" This was his reply to 
Pharaoh when he asked his age. He was the father of a great nation, but he did not have the privilege of salvation 
yet! Solomon the great wise king wrote: "all is vanity and no use under the sun."  
No one was wiser or richer in his time. That is the reason we see our own resurrection in Christ's resurrection. We 
see joy everlasting in him risen: "for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. Bus as it 
is written: eyes have not seen, nor ears heard neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has 
prepared for those who " (I Cor 2:8-). So experiencing Jesus, the joy of knowing that we were raised up with him, 
we can say with Paul the Apostle: "I desire to depart and be with Christ, because it is much better" instead of 
fearing death as other peoples do. Easter gives a sinner hope and a motive to repent, because if Christ rose again, 
he can raise us from the death of sin into life everlasting.

	It is most appropriate to celebrate Easter in the Spring which is the time of growth. As plant life blossoms 
after the dead of winter, so do our souls, they blossom again on Easter, the Spring of spiritual life after we were 
dead because of sin.

	The church leads us through a systematic experience to appreciate the meaning of Easter. We go through 
the season of the Great Lent which is a time of humility (lowering ones' self) and fasting (sel-affliction), it is 
followed by the Paschal Week in which we relive the passion and sufferings of our Lord. We spend most of 
Thursday remebering the Lord's supper, most of Friday fasting and praying for Jesus crucified. Friday night and 
Saturday early morning remebering Apocalypse (The Revelations of St. John), contemplating the prophecies 
regarding the events that are to come on the world in the latter day and Jesus second coming. We start Easter 
celebration Saturday evening, and conclude the service very early Sunday morning. 

	The celebration of Easter continues for 50 days (Pentecost) season of church celebrations in which fasting 
and matanias (prostrating one's self) are not permitted because it is a season of joy, happiness, and peace 
everlasting. All services in the church during Pentecost include the song of victory "Ekhristos Anisti Eknikron ..." 
(Christ Rose from the dead. Through death He defeated death, and those who were dead rose again with him and 
received the promise of eternal life. Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit now and at all times and 
forever and ever . Amen).

	And as our forefathers always said on this occasion in greeting each other: "Ekhristos Anisti. ... Alithos 
Anisti" Christ Is Risen. He Is Risen Indeed. Happy Easter.


(C) 1997; Dr. William A. Hanna; St. Mary & St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church; 1843 Ross Ave.; St. Louis, 
Missouri 63146; USA.