The Holy Fire has descended in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem! Christ is Risen!

“Today, the Lord, in His mercy, has allowed certain sorrows and trials to befall our Holy Church, through which He gives us the opportunity, the chance to become stronger and spiritually perfected. Some of us, when faced with injustice, try to find a way in life where there are no modern sorrows and trials. Of course, such paths exist and they can be found, but we must remember that smooth roads lead to hell, while the gates to the Heavenly Kingdom are rocky and narrow (Matt. 7:13-14). If we want to be true followers of our risen Lord Jesus Christ, we should not worry about what people say about us, but rather, we should worry about not having evil in our souls so that what people say about us is untrue. This is what Sacred Scripture teaches us: ‘Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you....

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.’ (1 Peter 4:12-19).”
—from the 2023 Easter Message by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry

https://spzh.news/en/news/73248-easter-message-by-his-beatitude-metropolitan-onuphry

When you hear that Christ, descended into hell, freed the souls contained there, do not think that it is far from being accomplished now. Know that the coffin is the heart and in there is buried and kept an impenetrable darkness of your mind and your thoughts. The Lord comes to souls, in hell, crying to it, that is, in the depths of the heart, and there commands death to release the imprisoned souls, praying for it, Who can liberate.. Then, throwing away a heavy stone, which is lying on the soul, opens the coffin, resurrects the mortified soul, and takes it out, imprisoned in the dungeon, into the light. ✝️ St Macarius the Great

The Holy Light comes on Saturday at a quarter past one. The Holy Light does not represent the Resurrection for us on earth, but the descent into hell, that the prophecy of Isaiah had to be fulfilled: "Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, light will shine upon you; those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, great light will come upon you."

On Saturday, the Savior was in hell with his soul. With us, when he rose at midnight, he rose with all his body, Sunday, but with them he was only with his soul and took them out.

—Elder Cleopa of Sihastria Monastery

Pascha in Ghana!

Christ is Risen! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Христосъ воскресе! Христос воскрес! Hristos a înviat!
Photo: Pascha at Mt Athos

Christ is Risen!

On the night of Pascha 1993 at the Optina Hermitage, Hieromonk Basil (Roslyakov), Monk Therapont (Pushkaryov), and Monk Trophim (Tatarinov) were murdered by satanist Nikolay Averin with a knife so large it resembled a sword-- and engraved with "satan" and "666." The wounds were inflicted with precision and with the intention not to bring instant death, but to cause the victims to bleed to death over a long time.

New Martyrs of Optina Pustyn, pray that we might be made steadfast through your blood and suffering, unto the salvation of our souls!

Resurrection Day! O peoples, let us brilliantly shine! Pascha, the Lord's Pascha! For Christ our God has out of death passed us over into life, and likewise from earth to heaven, as we now sing unto Him a triumphal hymn.

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν...

Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.

“Christ is risen from the dead Trampling down death by death…” In Romanian — from Africa!

Hristos a înviat din morți
Cu moartea pe moarte călcând
Şi celor din morminte
Viață dăruindu-le.

Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.
Paschaltide is The 40-day period following the Feast of the Resurrection, Holy Pascha, leading up to the Feast of Our Lord's Ascension. Paschaltide is rich with hymns glorifying the Resurrection. We greet one another with "Christ is Risen!" and "Truly He is Risen!"

Bright Wednesday

On Bright Wednesday we commemorate the holy monastic Fathers who have shone forth on the God-trodden Mt Sinai.

Icon: Saints slain at Mt Sinai

The Life Giving Spring of the Mother of God is commemorated on Bright Friday (Renewal Friday). Churches built at the miraculously-revealed Fountain of healing at Constantinople have been successively destroyed but the Spring remains.

"O Lady graced by God, you reward me by letting gush forth, beyond reason, the ever-flowing waters of your grace from your perpetual Spring. I entreat you, who bore the Logos, in a manner beyond comprehension, to refresh me in your grace that I may cry out, 'Hail redemptive waters.'"

The icon of Christ, sorrowing about children that killed by abortion. It’s located at the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God Church in Perdikas, region of Aegina, Greece. #OrthodoxIcon #Orthodoxy #OrthodoxChurch #prolife #abortion

Shared from https://www.afistemenaziso.gr

Christos voskrese! Amazing censer-ship!

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."

Under Romania's communist dictatorship secret police tortured Fr. George Calciu to such exhaustion that he could only pray "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." With this prayer, he was able to survive.