Which one of us does not know that out of all the feasts, given by the Lord to His Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the most joyous, the most solemn is the Feast of the Pascha of the Lord, the Bright Resurrection of Christ. And this same Feast is the most mysterious, the most incomprehensible for the human mind. We cannot comprehend in what manner the most glorious Resurrection of Christ in the flesh, that is in the body, took place. That is only known by the Most Holy Trinity. As for us, according to the words of Bishop Innocent of Herson, we can only venerate the marks of God's glory, which appeared above the tomb of the Author and the Finisher of our salvation. Yet the marks of the glory of God are visibly imprinted also in our hearts, and we feel that unmistakeably. On the night of Pascha, the joyful and all-forgiving mood comes upon the pious, upon the usually indifferent, upon the kind, and upon those, of whom in the Catechetical Homily of St. John Chrysostom it is said: "If any hath tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him not be fearful on account of his lateness!" That is the mark of God's glory: the gift of special mystical grace, given to the faithful without merits and feats. It is as though a foretaste of the eternal joys of heaven, received by a Christian from the Lord on Pascha of Christ. Let us listen attentively, beloved brothers and sisters, to the wondrous words of the Paschal service: "Now all things are filled with light; heaven and earth, and the nethermost parts of the earth; let all creation, therefore, celebrate the arising of Christ, whereby it is strengthened." The light of the Resurrection reaches Hades and we see that on the holy icons, depicting the Risen Lord Jesus. According to the belief of the Orthodox Russian people, from the first day of the Bright Resurrection of Christ the gates of heaven open and remain open until the leave-taking of Pascha. In ancient Russia there existed a touching tradition that in these days even the torments of hell are abated: it was thought that some rest is given to sinners in the other world from Great and Holy Thursday until the very Pentecost. Such is the meaning of the greatest, life-changing world event: the Resurrection of Christ. It not only drew the creature closer to the Creator, the people to God, but by its grace-filled power it united the faithful into the Church of Christ. The feast of the Pascha of the Lord reminds us of that: those celebrating this day with a pure heart are filled with mutual forgiveness and alien to despondency because their entire being is captured by the love of the Risen Christ. Pascha of Christ, 2009.