Christos Anesti!

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast!
If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord.
If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense.
If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward.
If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast.
If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; for he shall in no way thereby be deprived.
If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing.
And if any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness.

For the Lord, who is jealous of his honour, will accept the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as to him who has wrought from the first hour.
And He shows mercy upon the last, And cares for the first;
And to the one He gives, and upon the other He bestows gifts.
And He both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, both honors the acts and praises the offering.

Therefore:  enter all of you into the joy of your Lord; receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the last.
You rich and poor together, hold high festival!
You sober and you heedless, honor the day!
Rejoice today, both you who have fasted, and you who have disregarded the fast.
The table is full-laden; let all feast sumptuously.
The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.
Enjoy ye all the feast of faith:  receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness.
Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal Kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Saviour's death has set us free.
He that was held prisoner of death has annihilated it.
By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive.
He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh.
And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry:  Hell, said he, was embittered
When it encountered Thee in the lower regions.

It was embittered, for it was abolished.
It was embittered, for it was mocked.
It was embittered, for it was slain.
It was embittered, for it was overthrown.
It was embittered, for it was bound in chains.
It took a body, and met God face to face.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is thy sting?  O Hell, where is thy victory?
Christ is risen, and thou, O Death, art overthrown!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life reigns!
Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave.
For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be glory and dominion throughout all ages.  Amen.

The Paschal Homily of our father among the saints, John Chrysostom

Comments

[Drew]

Alithos anesti!

A blessed paschaltide to you and your family, Chris. And FYI, I'll be shooting you an email in the near future.

[Alice C. Linsley]

Alithos Anesti. This is awesome! Fr. Tom read it at the close of Agape Vespers on Sunday, but I didn't know where it came from and I'm glad to have the text to re-read. What a blessing to read this on Tuesday in Bright Week. Thanks for posting it.

[Mark Henderson]

Greetings Chris, how are you?
Are you still blogging?
Have visited your blog before but just now followed a link from Confessing Evangelical on infant baptism.
Can you direct me to aywhere on your blog where you have discussed coming from EO to Lutheranism?
Guess I should introduce myself: I'm a Lutheran pastor in Australia.
A friendly visitor.
Thanks.

[Christopher Jones]

Pr Henderson,

Thanks for visiting.

I have taken a little hiatus from actively posting to the weblog, but I have a post or two in the works that should go up this week. Generally I am more active commenting on other folks' weblogs than posting on my own.

I do have one post (Why I Am Not Orthodox) that talks about one of the reasons for my move from Orthodoxy to Lutheranism, but I've never published a complete apologia for the move. If you would like, send me an e-mail (ckewinjones (at) yahoo (dot) com) and I would be happy to discuss the details privately.

[Mark Henderson]

Thanks Chris, I think I see where you are coming from.
I've read that Nassif article before, and it's encouraging to see that self-critical spirit in Orthodoxy - self-critical in the positive sense, that is. The only other time I've encountered it is reading Schmemann. That's not to say it doesn't exist elsewhere, of course, I'm sure it does, but it seems a little thin on the ground. We Lutherans though, seem to go to the opposite extreme and are thoroughly masochistic when it comes to such things.
One thing I personally can't get around when it comes to Orthodoxy is the apparently synergistic tendencies in salvation. I guess you've heard that before? And yet, if I understand correctly, a Lutheran convert is not required to renounce justification by grace through faith alone if he joins the Orthodox Church. That can't be an oversight, surely? And yet elsewhere that doctrine is rejected, at least in private writings. Through misunderstanding, I wonder?
Must go - will send an e--mail.

[Christopher Jones]

Pr Henderson,

One thing I personally can't get around ... is the apparently synergistic tendencies in salvation ... I guess you've heard that before?

Indeed I have. But Orthodoxy is no more "synergistic" than is the Solid Declaration, II.65 and following (as soon as the Holy Ghost ... has begun in us this His work of regeneration and renewal, it is certain that through the power of the Holy Ghost we can and should cooperate, although still in great weakness). Lutheranism is quite strong on distinguishing justification from sanctification, but often (when we stray from the balanced doctrine of the Confessions themselves) we end up separating justification from sanctification. That is something that we must never do. The point of "monergism" is to attribute everything to the power of God's grace; but Orthodox "synergism," rightly understood, never fails to do that. And the point of Orthodox "synergism" is to ensure that we allow God's grace (that is, God Himself in his energies (Ph 2.13)) to be at work within us to conform us to the image of His Son.

a Lutheran convert is not required to renounce justification by grace through faith alone if he joins the Orthodox Church ... ?

That is my understanding, although the Orthodox are more comfortable with grace alone than with faith alone, since the only time the phrase "faith alone" occurs in Scripture is to deny it (Ja 2.24). If you have browsed around my weblog, you probably have seen how the Orthodox Church solemnly and publicly affirms that salvation is only by grace (see here).

[Jeannelle]

Just discovered this while clicking on my profile favorites:

You and I are the only 2 on Blogger who list Southern Pacific as a music favorite. And I am LCMS.

No big deal....just weird. You haven't posted on here for awhile, evidently, so maybe you are somewhere else.