The Resurrection of Christ, the Defeat of Death
By Archpriest Fr. George Metallinos, Adjunct Professor
at the School of Theology, University of Athens
The greatest event in history: The Resurrection of
Christ is the greatest event in history. It is what distinguishes Christianity
from any other religion. Other religions have mortal leaders, whereas the head
of the Church is the Risen Christ. “The Resurrection of Christ” signifies the
deification and resurrection of human nature and the hope of the deification
and resurrection of our own being. Since the remedy has been found, there is
hope for life.
Through the Resurrection of Christ, life and death
take on a new meaning. Life means communion with God. Death is no longer the
end of this present life, but man’s separation from Christ. The separation of
the soul from the body is not death, but a temporary sleep.
The Resurrection of Christ vindicates His uniqueness
and exclusivity as Savior, capable of truly giving life, of infusing His
Life—which overcomes death—into our mortal lives. One Christ, one Resurrection,
and one possibility of salvation and deification. That is why our hope for
overcoming the dead ends that suffocate our lives is directed toward Christ.
Toward the Christ of the Saints, the Christ of History.
The distorted “Christ” of heresies or the
“relativized” Christ of the religious syncretism of New Age pan-religion
constitutes a rejection of the true Christ and of the Salvation offered by Him.
The Christ of our Saints is the Christ of History as well, and He excludes any
confusion of His person with whatever redemptive substitutes are invented to
mislead the masses. For only in this way can delusion sustain the deception,
facilitating the domination of antichrist forces (which may have even
infiltrated the Church) that, while they spread death, appear as “angels of
light” and “ministers of righteousness” .
Through the experience of our Saints, we realize that
there are no more tragic existences than those of the “hopeless” —hope of
resurrection—viewing biological death as destruction and the end.
Unfortunately, science also succumbs to this tragedy, desperately seeking
methods to prolong life and spreading the illusion of overcoming natural death.
Equally tragic, however, are those —even Christians—who are trapped in the
confines of millenarian visions of universal prosperity and immanent
eschatology, losing sight of the true meaning of the Resurrection and
sacrificing the transcendent to the immanent and the eternal to the transitory.
The Resurrection of Christ, as the resurrection of
humanity and of all creation, acquires meaning only within the framework of
Patristic soteriology. That is, through the crucifixion and resurrection with
Christ. This is how Hellenism has experienced the Resurrection throughout its
historical course. Faithful to the Resurrection of Christ, Orthodoxy has been
characterized as the “Church of the Resurrection,” because it builds its entire
historical presence upon it, instilling in the consciousness of its peoples the
hope of the Resurrection, something that is evident in its cultural continuity.
Among them, the Greek people learned to dispel the darkness of their bondage in
the Light of the Resurrection, as during the Ottoman occupation, when, upon
hearing “Christ is Risen,” they could not help but add: “and Greece is risen!”
And this for four hundred years….
It is within this symbolic context that the hopeful
invitation “Come, receive the Light!” is voiced. It is the invitation to the
uncreated Light of the Resurrection, which is received by those who have
purified their hearts of evil and passions. Without the “purification” of the
heart—that is, repentance—no one can partake of the Resurrected Light. Repentance
is the overcoming of sin, the cause of all our death. This is what the monastic
saying, which sounds strange to the uninitiated, constantly reminds us: “Well,
if you die before you die, you won’t die when you die!” Christ is Risen!!
