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[Alexandr Korol]

“The ancient Hebrew word “Pesach” refers to the Jewish Passover, celebrated according to the lunar calendar. It is related to the root ח.ס.פ.‎ (“passed over, skipped”), which recalls how the Almighty passed over the Jewish homes when destroying the firstborn of Egypt.
The Old Testament Passover was observed in memory of the Jewish people’s exodus from Egyptian captivity, although the custom of celebrating Passover appeared before the Exodus and was originally connected with livestock breeding, and later with agriculture.” Also interesting is that everyone has seen the movie “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” where everyone remembers that Moses tried to negotiate with the Egyptian king but ultimately failed, and then something happened causing all the Egyptian firstborns to die, while the Jewish firstborns survived. Again, the film presents this literally, with beautiful cinematography, but this is actually sacred language. It is quite possible that this represents the darkness, perhaps the underworld, which has now befallen all people. And all the chosen ones of God have endured this and were spared, while those who opposed God have self-destructed and now lie in the cemetery, remain in the underworld, or ended up there and stayed. “In Christianity, the name of the holiday took on a different meaning — “passing from death to life, from earth to heaven.” Just as God freed the Jews from Egyptian slavery, so the Christian is freed from the slavery of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; thus, the Old Testament Passover became a foreshadowing of the Christian Passover.”

“On the third day, on Sunday, Christ rose from the dead. Soon, the Myrrh-bearing women came. They saw that the heavy stone sealing the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away. But the tomb was empty. They found there the burial cloth that covered Christ’s face. At the entrance to the tomb, an angel met the Myrrh- bearers and announced to them that Christ had risen. It is believed that Christ, having died and risen after three days, conquered death itself. In Byzantine and Old Russian iconography, the moment of resurrection is not depicted, as its description is absent from the New Testament texts. For the Orthodox tradition, the canonical theme is related to Christ’s descent into hell and the liberation of the souls of the righteous and the first humans.”