Through the Cross, Joy has come into all the World

Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ, is the basis of the entire liturgical life of the Church. Easter, as is expressed in one Paschal hymn, "is the chosen and holy day," "the feast of feasts, holy day of holy days." Even before the yearly feast of the resurrection was definitely established, the early Christians already celebrated and participated in the feast of their weekly eucharistic gatherings.
Every Sunday, that is "on the first day of every week," Christians have experienced the joy of the resurrection. What the "feast of feasts" is for the year, the eucharistic liturgy is for the week. The annual celebration of Pascha is "king and lord of days," and the Sunday celebration is the "queen of days." In the eucharistic liturgy, the underlying theme and reality is the resurrection of Christ. The climax of the Vigil service, held each Saturday night, is the reading of the gospel of the resurrection from the altar, which symbolically represents the holy sepulchre. Thus the resurrection is proclaimed, and the sepulchre becomes the "source of life." The Nocturne of the Paschal service exclaims: Blessed is the tomb! For having received the Creator as one asleep, it became a divine treasury of life."
The resurrection is first of all an act of God in the life of Christ. By raising Him from the dead, God, according to the Fathers of the Church, affected all human beings and revealed what would happen to all creation. The resurrection is
for the salvation of all. The Fathers interpreted the expression: "Jesus is risen" to mean the manifestation of God's power and glory, the pledge of our resurrection, and the transformation of all creation. Christ entering into glory is for the sake of all humanity and not for the sake of one man only. His resurrection is the beginning of the resurrection of the others.

Let us select a few hymns from the Paschal service that convey the spirit and meaning of the Easter feast. The most constant theme is that expressed in the troparion for the day:

Christ is risen from the dead,trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Then comes the theme of light:
Let us purify our senses and we shall see Christ shining in the unapproachable light of His Resurrection.
This theme of light is underlined in the gospel reading for Easter, which is the prologue to St. John's Gospel (1:1-7). This is not in a strict sense an account of the Resurrection, but it is the gospel of light. Christ is the light that enlightens all.
The joy that permeates all the hymns is the outstanding characteristic of the service, both in the liturgical texts and in the attitudes of those present.
This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Let us embrace each other joyously. Let us be illuminated by the feast. Let us embrace each other.
Let us call "brothers" even those that hate us, and forgive all by the Resurrection.
This spirit of joy is captured in the sermon of St. John Chrysostom, read at the end of the Paschal Matins. The sermon is primarily an invitation for all to share in communion:
If any man be devout and loveth 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 . . . Rejoice today, both you have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously ... 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 shone forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior's death has set us free ... (Hell) 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 art overthrown ...
Yet even during this most joyous of all Orthodox feasts the cross of Christ is not forgotten. In one of the hymns of the Resurrection (sung also every Saturday evening), the cross and the resurrection are combined:
Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless One. We venerate thy cross, O Christ, and thy holy Resurrection we praise and glorify; for thou art our God, and we know no other than thee; we call on thy name. Come, all you faithful, let us venerate Christ's holy Resurrection. By enduring the cross for cross joy has come into all the world. Ever blessing the Lord, let us praise His resurrection. By enduring the cross for us, He destroyed death by death.
The veneration of the cross is prominent in Orthodox worship and spirituality. By the cross, as St. John of Damascus summarizes the teachings of the Fathers, all things are set aright. Sin is destroyed, death is overcome, and resurrection is bestowed. The cross, as the services exclaim, is the "life-bearing cross," "the banner of joy," "the divine glory of Christ," "the power which raises us from corruption." There is no resurrection without the cross. The cross and the resurrection are one whole. One of the Church's hymns expresses this unity as follows:
Before Thy Cross, we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection, we glorify.
Among the twelve great feasts of the calendar year, one is the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross (Sept. 14). At the midpoint of Great Lent, we are reminded that it is by way of the cross and death that Christ moves toward the Resurrection. He is never pictured on the cross as the victim but as the victor.
The exalted cross calls all of creation to praise the pure passion,
the passion of Christ, who was exalted on it.
On the cross, He killed the one who had killed us ...
On Great Friday Vespers, the worshippers hear in the church that "all creation was changed by fear of seeing Thee upon the cross, O Christ. The sun was darkened and the foundations of the earth were shaken. All creatures suffered with their Creator." "Today, the Master of creation stands before Pilate. Today the Creator of all is condemned to die on the cross. Of His own will, He is led as a lamb to slaughter . . ."
On Great Saturday, Christ experiences an "active" rest. He descends to Hades and extends salvation to the whole of fallen humanity, including those in Sheol. The icon of Christ's descent into Hades is both the icon of Holy Saturday and of Easter. There is a transition, a gradual passing from "a day of reverent silence" (Friday) to a day of joy, the joy of the resurrection. This middle day is that "blessed Sabbath":
In the flesh Thou wast willingly enclosed in the tomb,
Thou who art boundless and infinite in Thy divinity.
Thou didst close the chambers of death, O Christ.
Thou hast emptied all the palaces of hell. Thou has honored this Sabbath with Thy blessing, glory and splendor:
With His resurrection, in the words of the liturgical texts, Christ has transformed the corruptible to incorruption and revealed a fountain of incorruptible life. He has crashed the bars of Hades, driven away its darkness, released Adam and brought joy to the world.
When Thou, the Redeemer of all wast placed in a tomb, all Hell's powers quaked in fear. Its bars were broken, its gates were smashed! Its mighty reign was brought to an end, for the dead came forth alive from their tombs, casting off the bonds of their captivity. Adam was filled with joy! He gratefully cried out to Thee, O Christ: Glory to Thy condescension, O Lover of man!
The cross and the resurrection - their power and joy are the foundation of our faith and the source of our life. Because of them we can proclaim on the day of the Resurrection: "This is the Day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"