Pascha — the Bright Resurrection of Christ

Pascha is the remembrance and experience of Christ's Resurrection, the victory over death. The Apostle Paul: “if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Pascha is not counted among the Twelve Great Feasts but stands above them as the “Feast of Feasts”.

Pascha is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon falling on or after the spring equinox, by the Alexandrian paschalion on the Julian calendar; hence Orthodox Pascha often differs from Western Easter.

The night service begins with a procession and the proclamation “Christ is risen!” Bright Week is fast-free; until Ascension Christians greet one another with the paschal greeting. The paschal season ends with the leave-taking on the eve of Ascension.