Christ is risen! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Христос Воскресе! !المسيح قام! حقا قام 
Truly, Truly, He is risen!

When our Lord rose from the dead and the Holy Spirit descended upon the polyglotted people gathered at Pentecost, the truth was proclaimed in every language available. In fact, in the latter feast, each heard the Gospel proclaimed in his/her own native tongue. Though of all the world’s languages, some have been set aside for particularly holy purposes, this does not preclude preaching the good news in them all. It is for this evangelical reason that the Church has ordained a service on the day of Pascha called Agape (Love) Vespers.

In Agape Vespers, each local parish gathers as many foreign language speakers as it can muster to read the Gospel account of the resurrection in those different tongues. You might imagine the incredible variety on display in parishes located near major metropolitan centers. In the service we attended today, there were at least 10 different languages including Greek, Russian, Arabic, Latin, French, Spanish, Urdu, Turkish, and, my personal favorite, American Sign Language. This explication of the glorious Gospel in the ordinary, familiar, and sometimes exotic languages of the people gathered ensures that the Risen Lord is accessible and available to all.

And not only is He available, but He invites and implores all of creation to be renewed in His resurrection. Yea, even and especially in languages deemed heretical and dangerous by some. For this torrent of praise and thanksgiving acts as a kind of sin-o-cide bombing– destroying death by death and giving new life to all things corruptible. Let us too join the chorus in spreading the good news that intrudes on our worldly sloth and awakens all to paradise.

Christ is risen! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Христос Воскресе! !المسيح قام! حقا قام 
Truly, Truly, He is risen!