2nd Sunday of Pascha (Antipascha) — Tone 1. St. Thomas Sunday.
Tone 7 Troparion (Pentecostarion)
From the sealed tomb, You shone forth, O Life! Through closed doors You came to Your Disciples, O Christ God. Renew in us, through them, an upright spirit,// by the greatness of Your mercy, O Resurrection of all!
Tone 8 Kontakion (Pentecostarion)
Thomas touched Your life-giving side with an eager hand, O Christ God, when You came to Your Apostles through closed doors.// He cried out with all: “You are my Lord and my God!”
Tone 3 Prokeimenon (from the Pentecostarion)
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power, / His understanding is beyond measure. (Ps. 146:5)
V. Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God! (Ps.146:1)
Acts 5:12-20 (Epistle)
And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.
Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”
Tone 8
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
V. Come, let us rejoice in the Lord! Let us make a joyful noise to God our Savior! (Ps. 94:1)
V. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King over all the earth. (Ps. 94:3)
John 20:19-31 (Gospel)
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Hieromartyr Simeon, kinsman of the Lord, second Bishop of Jerusalem
The Holy Apostle and Hieromartyr Simeon, a kinsman of the Lord, was the son of Cleopas, who was the younger brother of Saint Joseph the Betrothed. Thus, Saint Simeon is Joseph’s nephew, and a cousin of the Lord. As an adult, he witnessed the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ, believed in Him, and became one of the 70 Apostles. Saint Simeon proclaimed the teachings of Christ, was instructed in the truths of the holy Faith, and denounced idol worship. After the murder of the Holy Apostle James (October 23), the first Bishop of Jerusalem, Christians chose the Apostle Simeon to succeed him.
The Emperors Vespasian and Domitian had ordered that all descendants of King David be put to death. Emperor Trajan (98-117) renewed that decree, and certain heretics and some others denounced Saint Simeon as a descendant of King David, as well as a Christian.
The pagans arrested Saint Simeon, who at that time was more than one hundred and twenty years old. He astonished the judge and his attendants by enduring several days of torture, and then he was crucified in the year 107, during Trajan’s reign, when Atticus was consul.
The Parisian Codices contain a Service in honor of Saint Simeon, the poem of the hymnographer Theophanēs. (Some Synaxaristes also commemorate him on September 18).
Antipascha: Saint Thomas Sunday
Some icons depicting this event are inscribed “The Doubting Thomas.” This is incorrect. In Greek, the inscription reads, “The Touching of Thomas.” The Slavonic inscription is, “The Belief of Thomas.” When Saint Thomas touched the Life-giving side of the Lord, he no longer had any doubts.
This day is also known as “Antipascha.” This does not mean “opposed to Pascha,” but “in place of Pascha.” Beginning with this first Sunday after Pascha, the Church dedicates every Sunday of the year to the Lord’s Resurrection. Sunday is called “Resurrection” in Russian, and “the Lord’s Day” in Greek.
The Burning of Saint Sava’s Relics
After his death in Trnovo, Bulgaria on January 14, 1235 Saint Savva was buried in the Cathedral of the Forty Martyrs. On May 6, 1237 his relics were carried in procession from Trnovo to Mileshevo Monastery in Serbia. When the casket was opened, the relics were found to be incorrupt, and produced an ineffable fragrance. In 1253, the Serbian Orthodox Church glorified the holy hierarch Savva as a Saint.
Following the Battle of Kosovo on June 25, 1389, the Serbian nation fell under the Turkish Yoke. During this period the Serbs continued to visit the tomb of Saint Savva, asking him to give them the strength to endure the oppressive persecution they suffered at the hands of the Turks. His icon was placed on their flags, and the faithful turned to the Saint for encouragement, consolation, and healing.
The Serbs revolted in 1595, led by Patriarch John Kantul and others. Sinan Pasha, the Turkish military leader in Belgrade, sent soldiers to crush the rebellion. Sultan Mohammed II ordered that the relics of Saint Savva be burnt. On Great and Holy Friday, the Turks removed the Saint’s relics from Mileshevo Monastery. The next day, April 27, they climbed Savinac Hill in the Vrachar district and set fire to the holy relics.
Instead of becoming despondent, the Serbs were inspired to even greater love for Christ, for Holy Orthodoxy, and for Saint Savva. Although the Saint’s relics had been destroyed, the people continued to venerate him, and to remember the burning of his relics every year.
After national independence in 1879, there was a proposal to build a memorial church in honor of Saint Savva. In 1895, the three hundredth anniversary of the burning of Saint Savva’s relics, plans were made to build a church on the site where his relics were burnt. A temporary chapel was constructed the following year, but it was not possible to build a large cathedral until after World War I. In 1927, Patriarch Barnabas announced a competition for architects to submit designs for the cathedral. In 1935, architects were chosen and construction began.
During World War II, work was halted when the Communists seized power. Only in 1984 did Patriarch German receive government approval to resume construction. On June 25, 1989, Patriarch German served the first Divine Liturgy in Saint Savva’s Memorial Cathedral, which towers over the city of Belgrade.
There is a famous Serbian saying: “Sinan Pasha lit the flames, Savva’s body burned, but Savva’s memory and his glory did not burn.”
Teachings of St. Porphyrios: We Experience Paradise Living Within the Church, Having Overcome the Fear of Hell
A person living within the Church lives the end times ‘here and now’. That person lives Paradise. Biological death (which is the temporary separation of the soul from the body) is nothing but a bridge which one will cross in an instant, so as to continue to live in the ‘never-ending day’ of the Kingdom of God.
A person belonging to the Church feels like an eternal being. St. Porphyrios lived this reality continuously. In order for the faithful one to achieve this lived experience, though, it is essential to pass through certain stages, the first of which is metanoia (repentance).
The initial fear of hell compels the worldly person to repent. Then, a person starts to keep the commandments of God out of fear from eternal condemnation. The holy Fathers say that a person must pass through this initial stage of fear.
The Elder recognized this and at the beginning of his ascetic life, he cultivated this initial fear. The greater challenge consists of maintaining the conscious memory of death, the final judgment, the Second and glorious Coming, and eternal Hell…. (later) the spiritual contender must slowly reach a state where he or she follows God out of love. In order to reach a state where he or she follows God out of love, one must pass through the initial stage of fear. When a person comes to love God, then their fear departs….Everything is made simple through love for God: obedience, humility, and meekness.
— From Healing the Soul: Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia as a Model For Our Lives.
2025 Pascha