Resurrexit

UNKNOWN MASTER, Bulgarian
The Resurrection of Christ 1675-1700
Tempera on linen and wood, 24 x 18 cm
Pinacoteca, Vatican

This year the Eastern Orthodox date for Easter falls on the same date as that calculated for the West.

In the Easter troparion of the Byzantine liturgy: "Christ is risen from the dead, by his death he has vanquished death, and to those who were in their tombs he has given life."

Christ is flanked by two groups of personages: they are the Just of the Old Covenant, prominent among whom are the figures of King David (with the crown), Moses, and Saint John the Baptist. In the persons of Adam and Eve, rising from their tombs, humanity is won and redeemed.