After the Sabbath, at night, on the third day after His suffering and death, The Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of His divinity, came to life, i.e. rose from the dead. His human body was transformed. He emerged from the tomb without breaking the stone, without breaking the Sanhedrin seal, and invisible to the guards. From that moment on, the soldiers, without knowing it, guarded the empty coffin.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake; an angel of the Lord descended from heaven. He, approaching, rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb of the Lord and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow. The warriors who stood guard at the tomb trembled and became like the dead, and then, waking up from fear, fled.

The angel of the Lord rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb

On this day (the first day of the week), as soon as the Sabbath rest ended, very early, at dawn, Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacobleva, John, Salome and other women, taking the prepared fragrant myrrh, went to the tomb of Jesus Christ to anoint His body, because they did not have time to do this at the burial. (The Church calls these women myrrh-bearers). They did not yet know that guards were assigned to the tomb of Christ, and the entrance to the cave was sealed. Therefore, they did not expect to meet anyone there, and they said among themselves: "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" The stone was very large.

Mary Magdalene, ahead of the rest of the myrrh-bearing women, was the first to come to the tomb. It was not yet dawn, it was dark. Mary, seeing that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, immediately ran to Peter and John and said: "They took the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they put Him." Hearing these words, Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb. Mary Magdalene followed them.

At this time, the rest of the women, walking with Mary Magdalene, approached the tomb. They saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. And when they stopped, suddenly, they saw a luminous angel sitting on a stone.

The angel, turning to them, said: “Do not be afraid: for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified. He is not here; He is risen as I said while still with you. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead."

They went inside the tomb (cave) and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But looking up, they saw an angel in a white robe sitting on the right side of the place where the Lord was laid; they were terrified.

The angel says to them: “Do not be horrified; you are looking for Jesus, the crucified Nazarene; He is risen; He is not here. Here's the place where He was laid. But go and tell His disciples and Peter (who by his renunciation fell away from the number of disciples) that He will meet you in Galilee, where you will see Him, as He told you."

When the women stood in perplexity, suddenly, again, two angels in shining clothes appeared before them. The women bowed their faces to the ground in fear.

The angels said to them: "Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here: He is risen; remember how He told you when he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful people, and be crucified, and rise on the third day."

Then the women remembered the words of the Lord. And having gone out, they fled from the tomb in trembling and fear. And then, with fear and great joy, they went to tell His disciples. They didn't say anything to anyone on the way, because they were afraid.

Having come to the disciples, the women told about everything they had seen and heard. But their words seemed empty to the disciples, and they did not believe them.

Meanwhile, Peter and John come running to the tomb of the Lord. John ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first, but he did not enter the tomb, but bending down, he saw the sheets lying. Peter runs after him, enters the tomb and sees only the linens lying, and the kerchief (bandage) that was on the head of Jesus Christ, not lying with the sheets, but rolled up in another place separately from the sheets. Then John came in after Peter, saw everything, this and believed in the resurrection of Christ. Peter marveled at what had happened in himself. After that, Peter and John returned to their homes.

When Peter and John left, Mary Magdalene, who came running with them, remained at the tomb. She stood and wept at the entrance to the cave. And when she was crying, she bent down and looked into the cave (into the tomb), and saw two angels in a white robe, sitting, one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of the Savior lay.

The angels said to her: "wife! Why are you crying?"

Mary Magdalene answered them: "They have carried away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."

Having said this, she looked back and saw the standing Jesus Christ, but from great sadness, from tears and from her confidence that the dead do not rise, she did not recognize the Lord.

Jesus Christ says to her: "Woman! why are you crying? Whom are you looking for?"

Mary Magdalene, thinking that this is the gardener of this garden, says to Him: "Lord! If you carried Him out, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him."

Then Jesus Christ says to her: Maria!"

Appearance of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene

A well-known voice made her come to her senses from her sadness, and she saw that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was standing before her. She exclaimed: " Teacher!" - and with indescribable joy she threw herself at the feet of the Savior; and from joy she did not imagine the whole greatness of the moment.

But Jesus Christ, pointing her to the holy and great mystery of His resurrection, says to her: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brothers (i.e., disciples) and tell them: I ascend to My Father, and to your Father, and to My God and your God."

Then Mary Magdalene hastened to His disciples with the news that she had seen the Lord and that He had told her. This was the first appearance of Christ after the resurrection..

Appearance of the Risen Christ to the Myrrhbearers

On the way, Mary Magdalene caught up with Mary Iakovleva, who was also returning from the tomb of the Lord. When they went to tell the disciples, suddenly, Jesus Christ Himself met them and said to them: " rejoice!".

They came up, took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.

Then Jesus Christ said to them: "Do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

So the resurrected Christ appeared a second time.

Mary Magdalene with Mary Iakovleva, entering the eleven disciples and all the others, weeping and weeping, announced great joy. But when they heard from them that Jesus Christ is alive and they saw Him, they did not believe.

After that, Jesus Christ appeared separately to Peter and assured him of His resurrection. ( Third phenomenon). Only then did many cease to doubt the reality of the resurrection of Christ, although there were still non-believers among them.

But before all, as evidenced by the antiquity of St. Church, Jesus Christ delighted His Blessed Mother telling her through an angel of his resurrection.

The Holy Church sings about this in this way:

Meanwhile, the soldiers who were guarding the tomb of the Lord and fled from fear, came to Jerusalem. Some of them went to the high priests and they were told everything that happened at the tomb of Jesus Christ. The high priests, having gathered with the elders, held a conference. Due to their evil stubbornness, the enemies of Jesus Christ did not want to believe His resurrection and decided to hide this event from the people. To do this, they bribed the soldiers. Having given a lot of money, they said: "Tell everyone that His disciples, having come at night, stole Him when you were sleeping. And if the rumor about this reaches the ruler (Pilate), then we will clap for you in front of him and save you from trouble" . The warriors took the money and did as they were taught. This rumor spread among the Jews, so that many of them believe it to this day.

The deception and lies of this rumor are visible to everyone. If the soldiers were sleeping, they could not see, and if they saw, then they were not sleeping and would have detained the kidnappers. The guard must watch and watch. It is impossible to imagine that the guard, which consisted of several persons, could fall asleep. And if all the soldiers fell asleep, then they were subject to severe punishment. Why were they not punished, but left alone (and even rewarded)? And the frightened disciples, who locked themselves in their homes from fear, could they decide, without weapons against the armed Roman soldiers, on such a brave deed? And besides, why would they do it when they themselves lost faith in their Savior. Besides, could they roll off a huge rock without waking anyone up? All this is impossible. On the contrary, the disciples themselves thought that someone had carried away the body of the Savior, but when they saw the empty coffin, they realized that this did not happen after the abduction. And, finally, why didn't the leaders of the Jews search for the body of Christ and punish the disciples? Thus, the enemies of Christ tried to obscure the work of God with a crude interweaving of lies and deceit, but proved powerless against the truth.

NOTE: See in the Gospel: Matthew, ch. 28 , 1-15; from Mark, ch. 16 , 1-11; from Luke, ch. 24 , 1-12; from John, ch. 20 , 1-18. See also 1st Epistle of St. app. Paul to the Corinthians: ch. 15 , 3-5.

This week, many were surprised by the news that a quarter of Britons who call themselves Christians do not believe in the resurrection of Christ (data from the BBC). For those of you who are going to celebrate Easter this Sunday, such numbers may come as a shock...

For everyone reading this blog, I offer nine important things to know about the Resurrection.

1. Belief in the Resurrection is a key doctrine of the Christian faith. If you don't believe in the Resurrection, you don't have a personal relationship with God in and through Jesus Christ.

“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9).

“But if Christ is not risen, then your faith is in vain: you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).

2. The Resurrection gives hope for eternal life to everyone who has died in Christ. The Bible teaches that because Jesus is now alive as a result of the resurrection, all who have a personal relationship with Him have the hope of eternal life with Him after death.

“But Christ has risen from the dead, the firstborn of the dead. For as death is through a man, so is the resurrection of the dead through a man” (1 Cor. 20-22).

Jesus said, “I'm going to prepare a place for you. And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).

3. The disciples of Christ, who later became His apostles, did not at first understand the meaning of the resurrection. Jesus spoke to His disciples (His followers during His earthly ministry) about the resurrection, but they did not understand this truth until He was resurrected.

“And as they were coming down from the mountain, He commanded no one to tell what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. And they kept this word, asking one another what it means to rise from the dead” (Mark 9:9-10).

“Here some of His disciples said to one another: What is it that He says to us: you will soon see Me, and soon you will see Me again, and: I am going to the Father?” (John 16:17).

4. Jewish religious leaders were afraid of the possibility of the Resurrection. These religious leaders did not accept the teachings of Jesus because it threatened their authority and undermined their religious system. They feared the resurrected Messiah and Savior.

“They went and set guards at the tomb, and put a seal on the stone” (Mt. 27:62-66).

5. The resurrection of Christ became for the disciples a source of great joy and the foundation of their faith. When Jesus spoke to His disciples about His resurrection, He predicted that their grief over His death would then be replaced by joy that no one could take away from them. The Apostle John recalled these words in his Gospel in order to call the reader to faith in Jesus.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy .... So now you have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:20-22).

6. The resurrection of Christ is witnessed by eyewitnesses. Paul lists many who saw the resurrected Jesus.

“I remind you, brethren, of the gospel which I proclaimed to you, which you have accepted, in which you have been established, by which you are being saved, if you retain what was given as I proclaimed to you, unless you believe in vain. For I initially taught you what I myself received, that is, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve; then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, of whom most are still alive, and some have died; then he appeared to James, also to all the Apostles; but after all he appeared to me as to a fiend” (1 Cor. 15:1-8).

7. The Resurrection Demonstrated That Jesus Is God's Son. Paul saw in the Resurrection the proof of the divinity and Sonship of Jesus (Rom. 1:3-4).

“... about His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and was revealed to be the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness, through the resurrection from the dead, about Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 1:3-4).

8. The Resurrection of Christ Is the Foundation of Our Salvation. Jesus went to the cross because of our sins, because a sacrifice was needed, on which God's wrath would be poured out. And the resurrection of Christ became the foundation of our justification and salvation.

“... it will also be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our sins and rose again for our justification” (Rom. 4:24-25.

9. The resurrection of Christ empowers us to live a life that glorifies God. The power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead - as indicated by the fact of the Resurrection - is the same power that dwells in us, giving hope for real changes in our lives, through which we can live a life that glorifies God.

“But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom. 8:11).

“…and how immeasurable is the greatness of His might in us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He worked in Christ, raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in heaven…” (Eph. 1:19-23; cf. Eph. 3) :20-21).

“…to know him, and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).

Voice of Truth based on pastor Kevin's blog

Easter is the main Christian holiday for Catholics, who celebrated it this year March 27, and for the Orthodox who are preparing to celebrate the Holy Resurrection of Christ on May 1. Why are these dates so different?

PThe last days of the life of Jesus Christ are described in detail in the four canonical Gospels that have come down to us and in many other historical documents. However, very little is known about exactly when his earthly life ended. Christ was crucified on the cross on the 14th of Nisan; It was Friday, in Jerusalem they were preparing to celebrate the Jewish Passover.

The first attempts to calculate the exact date of the resurrection were made in the VI century by a monk Dionysius the LITTLE. Before him, time was counted according to the years of the reign of Roman emperors, and in 525 Dionysius proposed to start counting from the year of the birth of Christ. True, for this he had to calculate exactly when Jesus was born and died. “It was possible to count according to the years of the reign of the emperors and according to the consular lists stored in Rome”, - says a teacher of apologetics, cleric of the Tikhvin Church in the city of Troitsk Anthony LAKIREV. Subsequently, it turned out that Dionysius the Small was mistaken in the calculations by about five years: Christ was actually born between 6 and 4 years BC. e. Dionysius also determined the date of Christ's death - March 23, 31.

However, calculations carried out already in the 20th century showed that this date, too, is most likely erroneous. Nisan is the first spring month of the Jewish calendar, which corresponds to March-April in the Gregorian calendar. Christ, as you know, was condemned and crucified under Pontius Pilate, who ruled Judea from 26 to 36. When comparing historical and astronomical data, it turned out that only three years fit into this framework; The 14th day of the month of Nisan fell on Friday, and the Jewish Passover was on the Sabbath day - this was the case in the 27th, 30th and 33rd year. “It could not have happened in the year 27, because in that case the whole gospel story lasted less than a year, which is unlikely,- Anthony Lakirev argues. - The year 33 does not fit, because there is too little time left until the year 35, when the persecution of Christians began, traceable from Jewish sources. Thus, most likely, Jesus died on April 7, and rose again early in the morning on April 9, 30. The opinion that Christ at the time of death was 33 years old is erroneous. The so-called "age of Christ" actually has no historical basis ... it is the fruit of the imagination of the Byzantines, who were very fond of beautiful numbers and did not differ in the desire for historical accuracy. Christ was about 35-36 years old".

Sometimes the day of the death of Christ is called not the 14th, but the 15th day of Nisan. Researchers, in particular Professor of the New Testament Department of the College-Seminary "Masters" (California) theologian Robert THOMAS, explain the discrepancies just by different traditions of counting the day: “... among the Jews, the day began not with sunrise, but with sunset, which in Jerusalem occurs at about 18 o'clock. Thus, the 15th day of Nisan and the Jewish Passover began on Friday evening, when Jesus Christ, according to the testimony of the disciples, was already crucified.

WITHIn its roots, the Christian Easter is closely connected with the Jewish one. Even the very name of the holiday, according to one version, went to Christians from the ancient Jews. And for the first three, four, even five generations of Christians, Easter was simultaneously celebrated by both Jews and Christians. And only in II century, in Rome, Christians begin to celebrate Easter separately.

The first to introduce the celebration of Christian Easter on Sunday was the Roman bishop Sixtus, who led the Roman church from 116 to 126 AD. The bishop referred to the "incorrectness" of the Jewish faith, arguing that "the Jews rejected Jesus as a savior." Sixtus, along with the Roman emperor Hadrian, waged a fierce "war" against Jewish customs and holidays.

However, the transfer of the date of the celebration of Easter was not accepted by all the local assemblies of the empire. Over time, differences regarding the day of the celebration of Easter arose in the bosom of the Christian church itself. For example, European Catholics always celebrated on Sunday, while Christians in Asia Minor celebrated Easter the day after the Jewish one.

In 325, Emperor Constantine I ordered all Christians to celebrate Pascha according to Roman custom, on the nearest Sunday after Jewish Pascha.It was then that the term "quartadecimans" was born. In Latin, those who celebrated Easter closer to the Jews were called so (translated into Russian as “four-ten days”, that is, those who celebrate the 14th of Nisan).

IN Since the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church, at the direction of Pope Gregory XIII, switched to a new style of reckoning. All Catholic countries have adopted the Gregorian calendar, which is more accurate from an astronomical point of view. Russia began to live according to the Gregorian calendar only after the revolution, so the Orthodox Church traditionally keeps its calendar according to the "old style". The difference between the Gregorian and Julian reckoning is 13 days.

TSo a significant spread in time, with a difference of one to five weeks, has developed historically. In addition, in Orthodoxy, unlike Catholicism, they strictly follow the ancient rules formulated at the Ecumenical Council back in 325: the bright holiday is not celebrated at the same time or earlier than Jewish Easter, although they are closely related to each other.

At the last meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis, the idea was expressed to bring the celebration of Easter to a single date. It is possible that someday Christians will again celebrate Easter on the same day. Although it is unlikely that anyone living today will see it with their own eyes. Neither for the Orthodox nor for the Catholics is it important what date Christ was born, died and even resurrected.

“Is it really necessary to change something? big question , - says Priest Anthony Lakirev. - We do not lose anything fundamentally important by preserving the current tradition, and by changing it, we will not achieve anything really important. The changes are also sure to cause terrible controversy. Nobody likes this, and we in Russia have the sad experience of disagreements on church matters. Therefore, healthy conservatism teaches not to change what can not be changed.”

The secret disciples of the Savior - Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus - buried His body in a new coffin carved into the rock, not far from Golgotha.

When the body of Jesus Christ rested in the burial cave, with His soul He, like all those who died before Him, descended into hell. God came to the place where for many centuries the souls of the dead righteous were waiting for the coming of the Savior. Christ came and, preaching the Resurrection, brought them out of hell - as it is sung in church hymns: "hell is empty."

The peace of Great Saturday was the beginning of the transition from death to life.

After the Sabbath, at night, on the third day after His suffering and death, the Lord Jesus Christ came to life by the power of His Divinity.

He rose from the dead. His human body was transformed. The Savior came out of the tomb without rolling off the stone that closed the burial cave. He did not break the seal of the Sanhedrin and was invisible to the guards, who from that moment guarded the empty tomb.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He rolled away a stone from the empty tomb and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The warriors who stood guard at the tomb were trembling and became like the dead, and then, waking up, fled in fear.

Meanwhile, the women who were at Golgotha ​​and at the burial of Christ hurried to the tomb of the Savior. It was very early. Dawn hasn't come yet. Taking precious ointment with them, the women went to fulfill the last duty of love towards their Teacher and Lord: to anoint His body with ointment.

These were Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacobleva, Joanna, Salome and some other women. The Orthodox Church calls them myrrh-bearing women.

Not knowing that guards were assigned to the tomb of the Savior, they asked each other: "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" The stone was very large, and they are weak. Outstripping the rest of the women, Mary Magdalene was the first to come to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been rolled away from the door, and the coffin was empty.

With this news, she ran to Christ's disciples Peter and John. Hearing her words, the apostles hurried to the tomb. Mary Magdalene followed them.

At this time, the rest of the women approached the coffin. Seeing that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance, they entered the cave and there they saw a luminous Angel and were frightened. But the angel said to them: "Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, crucified; He is risen, He is not here. This is the place where He was laid. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is ahead of you in Galilee; there you will see Him, as He told you."

Coming out, the women ran away from the coffin: they were seized with trepidation and horror. They didn't tell anyone.

Shortly thereafter, Peter and John ran to the tomb of the Lord. John was young, so he ran faster than Peter and was the first to be at the tomb. Leaning down, he saw the Lord's burial sheets, but being afraid, he did not go inside the cave. Peter went into the tomb. He also saw the shrouds and the sir lying separately - the bandage that was on the head of Jesus Christ. I saw - and believed in the Resurrection of the Lord. Meanwhile, the soldiers guarding the tomb came to the leaders of the Jews and announced to them everything that had happened in the garden of Joseph. Not wanting to believe in the Resurrection of Christ, the Pharisees and the chief priests bribed the soldiers, saying: "Say that His disciples, having come at night, stole Him away while we were sleeping." The soldiers, taking the money, acted as they were taught. And the disciples of Christ went all over the world preaching about the Resurrected Savior. This main message proclaimed by the Christian faith is at the very center of the preaching, worship and spiritual life of the Church. Christ is Risen!

Apologia for the Resurrection of Christ.

Draniceru Alexander

This work is abstract in nature, and the main purpose of which is, basically, only to list. if possible, all the main logical, historical, biblical and theological arguments in favor of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in order, according to A. Peter, to be always ready to give an account of your hope.

“Hallow the Lord God in your hearts; always be ready to give an answer to everyone who requires you to give an account of your hope with meekness and reverence.

(1 Peter 3:15)

The main arguments (theories) of opponents of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (authors and adherents of these ideas are indicated in brackets):

1. Christ is generally a fictional character and myth.

2. Jesus did not die, but was buried alive, as a result of which He appeared to His disciples;

3. The story of the resurrection is a myth that was smashed by the disciples who stole the body of Christ (Jews);

4. The Resurrection of the Savior was fancied by the disciples.

5. Jesus didn't die. Another was crucified for him (Muslims and ancient heretics);

1. The historicity of Jesus Christ. Christ is a fictional character and myth.

One of the simple, or shall we say, natural ways to refute the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is to deny the very existence of Christ. There is no reason - there is no event. This myth about the "myth" began to spread in the XVII-XVIII centuries, with the development of a rationalistic analysis of the Bible, and, in this smoldering fire of ignorance, they still tried to throw firewood in Soviet times.

In our time, both among scientists and among ordinary laity (even those who are sharply opposed to Christianity), there are very few left who still deny the real existence of Jesus Christ. Biblical studies have already developed so much that it was possible not to mention this argument of the opponents of the Resurrection, but nevertheless, in order to preserve historical justice, we will briefly consider this point.

But before moving on to the arguments “For” and “Against”, it is first important to touch on the topical issue of pseudo evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ, which Christian and Orthodox apologists resort to out of ignorance or malicious intent, doing more harm than good, because . the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44), who tries to intervene in all, even the best, intentions (Paisius the Holy Mountaineer).

Pseudo-Beletsky, or "Memorandum of Academician A. I. Beletsky"

A widely known and popular article that appeared on the territory of the USSR in the 60s, back in the days of Samizdat, which is still passed from hand to hand in the Orthodox parish environment, mainly by Orthodox grandmothers. This article has also been widely cited throughout the Orthodox media since the 1990s: video films, articles in newspapers, brochures (on its own initiative or even with the blessing of the clergy), personal websites and even on the official websites of dioceses (!).

The article, which is attributed to the Russian and Ukrainian Soviet literary critic, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR Alexander Beletsky, is, in fact, unique, because. she refers to a huge number of ancient historical eyewitness documents testifying to the Resurrection of Christ, and mentions the presence of more than 230 such documents (!). Of particular interest are direct quotes from a certain Greek Garmisius, “the biographer of the ruler of Judea, under Pilate” (in some versions of publications - “historiographer”), who was a direct eyewitness of the Resurrection of Christ, being only 150 steps from the Holy Sepulcher. Also, the author of the "note" constantly refers to venerable and supposedly venerable scientists.

To give weight to the article, it is drawn up as a memorandum to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, as a response to the demarche of anti-religious forces rooted in the Soviet Union.

In general, if everything in the article were true, before Christians could sleep peacefully and not worry about attacks from atheists who do not believe in the resurrection of Christ, because. would have in their hands a huge amount of convincing and undoubted evidence of the Resurrection of Christ. But... this note is fake.

Even without a serious check of this document, even the simplest layman may be confused by the fact that on the night of the Resurrection, near the Holy Sepulcher, it turns out there was a whole crowd of eyewitnesses, which is not mentioned in any Gospel, but those who even took the slightest time to study the authenticity Bible the fact that all these "historical documents" are not mentioned anywhere else in any serious scientific work on the subject of Biblical studies. What can we say about the fact that F. Engels is mentioned, who allegedly recognized no less than the very fact of the Resurrection of Christ.

The "Note" is subject to sharp criticism on the following points:

2. The general style of argumentation is completely unthinkable for a venerable philologist;

3. Inappropriate political coloration in the context of this document;

4. The inconsistency of the evidence of the "Memorandum of Understanding ..." with the narration of the canonical Gospels, protected by the author from criticism;

5. Linguistic inconsistencies;

6. Literary and philological inconsistencies;

7. The assertion that by the end of his life Friedrich Engels recognized "the fact of the resurrection of Christ";

But the most complete analysis of all the mentioned "historical documents", quotations, statements of scientists and the same F. Engels, was carried out by Arkady Grin, a teacher of the German language at the Odessa National University. I. I. Mechnikov, where he completely proves the falsification of the document and debunks the authorship attributed to A. Beletsky, who never hid his religious beliefs, but simply could not and did not write such a note that discredits his reputation as a scientist.

Pseudo-historical documents(not finished)

(see the corresponding chapter of B. G. Derevensky “Jesus Christ in the Documents of History”)

Historicity of Jesus Christ(not finished)

(this is a large separate topic, the issue is quite widely discussed, see the corresponding wikipedia article)

2. Christ did not die. He was buried alive or unconscious.

1. Torture.

The cruel inhuman tortures of Christ, after which, the exhausting road for the tormented, and subsequently the cruel execution on the cross itself;

Many historical testimonies of contemporaries and historians have been preserved about cruel tortures and the execution of the cross itself (chapter “Sunday is a historical fact or deception”);

2. Witnesses.

· Roman soldiers-executioners.

Like no one, they knew the signs of death well, and the execution of the cross was a common thing for them. They are, as it were, the first witnesses and forensic experts of the death of Christ, who reported to Pilate.

They heard the death cry and testified of death:

“The centurion who stood opposite Him, seeing that He, having thus exclaimed, gave up the spirit, said: Verily, this Man was the Son of God.”

(Mark 15:39)

Pilate was surprised that He had already died, and, calling the centurion, asked him if he had died long ago.

(Mark 15:44)

Jews themselves.

Witness and acknowledge the fact of Christ's death:

and said: sir! We remembered that the deceiver while still alive

(Matt.27:6)

They set up guards at the Tomb, thereby confirming that they were completely sure of the death of Christ;

3. "Control blow" with a spear.

A Roman soldier pierced the rib of Jesus in order to finally assure himself of death;

33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw him already dead, they did not break his legs,

34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

35 And he that saw testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he speaks the truth so that you may believe.

(John 19:33-35)

4. Rupture of the heart.

· Blood and water. It is quite remarkable that A. John especially notes the fact of the abundant flow of blood and water from the pierced rib of Christ, perhaps perceiving it as a miracle. Information is widely disseminated that there can be no profuse bleeding from a dead person. But according to medical experts, the flow of blood along with the water suggests that even before being hit with a spear, Jesus Christ died of a broken heart.

Here is a look at the cause of Christ's death offered by Samuel Houghton, a renowned physiologist at the University of Dublin:

“When the soldier pierced the ribs of Christ with a spear, He was already dead, and the ensuing outflow of blood and water was either a natural phenomenon caused by natural causes, or a miracle. Apostle John considered this, if not a miracle, then something unusual, as is clear from his commentary, and also from the solemnity with which he writes about his accuracy in recounting these events.

Repeated observations and experiments on humans and animals led me to the following conclusion:

A posthumous piercing of the left side with a large knife, comparable in size to a Roman spear, can lead to the following consequences:

1. There is no leakage from the wound, except for a few drops of blood.

2. Copious flow of blood from the wound.

3. A copious flow of "water" followed by a few drops of blood.

The first of these three cases is the most common; the second is observed in drowned people and in strychnine poisoning; it can be modeled on animals, and it can also be assumed that it would have been observed at the crucifixion. The third case is observed in death from pleurisy, pericarditis and rupture of the heart. These three cases are familiar to most anatomists who have ever taken an interest in such problems. However, the two following cases, being easily explicable from the point of view of a physiologist, are not described in the literature (with the exception of the Gospel of John). I also failed to observe them.

4. A copious flow of water followed by a copious flow of blood.

5. A copious flow of blood followed by a copious flow of water.

... Death through crucifixion causes a condition of pulmonary blood, similar to that observed in drowning and poisoning with strychnine; the fourth case can be observed if the crucified before execution suffered from a hemorrhage of the pleura; the fifth case would correspond to the death of the one crucified on the cross from a broken heart. The history of the days preceding the crucifixion of our Lord forces us to discard the assumption of pleurisy, which is also excluded if blood first flowed from the wound, and then water. There remains, therefore, the only possible explanation for the recorded phenomenon: a combination of crucifixion and rupture of the heart. (quoted by Josh McDowell)

· The very fact of describing the outflow of blood and water. It is quite obvious that the apostle could not have known such pathological features of the death of a person, and if Christ were alive, he would have described the outpouring of a thick stream of blood for every beat of the heart.

5. Burial according to Jewish law.

The fact that he was wrapped in a shroud and covered with a huge amount of incense shows that Jesus really was dead, otherwise he would have suffocated from the strong smell of incense and their causticity.

It is simply impossible to imagine that under all these conditions described above, Christ could still be alive, then still untie Himself, move the stone unnoticed and, as if nothing had happened, wandering around the city, also quietly get to the disciples and calmly share with them meal like a perfectly healthy person.

.B. I. Gladkov Interpretation of the Gospel” 1991 (Reprint reproduction from the edition of 1907) Publisher: "Stolitsa", Moscow

Internet encyclopedia "Wikipedia", article "Pseudo-Beletsky" (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-Beletsky)

A.L. Grin. Have you seen the Resurrection of Christ? In the footsteps of one fake, or how they make idiots out of us. (http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=lib&id=2304)

B. G. Derevensky “Jesus Christ in the Documents of History”

Josh McDowell "Indisputable Evidence";

St. John Chrysostom. "CREATURES OF OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, THE ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE"

“One God & One Lord: Reconsidering the Cornerstone of the Christian Faith” (Appendix “G”, Russian translation).

Dranicher Alexander