Easter Hymn Christos Anesti Meaning and Folklore

Christos Anesti is an Eastern Orthodox Easter hymn that Christians say to each other while celebrating the rebirth of their Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Paschal greeting Christos Anesti (Χριστός ἀνέστη) means that Christ has Risen, has a customary response i.e. Alithos Anesti which means that he has risen indeed! The hymn is sung during Easter festival at Eastern Orthodox Churches.

What is the meaning of Christos Anesti?

Christos Anesti (Χριστός ἀνέστη) is a paschal greeting and a greek phrase that is sung by the Eastern Orthodox Easter followers to celebrate the rebirth of Jesus Christ.

The paschal greeting is said after the Saturday evening and Sunday morning church services.

The meaning of the hymn is that the Christ has Risen and can be referred to either of the following;

The Holy Saturday is the day when Christians mourn Jesus’s death while the Sunday morning is the day on which his resurrection is celebrated all across the world.

This greeting is said which reflects their joy and belief in the traditions and customs.

List of Classic Greek Easter Greetings with Meaning

Easter or Pascha is the time during which Christians celebrate the rebirth of Jesus Christ.

The tradition involves few hymns and phrases that one must know and use it while celebrating the customs.

1. Alithos Anesti (Aληθώς ανέστη) – This is the response phrase for Christos Anesti which means that “Truly, the Christ has Risen!”. Make sure to use it only if someone has said “Christos Anesti” to you.
2. Christos Anesti (Χριστός Ανέστη) – This Greek hymn means that the “Christ has Risen!” and is celebrated after the Easter Saturday till Sunday midnight.
3. Kalo Pascha (Καλό Πάσχα) – This Greek phrase means “Happy Easter” and is translated to other phrases like “Good Pascha” or “Good Easter”.
4. Kali Anastasi (Καλή Ανάσταση) – This Greek term means “Good Resurrection” which depicts the joy among the Christians upon the rebirth of Jesus Christ.

The Verses of the Easter Hymn “Christos Anesti”

The treasured orthodox Eastern hymn, needs to be worshipped by following the correct verses in the Greek language.

Here we have also provided the phonetic and the English translation as well.

The Verses in Greek

Χριστός ανέστη εκ νεκρών, θανάτω θάνατον πατήσας, και τοις εν τοις μνήμασι ζωήν χαρισάμενος.

The Phonetic Greek Transliteration

Christos Anesti ek nekron, thanato thanaton patisas, kai tis en tis mnimasi zoin harisamenos.

Anesti in English

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and to those in the tombs, granting life.

Video: Orthodox Easter Hymn

Easter Greetings and Bible

The ancient historic scripts, texts and books do not have much to say about it except the fact that few lines could be found in the Bible.

Various Christian traditions have phrases whose origin could be traced to various books as pieces of evidence.

Luke 24:34:

They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”

Matthew 27:64:

Therefore, command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.”

Mark 16:6:

But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.

Matthew 28:6:

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

The Promise of Rebirth by Jesus Christ

The verses of the ancient Easter hymn recall the message given in the Bible by the angel to Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph after the death of Jesus Christ.

This happened in early Sunday morning when the lady visited the tomb to see the body of Jesus Christ.

Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.” (Matthew 28:5-6)

In it believed that the verses of the ancient hymn relate to the moment when Jesus was crucified which led to the opening of the earth resulting in miracles like the rebirth of those whose bodies were buried in the tomb.

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. (Matthew 27: 50-53, NLT)

Both the ancient hymn and the phrase “Christos Anesti” recap flocks today that all the truthful will one day be elevated from death to eternal life through trust in Jesus.

This acts as the core belief among the followers of the tradition and this ends the happy and prosperous festival of Easter.

Conclusion

The Eastern Orthodox Easter hymn or the Paschal greeting Christos Anesti (Χριστός ἀνέστη) is sung not only during the church services on Sunday but continues for 40 days after Pascha or Easter.

The meaning of the hymn is that Christ has Risen and is used to celebrate the rebirth of Jesus Christ among the followers during the Easter time.

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