By the Late Eminent Scholar His Grace Bishop Gregorios
Question: Why do we perform the Resurrection Play when Christ rose from the dead two thousand years ago?
Answer:
We perform the play as a means of illustration—meaning for teaching. The Church teaches. Indeed, Christ rose from the dead two thousand years ago, but the repetition of these matters is for the sake of teaching and creating an impact.
So, when on the night of the Feast of the Resurrection we enact the Resurrection Play, and on Great Friday we perform the burial and bury the image of Christ—all of this is, in fact, a form of teaching, a visual aid. This is because our Church is a traditional, liturgical Church, and this is part of its beauty.
As St. John Chrysostom said:
“And what would it mean, O Christian, if you were without a body? Then the gifts of God would be granted to you in that manner. But since your spirit is united with your body, God must give you, through tangible signs, things that are grasped only by the mind.”
Therefore, you find that religion includes both doctrines and rituals, just as the soul and body are interconnected. Doctrine must come with ritual. In our Church, we find that rituals are interwoven with doctrine, and doctrine is interwoven with rituals.
The icons, the incense, and other rituals all carry doctrine and ritual together. On Great Friday, or during Holy Week, we drape the church in black and pray in a sorrowful tone. Yes, we know that Christ is risen. And on Tuesday evening we refrain from giving kisses, in rejection of Judas’s kiss. Of course, the matter of Judas ended two thousand years ago—but these are educational tools.
Source: Encyclopedia of Topics and Answers to Various Questions – No. (51)
