The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Resurrection of Christ today.

The Feast of Holy Resurrection is also called Easter, which means liberation, deliverance from sins, and return to God. Easter is considered one of the greatest feasts of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Following the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ His body was taken off the cross and placed in the tomb, the entrance to the tomb was closed by a large stone and the soldiers were ordered to control the entrance to the tomb. After three days the three women, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices and fragrant oils to anoint the body of Jesus.

As they got closer, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, the entrance to the rock was open, and the tomb was empty. Suddenly two angels dressed in white appeared and said to them, “Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here, ha has been raised” (Lk 24:5-6). The women returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven disciples and the rest. According to Peter more than 500 people saw Christ who had risen from the dead. So, this is the evangelical tiding of the fact of Easter or Holy Resurrection.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ became the basis of Christian doctrine. “If that is true, it means that Christ has been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe” (1 Co 15:13-14).

Christ died for the salvation of mankind and by His Blood took away the sin in the world, so that we should inherit eternal life.

On Easter, believers dye eggs. The egg is a symbol of the resurrection and the birth of new life. And the color red symbolizes the life-giving blood of the crucified Christ, shed for the sake of our salvation. St. Gregory of Datev considers the egg to be the symbol of the world, the shell of which is the sky, the membrane is the air, the white is the water and the yolk is the earth. Dyeing eggs red symbolizes the salvation of the world by means of Blood of Christ. When we take a red egg in our hands, we proclaim our salvation.

The night before, St. Christmas Eve Liturgy is served in churches, and Easter celebrations begin. On Sunday morning, the service of Easter Matins, the rite of consecration of the four sides of the world (Andastan), is celebrated, followed by the service of the Holy Liturgy. Greeting one another, Christians say,  “Christ is Risen from the dead” and receive the answer “Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ.”

Fifty-day period beginning from the Easter Feast – the Holy Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ – and lasting till Pentecost in the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church is called Hinounk or Hinants period. That period is dedicated to the mystery of Resurrection of the Lord, and that is why it is Dominical period.

The name “Hinounk” comes from the word hisuonk (fifty). The first forty days of the period are dedicated to the appearings of Rosen Christ.

This period is concluded with the Feast of Ascension. According to the Church rules, there are no fasting days during all fifty days of Hinants period, which means that all people can eat everything during that period.