Easter Sunday is the date of the annual celebration of Christ’s resurrection. The Orthodox Church celebrates the Easter on the basis of the Julian calendar. The date is not fixed, but denotes the same season of the year and the same relationship to the preceding astrono-mical full moon that occurred at the time of His resurrection in 30 A.D.
Easter is one of the most important Christian holidays. This is a day of eternal joy, the day when Christ, the Son of God, conquered the death. By the act of resurrection Jesus Christ proved his divine power and opened the gate of eternal life, joy and happiness that we can find in our faith. On Easter Sunday morning the church bells toll, and the people, together with their priest, go round the church. After the third round they stand in front of the church doors. The priest carries the cross, candle and the censer and chants the Easter hymn. The doors open and they enter the church where liturgy continues. When it ends, people greet each other with the words: “The Christ has resurrected”, and “Indeed he has”. There are many customs connected with Easter Sunday, and certainly one of them that children like best, is colouring and offering of eggs. The first egg is coloured red and in many parts of our country it is called “The house keeper” and is kept for the whole year, until the next Easter.
The frescoes from monastery church Most Holy Theotokos in Sićevo Gorge, near Niš, are presented on the stamps and envelopes. This church was built and painted in 1644 at the time of patriarch Paisios and priest Jovan, and with the efforts of the benefactor Veselin. The church narthex was repainted at the end of 19th century with the scenes from the Akathist to the Theotokos, the sublime creation of Byzantine church poetry.
Motif on the stamp of nominal value 22.00 RSD: Crucifixion (fresco, 1644); Motif on the stamp of nominal value 46.00 RSD: Harrowing into Hell (fresco, 1644); Motif on the envelope: Entry of Christ into Jerusalem (fresco, 1644).
