The concelebration was attended by about 15 priests, including the Vicar General of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, Msgr. Slađan Ćosić.

Candle as a symbol

At the beginning of the vigil, after the procession from the altar to the entrance door of the cathedral, the archbishop blessed the fire on the steps of the cathedral. He then carved into the Easter candle the cross and the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet - the alpha and omega that signify Christ. He then placed five grains of incense on the arms and in the middle of the cross, on which the numbers of the year 2022 are inscribed, denoting the five wounds of the crucified Christ. After lighting and burning the Easter candle, a symbol of Christ who is the light of the world that illuminates darkness, it was carried in a procession through the cathedral, placed on a candlestick in the sanctuary and incensed. “The Light of Christ” and “Thank God” echoed through the cathedral as the candle in the procession was carried to the altar and one by one the small candles of the present believers were lit.

Then the deacon rev. Dino Mustafi sang the Easter hymn, and the present believers then listened to three Old Testament readings: about the creation of the world, the sacrifice of Isaac, and the Exodus from Egypt. Occasional psalms were sung between different readings.

This was followed by the solemn singing of the Glory with the standing of all present, the ringing of bells and the playing of the organ which had been “silent” since Holy Thursday, that is, since the Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper. After the reading of the New Testament text, the great news of Christ’s resurrection was announced, after which those present sang Hallelujah.

At the end, the gospel was proclaimed, which from the pen of St. John, speaks of women who went to anoint the body of Jesus and found an empty tomb and returned and reported it to the disciples.

Resurrection as joy and hope

At the beginning of the concise homily, Archbishop Vukšić explained that in the liturgy of vigils, the community of believers is awake while waiting for Jesus’ resurrection and his victory over death. He emphasized that this arouses numerous and special feelings in the faithful. “First of all, we remember this important event in the life of Jesus, which is important for all our lives, and for all the lives of people who have walked and will walk the earth. This is a night in which we experience joy for Jesus’ resurrection and hope for our resurrection”, Archbishop Tomo said, adding that “we rejoice that Jesus overcame death”.

“We rejoice in the light that comes from this candle. It symbolizes his coming out of the tomb, the light of eternal life that shattered the darkness of the tomb. It is our joy for Him and His victory”, said Msgr. Vukšić and then spoke about “hope for the promise that we will be resurrected one day”. “He promised us this. From Christ’s resurrection, our resurrection, and in tonight’s liturgy from his light, our light. So, passing through this edifice, from his light that signifies victory and eternal life, we lit our candles that signify our future victory over death and eternal life. From his light our light”, he asserted and further explained that by his resurrection Jesus overcame all obstacles and resistances of this world.

“The then government, the entire state apparatus of the Roman Empire, probably the largest, most powerful and most complex state system in human history, rose up against him”, said the preacher, recalling that Jesus’ resurrection was rejected by some philosophical and academic circles at the time. “In a symbolic way, the whole country joined the resistance of Jesus’ resurrection in the form of a stone placed on his tomb as a guarantee that he would remain locked in darkness forever. And he overcame all these obstacles, and many others, in his own way”, he added and argued that it was “simply because the kingdom of Jesus is not of this world but for this world”.

Towards the end of the sermon, he told all those who deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ what the three women heard from the HolyMass readings: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” “All the ‘prophets’ who teach that Jesus is still in the tomb, under the stone, a voice from heaven and to them and to us tonight says: ‘Do not seek the living among the dead, he is risen, he is not in the grave’ He is the first of the sleeping, and we will set out on the way of resurrection on His return”, are the words with which Archbishop Tomo concluded his sermon.

After the sermon, in the baptismal service, the Archbishop blessed the baptismal well and sprinkled the present with blessed water in memory of the baptism of each individual Christian. The Holy Mass continued with the Eucharistic service.