Why Easter Is the Most Important Christian Holiday

From the Pastor

Luke 24:5–6 "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."

 

Why Easter Is the Most Important Christian Holiday

Summary: Easter is the heart of the Christian faith, celebrating Christ’s victory over death and calling us to live as resurrection people in a world longing for hope.

As a priest in the Episcopal Church and a student of Scripture, I’ve come to see the Christian year as a great story of God’s love. Advent awakens longing, Christmas celebrates divine closeness, Lent calls us inward. But Easter—glorious, joyful Easter—is the heart of it all.

Easter is not just one Sunday in spring. It is the center of our faith, the reason we gather, the hope that anchors us. As Paul writes in

1 Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain.” The Resurrection is the hinge of the whole Christian story.

We live in a Good Friday world—one that knows suffering and sorrow. But the empty tomb proclaims that death is not the end. Easter is God’s great “nevertheless.” It declares that love wins, that life breaks through, and that nothing is beyond God’s power to redeem.

As Episcopalians, we carry this truth in our bones. Every Sunday is a “little Easter.” We proclaim resurrection in our creeds, our Eucharist, and in every act of justice and mercy. Easter is not just something we remember—it’s something we live.

And it lasts for fifty days—because joy should last longer than sorrow.



So why is Easter the most important Christian holiday? Because it tells us who God is. It shows us where history is headed. And it calls us to be resurrection people in a world longing for hope.

Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Pastor Anny

The Rev. Dr. Anny Genato+

Rector, St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church