The Easter Greeting: What We’re Really Saying

From the first Easter morning to the present day, Christians around the world have greeted one another with the Easter proclamation:

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

This is not just a tradition or a poetic phrase. It is a declaration of reality.

Jesus Christ is not dead, He is alive! Through His resurrection, sin and death have been defeated, and we have been reconciled to God. Our joy is not quiet or restrained. It is the kind of joy that must be spoken, proclaimed, and shared. As Jesus said in Luke 19:40, if we were silent, even the stones would cry out.

Where This Greeting Comes From

The Easter greeting is not something the Church created later as a beautiful tradition, but something that grows directly out of the first Easter itself.

In the Gospel accounts, the Resurrection is always announced out loud. The angel declares to the women at the tomb, “He is not here; he has risen.” The women then go and tell the disciples, and the disciples in turn repeat it to one another. The news spreads in this same way again and again—by being spoken.

From the very beginning, the Resurrection was not only something believed, but something proclaimed.

It is not difficult to see how, in the life of the early Church, this proclamation would begin to take on a more regular and recognizable form. Christians, especially during the season of Easter, began greeting one another with this same truth, speaking it aloud as both a reminder and a confession of faith. In time, this developed into the familiar exchange we still use today:

Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed.

A Living Proclamation

Christians greeted one another with the truth of the Resurrection, not as a symbolic phrase or a poetic expression, but as a statement of what they believed to be true. These short proclamations were learned by heart and spoken often, shaping both belief and understanding over time.

In this way, the Easter greeting functioned almost like a living creed within the life of the Church. To say “Christ is risen” was to remind one another of the center of the faith, and to respond “He is risen indeed” was to affirm it. Through this simple exchange, the truth of the Resurrection was continually placed at the forefront of daily life.

Why It Is Said This Way

The call-and-response pattern of the Easter greeting reflects the way Christians had already learned to worship.

Throughout Scripture and in the earliest life of the Church, worship often followed this pattern of proclamation and response. We see it in the Psalms, in the reading of Scripture, and in the shared prayers of the Church, where one voice speaks and the people answer.

The Easter greeting follows this same pattern. One person proclaims, “Christ is risen,” and another responds, “The Lord is risen indeed.” In this way, the greeting becomes a shared confession, in which the truth of the Resurrection is both declared and affirmed.

Alleluia

Let’s begin with the word Alleluia.

Alleluia is the Greek form of the Hebrew Hallelujah, which means “Praise the Lord.” In the Psalms, it appears as two words: Hallel (praise) and Jah (the Lord). Together, it is the highest expression of praise we can offer to God.

Early Christians preserved this word carefully, choosing not to translate it. Instead, they carried it directly into their worship as a word of joy, thanksgiving, and triumph. We see it even in the earliest Christian liturgies, including the fourth-century Liturgy of St. Mark.

Christ is Risen

The phrase “Christ is Risen!” comes from the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection.

In Matthew 28, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to the tomb and find it empty. An angel tells them:

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” (Matthew 28:5–6)

This is the first proclamation of the Resurrection, the announcement that changes everything.

The Lord is Risen Indeed

The response, “The Lord is Risen Indeed,” comes from Luke 24.

After Jesus reveals Himself to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, they return to Jerusalem and are greeted with these words:

“The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” (Luke 24:34)

This call-and-response pattern has continued ever since, echoing across centuries and continents.

The Easter Liturgy

The Easter Greeting can be found in the Church’s earliest liturgies. In the Great Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, we move through the lighting of the Paschal Candle, the reading of the Exultet, the baptisms, and finally we arrive at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. It is at this moment, when we are about to partake of the body and blood of Christ, that the priest stands before God’s people and leads them in this ancient greeting.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

From that point forward, this greeting is “unleashed” into the life of the Church. For the next fifty days, Christians around the world use it to greet one another, sometimes even exchanging the kiss of peace as they do.

A Resurrection Reminder

The Easter Greeting is more than a way of saying hello.

It is a proclamation of faith. Each time we say it, we are reminding ourselves, and one another, that the Resurrection is not only something that happened in the past, but something that shapes our present reality.

It calls us to live as people who truly believe that Christ is alive.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

If you are looking for ways to carry this season into your home, I share more about celebrating Eastertide, both its meaning and its practices, on Substack and in my guide, The Liturgical Home: Easter.

Let us keep the feast!