Christ, Resurrection of

Testifying to the Resurrection of Christ, St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 writes, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ... He was buried, and ... rose again the third day ... He appeared to Cephas and after that to the Eleven. Then He was seen by more than 500 brethren at one time, many of whom are with us still ... After that, He was seen by James, then by all the Apostles. And last of all ... He was seen also by me."

The Apostles Creed states Christ "died and was buried" and "descended into Hell." Christ's divine Personhood united to His soul went to the Limbo of the Patriarchs to announce the good news to them. This is affirmed by St. Peter, who in 1 Peter 3:19 says of Christ, "[H]e went and preached to those spirits that were in prison." The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism) in paragraph 650 explains that Christ's divine nature "remained united to His soul and body, even when these were separated from each other by death." The Catechism adds, "For as death is produced by the separation of the human components, so Resurrection is achieved by the union of the two."

When Christ's body and soul were reunited, a massive burst of energy was released totaling some 3,400 bolts of lightning. The Shroud of Turin, revered as the burial cloth of Christ, testifies to this. Scientists studying this most precious relic in 2011 reported that 34,000 billion watts of VUV radiation seared the cloth and imprinted on it the image of a body Catholics affirm is Christ's.

Others also rose from the dead on Good Friday. The Gospel of St. Matthew 27:52–53 reads, "[The] tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose; and coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection, they came into the holy city and appeared to many."

Plunge into the mystery of Christ's Resurrection in Season One of Church Militant's Premium show Armor of God—The Resurrection & Ascension.