Almighty God,
who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
hast overcome death,
and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life:
We humbly beseech thee
that as by thy special grace preventing us
thou dost put into our minds good desires,
so by thy continual help
we may bring the same to good effect;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost,
ever one God, world without end.
Amen.
ECUMENICAL TRADITIONAL; BCP 1662 AND ECUMENICAL
An Easter Prayer
Also known as Prayer for Easter Day ยท Christ Is Risen Prayer
Other forms
Orthodox Easter proclamation
Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
About this prayer
Easter is the central feast of the Christian calendar, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is observed on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, calculated according to the lunar calendar. Easter Sunday opens the fifty-day Easter season, which ends at Pentecost. The resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith: Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:17 that 'if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.' Easter prayer draws on the resurrection narratives of all four Gospels and on the letters of Paul. In the Orthodox tradition, the Paschal greeting 'Christ is risen! Truly he is risen!' is the central proclamation of Easter and replaces the normal liturgical greeting throughout the Paschal season.
When it's said
The BCP collect is said on Easter Day and throughout the Easter season in Anglican services. The Orthodox proclamation is sung repeatedly at the Paschal Liturgy and throughout Bright Week (the week following Easter). In Protestant churches, Easter prayers of thanksgiving and proclamation are central to the Easter Sunday service.
Notes on the text
The phrase 'preventing us' uses 'prevent' in its older English sense of 'going before' or 'preceding': God's grace comes before our desire and makes it possible. The Orthodox Easter Troparion ('Christ is risen from the dead') is one of the oldest and most widely known Easter texts in Christianity, sung or said at every Orthodox service from Pascha to Ascension.
Source
BCP form: Book of Common Prayer, 1662, Collect for Easter Day. Public domain. Orthodox form: Ancient liturgical text from the Divine Liturgy; English text from the Service Book of the Holy Orthodox Church, compiled by Isabel F. Hapgood, 1906. Public domain.
Last reviewed: May 2026 against primary source.