Question: It is said that if one dies on Easter or during Bright Week, he will not go through ordeals and go straight into Heaven. Is it true?
Answer: Yes, there is a tradition that says so. I believe that each person will be tested with the question, “Lovest thou Me?” However, we guess that death does not occur at random. Its time and date is not haphazard. When the Royal Door is opened, when the heaven and the earth celebrate the victory of life over death, we would like to think that one’s soul will go to Paradise no matter what. However, approximately one hundred people die on Easter in Minsk every year. We can’t say that they immediately go to Paradise. Those who didn’t have the encounter with God in the course of their lives also die, unfortunately. That’s why the day of Easter is not a 100% guarantee of free entry into Paradise. However, when a believer who goes to church regularly dies on Easter day, it does matter for his soul. It is a testimony for his relatives, too, that their deceased relative had pleased God. What if someone dies on a different day but had led a saintly life, does it change anything? I suppose not. All days are holy for God. That’s why we have to humble ourselves down and to repent in order to get into Paradise.
