Lithos

Stone — the cornerstone rejected and vindicated; the stone rolled away from the tomb.

Lithos (stone) in Orthodox theological use centers on two images. First: Christ as the stone rejected by the builders (Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42) who becomes the cornerstone — the foundation of the Church. Second: the stone rolled away from the tomb at the Resurrection (Matthew 28:2) — the seal of death broken by the power of God. The Paschal troparion references both: 'Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death.' The stone is the image of death's apparent finality, and its removal is the image of the Resurrection's finality.