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ON HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SUNDAY
CHRISSIE: This week is Holy Week which
started with Palm Sunday, and I am here with Father Christopher who can
tell us more about it. Father what happens this week?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: We remember and do many
things this week, but in short, we follow Christ from his entrance into
Jerusalem and relive the accounts of his passion, his crucifixion, his
death and rejoice at the news of his Resurrection. But before I explain
the services I would like to say something that I think would help your
listeners understand better the Orthodox way of thinking. What we do in
Church is not just a commemoration of past historical events. We are
actually present with Christ as he suffers the passion and the
Crucifixion. How this is possible I will explain. Time began from the
onset of creation, but there is an earthly time and a heavenly time, a
temporal and a non-temporal. Earthly time is measured by change and
motion. Its nature is to begin, to endure and to have an end. Now Heaven
and the angels, exist outside of earthly time. They are not eternal,
because they have a beginning, but they have their existence in what we
call the aeon which is motionless time, because it remains without any
change. The Church stands at a point of intersection where the past,
present and future of our earthly existence are merged with the unchanging
and motionless time of the aeon. All the events of Christ’s life, from His
Birth to His Resurrection and Ascension, are re-acted by the Church, but
they cease to be just an act and become a reality in that all the events
are forever taking place in the motionless time of the Kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, we become witnesses of His birth together with the wise men and
the shepherds, we follow His earthly life, hearing His divine words of
salvation and bear witness to the countless miracles He performed; in
pain, we stand and gaze at His crucified body, and we become co-mourners
with the Mother of God, the Apostles, the Myrrhbearers and all His
followers; and we follow Mary Magdalene and the Apostles to the empty tomb
and rejoice with them at the news of the Resurrection. Another thing to
help understand the order of the services is that all the services are
sung in anticipation of the actual event. I’ll explain what I mean. The
morning or matins services as sung on the evening before, and the evening
or vespers services are sung on the morning before. This is done for
practical reasons because the most beautiful services of the Crucifixion
and the Burial are actually morning services, but because people have to
work in the mornings, they would not be able to attend the services, so we
reverse the order of the services so that the people can be present.
So now let us start with Palm Sunday. On this day the Orthodox Church
commemorates and celebrates the entrance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ into Jerusalem. It is customary for the people to bring Palm leaves
with them to Church, but as we don’t have many Palm trees in Cyprus, we bring branches of Olive tree. At the end of the Service there
is a procession around the Church which is symbolic of Christ’s journey
into Jerusalem and then the Priest will read the Gospel for the day. At
the point where it says: “And a very great multitude spread their garments
in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in
the way.” The people throw their branches towards the Priest who
represents Christ and in that way they identify themselves with the
multitude of the Gospel. Another custom which we have only in Cyprus is
that apart from the olive branches, people also bring bags full of olive
leaves, which after being blessed, are kept in church for 40 days as
another form of blessing, and then the people take them to their homes and
use the leaves as incense. This is a custom the younger generation have
left behind, but our grandmothers would begin their morning prayer by
first offering incense to God and asking him to bless the day.
On the evening of Palm Sunday we begin the services of “Christ the
Bridegroom”, which we have on Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, and Holy Wednesday. The
Icon for the Bridegroom doesn’t show Christ dressed up as a Bridegroom,
but as the Man of the Passion, reminding us that shortly Christ will
suffer the humility of the Passion. The Icon brings to mind the Gospel
passage which says: “And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head,
and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and
mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” The name Bridegroom comes
from the Gospel reading of Holy Tuesday, which recounts the parable of the
ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. Also in other places Christ calls himself the Bridegroom, as
in the passage where he tells the disciples of St. John the Baptist that
the children of the bridechamber cannot mourn as long as the Bridegroom is
with them, but the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken from
them, and then they will fast. The hymn for these three days begins.
Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night and blessed is the
servant whom he shall find watching.
On Thursday morning we celebrate the Last Supper or as we Orthodox call
it, the Mystical Supper. It is the celebration of that very first
Eucharist service which Christ instituted. On this day we celebrate four
events: the washing of the disciples' feet, the institution of the Holy
Eucharist, Christ’s Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and Judas’
betrayal. On the Evening we sing the Service of the Passion and
Crucifixion. This is the longest of all the services of Holy Week and is
about 4 hour in length. During the service there are 12 Gospel readings
which recount the awful Passion of our Lord and what he willingly endured
- the spittings, the scourgings, the buffeting, the scorn, the mocking,
the purple robe, the reed, the sponge, the vinegar, the nails, the spear
and above all the Cross and Death. The Actual Crucifixion takes place
after the reading of the fifth Gospel. The Cross and Christ are carried in
procession inside the church and when the Cross has been placed in the
centre of the Church the priest will then put the Icon of Christ onto the
Cross.
On the morning of Good Friday we celebrate the Deposition from the Cross,
in other words, the taking down of Christ’s body from the Cross. If there
is only one Priest, then someone will take down the body of Christ and
wrap it in a white linen cloth. This is then given to the Priest who will
place it on the Holy Altar which represents Christ’s tomb. Then the Priest
will carry the embroidered Icon of the Epitaphion, which is an Icon of
Christ lying dead in the tomb and will place it in the Canopy decorated
with flowers which now takes centre place in the church.
CHRISSIE: Good Friday is a very holy day in
Cyprus what happens in the evening?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: On the evening of Good
Friday we celebrate the service of the Lamentation. In the centre of the
church we have the Canopy which represents Christ’s tomb and this is
decorated with beautiful flowers which represent the myrrh and spices that
were used in the burial preparation. Inside the canopy we have the Icon of
the entombment and the Book of the Gospels which were placed there from
the morning. There are two main events of the service. The first is the
singing of the Lamentations which are about 300 short hymns in total. I
would say that this is the highlight of the service. The hymns stir up a
mixture of feelings, moving us from sadness when we are reminded how man
put to death his God and Creator, then to tears when we think of the pain in
the Blessed Virgins heart on first seeing her Son and God suffering the
humility of the Cross and now seeing him dead in the tomb, and then to hope and joy
when we are reminded that in three days he will rise again. After the
singing of the Lamentations, everyone will come and venerate Christ in the
tomb and will receive from the Priest a flower from the tomb as a
blessing. The second event is the funeral procession which varies to
whether one is in a town or a village church.
In general, the Icon of the entombment or the whole canopy is lifted above
the priest’s head and is carried in procession into the streets, and as
they walk the streets the people walk under the canopy, the choir all the
while singing hymns from the service. In towns the funeral cortege is
often lead by a brass band and members of the armed forces and meet up
with the funeral procession from other parishes.
CHRISSIE: Easter seems to be a very important
festival in the Greek Orthodox calendar is it?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: Easter for Orthodox
Christians is the greatest Feast in the church’s calendar. It is the Feast
of all Feasts. Man was created for Paradise, for immortal life, for
knowledge of God and communion with Him. Adam’s original sin resulted in
man being exiled from paradise and being deprived of that blessed life,
and instead of immortality was now subject to illnesses, diseases, pain,
suffering and ageing bodies, which eventually would bring about his death.
Christ, with his death and Resurrection, re-opens the door of Paradise to
everyone who follows him, so Easter is in fact the celebration of
mankind’s return to Paradise. It is the celebration of our return to God.
CHRISSIE: The main Easter service takes
place on Saturday night can you talk us through it?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: There is nothing quite like
the Easter Service. It is so beautiful and moves the spirit to tears of
joy and happiness. It is the moment we have been anticipating these past
50 days. The atmosphere is almost electrifying. Everything has been
cleaned and polished, the dark vestments of Holy Week have been put aside
and in their place are now the bright white Resurrection vestments. But
let’s take it from the moment someone comes into the church yard. Very
often one will see a great bonfire in the courtyard. Most town churches
have now banned these bonfires from the courtyard, but in villages the
bonfire is still a highlight of the night. The bonfires have nothing to do
will the Church service. In times of old, they were probably lit so that
the people outside the church could keep warm and in time it became a
tradition. If we were to give it a symbolic meaning we could only say that
it represents the fires of hell, because the Easter service has a double
meaning. Firstly it is the Celebration of the resurrection but it is also
the Celebration of the Second coming of Christ. Although we don’t know
when this will be, there is a tradition from the times of the Apostles
that the Second coming of Christ will be one year on the night of the
Resurrection. Symbolically then, those who are found inside the church are
those who are saved and those outside are those who will suffer the fires
of hell.
Let’s return to the actual service. Everyone takes a candle to church or
they can purchase one from the Church counter. The service begins at 11
o’clock but the actual Resurrection service will begin at exactly
Midnight. The Church will be darkened with no lights or candles lit and
the faithful wait for the Priest to come out of the sanctuary. As the
priest comes forth holding three lit candles, he sings “Come ye, and
receive the light, from the never setting and eternal light, and give
glory unto Christ, He who hath risen from the dead.” And everyone lights
their candles from these 3 candles. This is done in commemoration of a
miracle that happens every year in Jerusalem that the western world
doesn’t seem to be aware of. In Jerusalem on Holy and Great Saturday at
noon, they have the special service called the Light of the Resurrection.
The Patriarch, having been witnessed by other church denominations that he
doesn’t have any matches on him, enters the Holy Sepulchre and prays for
the light of the Resurrection. After praying and waiting, his candles
light by themselves and if you are standing inside the Church of the
Resurrection you will see a blueish light dashing around the church and
lighting up some of the candles held by the people.
Coming back to our Resurrection service, as soon as everyone has lit their
candles, The Priest carries the Gospel Book in procession around the
Church. The procession around the Church is symbolic of Christ’s earthly
life and the people following the procession are the multitudes that
believed on Him and followed Him. We then have the Reading of the Gospel
which is the Good News of the Resurrection announced by the angel to the
Myrrhbearers. Then we sing the Easter hymn many times. Christ is risen
from the dead, by death he hath overcome death, and to them in the graves
hath he given life. Then follows something not found in the service books
but is a custom done in many Churches. As soon as the procession begins,
the doors of the Church are closed. With the doors shut, the Priest knocks
three times on the western doors and says: Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come
in. Someone from within the Church will respond saying: Who is this King
of glory? And the Priest shall reply: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord
mighty in battle. This is done a total of three times and the doors are
opened and the Priests leads the people back into the Church.
CHRISSIE: What does all this mean?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: When Adam was cast out of Paradise
we are told that God put an angel with a flaming sword to guard the
entrance of Paradise so that no one could enter in. The dialogue the
priest has with the person inside represents a dialogue between Christ and
that angel. The Priest representing Christ tells the angel to open the
doors of paradise so that he who is the King of Glory can enter in. As the
doors open, Christ leads the people back into Paradise, which is what the
Resurrection actually means, our return to Paradise, our return to the
Kingdom of Heaven which is our rightful place where we will reign with
Christ forever and ever. After this many of the thousands who attended the
service sadly leave and return to their homes, but in truth the service
has only just begun and they miss out on the wonderful hymns that follow.
At the very end of the Service it is customary for the Priest to give
everyone still remaining a red egg. And that very first egg after 50 days
of fasting tastes absolutely wonderful.
CHRISSIE: Can anyone attend this
service?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: Yes, everyone is welcomed to
attend all the services. We have people attending from various
denominations. Of course we must draw the line when it comes to Holy
Communion. Only those who are members of the Orthodox Church are allowed
to receive Holy Communion. Also keep in mind that on these nights
thousands of people attend the services and very often there is not enough
room inside the church so you might find yourself amongst the hundreds, if
not thousands, standing in the church courtyard.
CHRISSIE: What do I need to do?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: Just bring yourselves and
maybe a candle to church or as I said before you can always purchase one
from the counter inside the church. With most church services you will
notice that the women sit at the back of the church and the men in front,
but on such nights when so many people attend, this is largely ignored.
CHRISSIE: What happens after the
service?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: After the service it is
traditional for the people to take their lit candles home finding some way
to protect it so that it doesn’t blow out from the wind. Some people use
foil paper to make a protection and others bring small lanterns. With this
Resurrection light they will light their vigil light at home and keep it
burning for the next 40 days. After this they will have their Easter
breakfast which normally consists of the traditional Cypriot egg and lemon
soup, chicken, eggs and of course flaounes, which is an Easter pastry
filled with a mixture of cheese, eggs, mint and raisins.
CHRISSIE: What happens on Easter Sunday?
FR. CHRISTOPHER: On Easter Sunday there is a
vespers service usually held at about 11 o’clock in the morning called the
Vespers of Love. In towns this is usually served in only one Church
Presided by the Bishop and all the Priest from the various parishes attend
this one service. During the service, the reading of the Gospel is said in
many languages fulfilling Christ’s commandment to the Apostles after his
Resurrection when he said “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations”.
At home, everyone is preparing for Easter lunch. It is a day of love and
all the family will gather together, they will greet and kiss each other,
and as they kiss, one will say Christos Anesti, which means, Christ is
Risen and the other will respond with: Alithos Anesti, which means:, He is
risen indeed or Truly he is risen. Lunch itself will normally consist of
barbecued lamb and other delicious foods that we haven’t eaten for 50
days. And having not eaten meat or dairy product for the past 50 days
everything tastes absolutely wonderful. A feast indeed.
CHRISSIE: It is traditional that you
greet everyone you see for the first time after Easter with a special
greeting…
FR. CHRISTOPHER: Yes, as I said we greet each other with Christ is risen and respond with
He is risen indeed. This we say for the next 40 days until the feast of
the Ascension. We use this greeting in place of good morning or good
evening, or hello when we answer the phone. In general it replaces all
other greetings.
Chrissie, I would like to
take this opportunity to wish you and all your listeners a wonderful
Easter and may the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten your
hearts and bring joy and love into your homes. Happy Easter.
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