Orthodox celebrate joy of Pascha

In the life of an Orthodox Christian, the most important part of the liturgical year, called Great Lent, is a time of solemnity in which one immerses oneself in prayer, worship and fasting.

The penitential spirit of the fast with its ascetical disciplines aids in the goal of a renewed life in Christ.

After the season of the Great Fast comes Holy Week in which the Orthodox Christian is able to follow the Lord through His passion, death and burial.

Orthodox Holy Week has just taken place; Pascha (Easter) is Sunday.

In a church beautifully decorated with icons along with the smell of fragrant incense and centuries-old hymns, the faithful are able to experience the spirit of the ancient Church.

During Holy Week, one participates in the last days of the Lord with the celebration of the Bridegroom Matins.

They are anointed with the Holy Oil of Unction for the healing of soul and body.

Continuing the journey, they follow their Lord’s passion through the reading of the 12 Passion Gospels, and follow Him to Golgotha, as the priest carries the holy cross in solemn procession.

On Holy Friday, the body of the Lord is taken down from the cross and the holy shroud is carried in procession around the church exterior and placed in a tomb and venerated.

Then, in the middle of the night, in a candle-lit church, the holy shroud is removed and placed on the holy altar; symbolic of the Lord’s rising from the tomb and descent into Hades.

The Paschal candle, the holy fire, is brought forth, and this light is distributed to the faithful.

After the procession around the church three times, representing the three days of the Lord within the tomb, now standing before the closed doors of the church, as if before the tomb of Christ Himself, the priest reads the first news of Christ’s resurrection from the Gospel of St. Mark.

The priest exclaims the hymn of victory: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and to all those in the tombs bestowing Life!”

The Paschal jubilation culminates with the reception of the risen Christ, in the Holy Eucharist, during the Paschal Divine Liturgy.

Paschal joy continues in the homes of the faithful on Holy Pascha with music, foods and customs.

Now is a time of feasting. The feast day includes the singing of the Paschal hymn, “Christ is Risen.”

Among many of the Slavic people, it is customary to bring Paschal food baskets to the church to be blessed. Baskets include meats, cheese, butter, desserts and wine used in the Paschal meal at home.

From baskets loaded with delicacies, the undisputed king of Paschal traditions remains the humble egg.

The story of the Paschal egg goes back to a tradition involving St. Mary Magdalene. She is one of the myrrh-bearing women from the Gospels, who discovered the empty tomb of Christ.

Mary Magdalene became an evangelist who traveled to Rome to speak of Christ’s Resurrection to Emperor Tiberius.

One version of the story says that as she told the story of Christ’s Resurrection, the egg she gave to the Emperor turned red, symbolizing the saving blood of Christ.

Many Orthodox Christians dye eggs red in remembrance.

Among many Orthodox Christians, the use of the red egg was used in a form of greeting of family and friends.

Each person would get a hard-boiled egg and tap it together while one said “Christ is Risen!” and the other responded, “Indeed He is Risen!”

This is commonly called “egg-tapping.”

Among many Slavic people, it was a custom to give out beautifully colored and decorated eggs called pysanky.

Beeswax and layers of dye are used to create designs rich in symbolism – ladders, symbolizing prayer; fish and crosses representing Christ; pine needles for eternal life, butterflies for the Resurrection; and grapes and wheat for the Eucharist. Colors also were symbolic.

White for purity, green for life, yellow for light, black for eternity, blue for the heavens, gold for wisdom and red for Christ’s blood.

Each Pysanky was a type of iconic portrayal of a good wish or prayer given from the one who made the egg to the one receiving it.

The Pysanky were blessed along with the other foods in the Paschal food baskets but not part of the egg tapping.

The special eggs were kept in people’s homes as reminders of the celebration of the Risen Christ.

To those celebrating Christ’s Resurrection, and to all, the Lord’s blessings of peace, good health, joy and salvation.

The Rev. Ken Bachofsky is pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Warren.