I was doing more research on the dating of Easter and came across a very interesting article that explains the dating issue very well, but ALSO talks about the theological significance of the cosmos and why the Church chose certain dates for certain Christian holidays.
We've all heard the explanation that the Church co-opted pagan holidays, but there is more to the story than that. So, I've copied and pasted the article here:
Holy Trinity Cathedral - Ecclesiology
The date of Pascha
and
the reason for the differences between the Western and Eastern Christians
Nicholas Ossorguine
Instructor in Liturgics
St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, Paris
From the earliest days, man’s perception of time was naturally linked with some repeatedly occurring natural phenomena. Thus, for example, the regular change of light and darkness became expressed as a unit of time: a day (a phenomenon determined by the earth’s rotation about its own axis). The regular changes in lunar phases (the rotation of the moon around the earth lasting approximately thirty days) gave rise to the concept of a month. And finally, the regular changes of the year’s four seasons — spring, summer, autumn, and winter — was understood as a yearly cycle consisting of 365 (or 366) days, coupled to the earth’s complete revolution around the sun, which is called the Tropical or Solar year.
Only the seven-day cycle, the constantly repeating seven days of the week, is not based on any natural or other occurrence but has its origin in the creation of the world according to the Biblical narrative. The seven-day cycle was strictly observed by Old Testament Jews as something established by God Himself, and this was continued by New Testament Christians. It can be stated that this cycle was never interrupted and that calendar reforms had no effect on the seven-day week either in the Old or New Testaments.
The Church cycle of fixed feasts (Christ’s Nativity and others) depends exclusively on the solar year. The feast of Pascha, with the season of movable feasts related to it, is determined in accordance with all three cycles: namely, the solar, lunar and the weekly.
Pascha is the greatest Christian feast. The Orthodox Church, in the words of St John Damascene (VIII c), calls it “the feast of feasts, holy day of holy days” (Paschal Canon, Irmos of the Eighth Ode). This was the first Christian feast that was celebrated in Apostolic times. This feast is of such significance that the day of the week during which the Resurrection of Christ took place is forever identified with it. In the Russian language this day is even called Voskresenie [Resurrection]. Throughout the whole Church year, it serves as a constant, weekly reminder of the Paschal feast itself. One particular Sunday of the year is dedicated to this feast of Resurrection. And this is the day, when there is a particular alignment of the Sun, Moon and Earth. At this point, the latter enjoys a time of maximum illumination from the light sources that surround it.
In Orthodox liturgy, light has an exceptionally important meaning. The very word “light” and its derivatives are frequently found in liturgical texts. Christ Himself is the source of true Light “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12). In this context, solar light is understood as an image of the true Light.
The Christian Church, apparently from Apostolic times, began to fix the date of Pascha (Sunday) precisely in relation to light. For example, the feast of the Nativity of Christ (IV c.) was fixed as December 25, the day of the Winter solstice when sunlight begins to increase. (It was also a pagan feast for the same reason.) As for the sacred day of Pascha, here the moon also plays a part.
The Sunday of the year that falls immediately after a full moon when it occurs not earlier than the vernal equinox is set aside as the feast of Pascha.
Astronomically, the vernal equinox corresponds to that moment in the year when throughout the world (in both hemispheres) the length of the day and the night is equal and the Polar nights end. The significance of this phenomenon is that at this time of the year there is no place on Earth that is not touched by the light of the sun during the day. With the coming of the full moon during this time, the moon, being in the dark half of the Earth’s sphere, reflects the sun’s light, and thus the whole world is surrounded at that moment by the light of the sun.
Thus, in the cosmic aspect, the day of Holy Pascha is determined by the special position of the celestial bodies that illumine the Earth. This special position becomes a “cosmic icon” of that, which the Church describes by the words of the Paschal Canon: “Now all is filled with light: heaven and earth and the lower regions” [Troparion, Ode 3], or “This is the bright and saving night, sacred and supremely festal. It heralds the radiant day of the Resurrection on which the timeless light shone forth bodily from the tomb for all” [Troparion, Ode 7].
In the Church’s consciousness, the foundation of this “cosmic icon” was established by God Himself, the Creator of the world, when, at the coming of the fourth day, He ordered the “two great lights” to illumine the Earth on either side (days and nights) “And God said, Let there be lights ... to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and seasons, and for days, and years; and let them be for lights … to give light upon the earth … made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (Genesis 1:14-16).
Since the First Ecumenical Council (325 AD), this principle for determining the Paschal date (nearest Sunday after the first full moon occurring no earlier than the vernal equinox) was the mandatory rule for the whole Christian Church and remains so even to this day, both for the Eastern and Western Christians.
As for the theological significance of this “cosmic icon” that determines the date of Pascha, there is a little-known Fourth century Greek document (“Anatolian Sermon on the Paschal Date”, 387 AD), which gives a detailed explanation of this significance. The author points to the existing intimate connection between the “seven-day” creation of the world and the “seven-day” redemptive act of Christ.
The creation of the first man, Adam, was followed by his fall and with this the corruption of all creation. Christ, the New Adam, redeems the sin of the first man and brings to life a new creation. In this theological context, the cosmic phenomena (vernal equinox and the full moon that follows it) constitute natural signs that correspond to the beginning of time, when God created the world. The “cosmic icon” of light becomes the icon of the beginning of time at the creation of the world.
The moment of the vernal equinox is the image of the first day of creation. This is the first day, or “day one,” when God gave light to the world and divided the light from the darkness into equal parts, calling them respectively, Day and Night [Genesis 1:3-5]. Let us note that, according to the seven-day sequence, this day corresponds to Sunday, the day of Resurrection. The full moon, which follows it, is an image of the fourth day of creation (as noted above), when God, employing the created heavenly lights, distributed the light (which appeared on the first day) throughout the whole world. Darkness is gradually overcome. The moon’s role is that through it, the light penetrates the realm of darkness as a forerunner of the final victory.
On the sixth day of creation, which corresponds to Friday, God creates the first man, Adam, who fell away from God. Thus the New Adam, Christ, redeems Adam’s sin on the Cross on Holy and Great Friday. On the seventh day, Great and Holy Saturday, while bodily resting in the tomb, He destroys the kingdom of darkness. And on the following day, the first day of the week, which corresponds in this sequence to “day one” when God gave light to the world, the resurrected Christ gives the world the never-setting Light of His Resurrection.
The Gospel reading for the Paschal Liturgy proclaims this mystery: “In the beginning was the Word ... and the Word was God. … All things were made by Him. … In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. … The light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:1,3-5).
As for the significance of the Hebrew Pesach in determining the time for the celebration of the Christian Pascha, the Fourth century document noted above mentions the day of Pesach only to say that in no event is it to be considered in determining the time of the Christian Pascha. Furthermore, the document’s author includes among the known groups of heretics those Christians who, in calculating the Paschal date, take their cue from Pesach. Some of these heretics, the Quatrodecimanians, observe Pascha on the same day as the Jews, others, the Novatians, observe Pascha on the first Sunday after Pesach.
The idea that the Christian Pascha must always be observed following the Hebrew Pesach was advanced by Byzantine canonists during the time preceding the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in the West (1583 AD). Apparently it was done in an attempt to discredit this forthcoming “Catholic” calendar reform. In essence, prior to the calendar reform in the West, the Hebrew Pesach de facto always preceded the Christian Pascha for entirely technical reasons of the calendar. The Christian and Hebrew calculations were based on the same astronomical data to which the Julian calendar was linked. However, this did not constitute a sufficient reason to make this a mandatory condition.
For the Fathers of the Fourth century, the vernal equinox was the primary determinant for calculating the date of the Paschal feast. The Seventh Apostolic Canon reads: “If any bishop, presbyter or deacon shall celebrate the holy day of Pascha before the vernal equinox, with the Jews, let him be deposed from the holy ranks.” Thus the time of the vernal equinox determines the full moon after which, on the first Sunday following, the Pascha should be celebrated. This moon is the full moon of the Old Testament Pesach.
The Old Testament Pesach, according to Mosaic Law, is linked to the Spring full moon. As confirmed by the Fourth century document, mentioned above, the Hebrew Pesach during the pre-Christian era always occurred after the vernal equinox. With the coming of Christianity, this rule was not always followed, i.e. the Hebrew Pesach could occur prior to the vernal equinox, which served as the reason for the promulgation in the early epoch of the Seventh Apostolic Canon cited above. In this connection, a distinction should be made between the Old Testament Pesach and the Hebrew Pesach of New Testament times. The first one guided Israel to Christ, Who transformed it into the Christian Pascha. The second one, which does not comprehend Christ, lost all significance and, therefore, can have nothing in common, in any relationship, with the Pascha of Christ.
Thus the Christian Pascha, which follows the Old Testament Pesach’s full moon, can never coincide with it or precede it. Today, in the era of the New Testament, whether the full moon corresponds with the present Hebrew Pesach or not, can have no bearing on the Christian Pascha. As an example, let us note that if the first (Paschal) full moon following the vernal equinox does not correspond with the moon of the Hebrew Pesach, it means that the latter is based upon another full moon, either one which precedes or one that follows the first full moon. Neither of these would be of significance for the Christian Pascha since one of them is the second moon that follows the vernal equinox and the other one precedes it.
As for the variation in Paschal dates between Eastern and Western Christians, this occurs solely upon the difference between the calendars that they use: the Julian for the Eastern Church’s Pascha (the so-called “old style”) and the Gregorian for the Western Church’s Pascha (“new style”).
It can be assumed that one century after the First Ecumenical Council (325 AD) an agreement was reached throughout the Christian world on the time for celebrating Pascha. Tables for calculating the Paschal date were prepared based on the calendar in use at that time, and Paschal dates were expressed according to the Julian calendar in conjunction with its March 21st date as the date of the vernal equinox (the Paschal boundary). The Eastern Church used the so-called Paschalia compiled in approximately the Sixth century. This Paschalia remains in use in the Eastern Church even to this day.
Thus Pascha was celebrated throughout the Christian Church more or less simultaneously until 1583 AD when the calendar reform of Pope Gregory XIII took place in the West. By then, it had been observed for some time that the Julian calendar had fallen behind the solar time by approximately one day every 128 years and by the end of the Sixteenth century this lagging behind amounted to ten days since the time of the First Ecumenical Council in 325 AD. According to the calendar, the actual vernal equinox no longer took place on the 21st of March but on the 11th. As a result of this calendar reform (more precisely, its correction or adjustment) all calendar dates were moved forward by ten days (Friday October 4 was followed by Saturday the 15th), and in order that the calendar would no longer deviate from solar time, it was decided that during every 400-year period three of the leap years would be replaced by normal years, meaning that the date of 29th February would be dropped. The following rule would be applied: only those century leap-years will retain February 29th that can be divided by 400 without a remainder. Thus, 1600 was a leap-year, but the three following century-years, 1700, 1800, and 1900, were not leap-years, even though according to the Julian calendar they were. These different approaches resulted in today’s 13-day difference. Appropriate corrections were made for the calculation of Pascha inasmuch as the Paschal boundary of March 21st was moved by ten days, and from that time the Western Church frequently celebrated Pascha earlier than the Eastern Church, which continued to calculate its date in accordance with the old Paschalia.
When the Western Pascha does not coincide with the Eastern, the difference can be either one week or as great as four or five weeks. This happens because the vernal equinox, according to the Julian calendar that serves as the basis for Paschalia calculations, occurs thirteen days behind the actual one, followed by the Gregorian calendar. Thus March 21 according to the New Style (March 8 Old Style) is the vernal equinox. Western Christians consider this the beginning of the Paschal moon. Thirteen days later, on April 3 New Style (March 21 Old Style) begins the time for calculating the Paschal moon for the Eastern Christians, for their Paschalia. Therefore, when the full moon occurs between March 21 and April 2 (New Style, of course) this is the Paschal moon only for the Western Church, since according to the Eastern Paschalia the vernal equinox has not yet occurred. In this case, the Orthodox Pascha is based on the following moon, a month later. This then would be the first full moon after March 21 according to the Old Style, but in fact it is really the second full moon following the astronomically actual vernal equinox (March 21 New Style).
In this case, the difference between the two Paschal dates can be four or five weeks. Should there be no full moon between March 21 and April 2 New Style, then for all Christians the common Paschal moon would be the first one occurring after April 2. In that case, both Paschal dates would coincide or be one week apart. The latter could occur because in the Paschalia lunar cycles lag behind “real time” by three to four days. Thus if the actual full moon occurs in the first half of the week, for the Paschalia this would be in week’s second half and the following Sunday would be Pascha for all Christians. Should the full moon occur in the week’s second half, according to the Paschalia this would be the first half of the following week and thus the Eastern Pascha would fall behind the Western by a week.
There is only one solution for this abnormal situation. The feasts of the Paschal cycle must be observed in accordance with the same calendar as the fixed feasts (Christ’s Nativity, etc.), the calendar that corresponds to solar time.
[1979]
“Russkaya Mysl’” #4401 21.03.2002
http://www.rusmysl.ru
Translated by Alvian N. Smirensky
Last modified: April 22, 2002 - webmaster@holy-trinity.org.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Holy Week
Wow. This Great Lent has flown by for me. Happy Easter to all of those who are "Western Christians". It is not yet Easter for me. I am not a Western Christian. I'm an Eastern Orthodox Christian. Just for information's sake, Western Christians are Roman Catholics and all Protestants that evolved from the Reformation.
The reason for the difference in dating Western Easter and Eastern Pascha are complicated. In response to my original post here, someone commented that I was wrong about the dating and how the dates were determined. They were correct and rather than post their comment and make the blog seem like a "point, counterpoint", I decided to do a little more research and edit my original post, which had been written in somewhat of a hurry anyway.
From wikipedia:
Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the Moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon whose 14th day (the ecclesiastic "full moon") is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastic "vernal equinox").
Still, that doesn't explain why Western and Eastern Easter continue to frequently fall on different dates. Basically, it has to do with the fact that the Western Church uses the Gregorian Calendar, and the Eastern Church uses the Julian Calendar.
So....today is Palm Sunday (also known as Willow Sunday, as we bring Pussy Willows to church that day). Several weeks ago, "Great Lent" began. Even 2 weeks prior to that, we began easing into the Great Fast. Two weeks before Great Lent, we gave up meat, and then the following week we gave up dairy. Sunday of Great Lent is called "Forgiveness Sunday" as we seek forgiveness from anyone we may have offended, knowingly or not. We all lined up around the inside of the church and asked each and every other member of the congregation personally to forgive us. And of course, we are encouraged to do the same in our private lives as well.
It is a very beautiful and appropriate way to begin something as serious and awe-inspiring as Great Lent. Throughout this season of Lent, I have had different people ask me what I'm giving up. But Eastern Orthodox Lent is different. We do not decide individually what we will give up for Lent. Instead, the entire Church across the globe fasts together. We fast from animal products, essentially eating a vegan diet. I struggle with it every single year, but I keep trying just the same. Of course, vegan is the "rule" but it is not legalistic. In collaboration with our spiritual fathers, we flex that rule to derive the most benefit for each of us in our Christian Lives.
Today is the end of Great Lent "proper" and the beginning of Holy Week. Today is Palm Sunday for us, though it is Easter for Western Christians. Tonight is the first of three "Bridegroom Matins" services. One tonight, one tomorrow night, and one on Tuesday night. Wednesday night is "Holy Unction" where we seek healing from anything that may ail us, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. During the Holy Unction service, we will each be annointed with a special mixture of oil and wine. Due to my work schedule, I have not been able to get to a Holy Unction service since my conversion 3 1/2 years ago. I plan to go this week though, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Thursday night is the night in which we go over the Gospels, re-living the last few days/hours of Christ's life. And it *is* a re-living. I honestly feel transported back in time, walking alongside Christ and His disciples. The music and the readings really take me back, and I feel like I've got one foot in the past, and one foot in the present.
Friday is the crucifixion, death, and burial. I have not been able to make it to the morning and afternoon services, but at night, we literally bury Christ in the tomb by burying an icon of Christ in a "tomb" in the center of the church, and adorning the grave with flowers. Throughout the night at least one person stays by the grave, "gravewatching". Saturday morning we have services again, and catechumins are received into the Church by Chrismation (anointing with oil). I remember when I was received. It was the week before Christmas. What a special time. Even now, 31/2 years later, I still feel like I am part of something SO MUCH BIGGER than myself, something even bigger than the Universe. There is so much to learn and I still feel that I've only scratched the surface!
Finally, after the build up of sad and yet joyful anticipation, we arrive again at the Church on Saturday at 10:30pm. The church is dark, and we light candles and sing hymns. It is 3 services rolled into one, so it generally takes 3-3 1/2 hours. The last part of the service is Divine Liturgy, and celebrates the resurrection of our Lord. Before we start that service, we proceed outside the dark church, walking in a procession around the church while singing quietly. The bell tolls several times, (we warn the neighbors every year so they will not be startled). And as we walk back into the church, the church is all lit up and we begin joyful singing and shouting "Christ is Risen!!!" and "Indeed He is Risen!!" in the many different languages that are spoken by present day Orthodox all over the world.
Divine Liturgy begins and we share in the Eucharist. And after the service ends, we all gather in the parish hall where a feast has been waiting for us. The feast and the people are blessed, and we finally break the long Lenten fast with foods we refrained from for 40 days. Someone plays music, and we sing songs and shout "Christ is Risen!!!" again and again.
The Orthodox sure do know how to have a party. And they know how to do Pascha. Its better than commercialized Christmas! (Orthodox Christmas is better than commercialized Christmas, and for much the same reason!) It is so hard to describe all the emotions one feels throughout Holy Week as we recount, and relive the last days, and then the resurrection of our Lord and Savour Jesus Christ. I look forward to it every year. And every year, I promise myself I will try to become even more involved with the parish and with church life. There are so many special services, feasts, and fasts throughout the year. It is true that Orthodoxy is not a religion, it is a Way of Life. Every day has some significance to it. And we participate in all of these feasts and fasts and special occasions in so many ways. The saints are ever before us, instructing us, each and every day, as we celebrate one or more saints' days. We name ourselves and our children after saints. We celebrate those name days and the day we are received into the church is like an annual birthday. We strive to imitate saints, as we grow to become more like Christ.
And no matter where I am, I know I can attend an Orthodox Church somewhere, and the Liturgy will be the same as the one being celebrated at home. We are all interconnected, all across the globe, throughout the universe. During Divine Liturgy and the Eucharist, we truly exist as the Church in its "wholeness", those who have gone before us, those of us struggling through life right now, and those who will come after us. We are all together in the Eucharist. The icons in the church truly are "windows into heaven" and I can feel the presence of the Church Triumphant and all the angels all around us. The Whole Church is a living organism, dynamic and alive. Its not just an exercise we go through on Sundays and Wednesdays. it is a living, dynamic, Entity that we align ourselves with, that extends into all of my life, in every detail. No other "denomination" has given me such a feeling of being alive.
And there is a security,a knowing, in being Orthodox.
Life and death and the universe is like a category 5 hurricane, and being Orthodox is like being inside the Ark that Noah built, instead of flailing around in a rowboat trying to survive. Before Orthodoxy, I had a lot of tough questions that needed answers, and my protestant pastors could not answer my questions. Those pastors became visibly uncomfortable with me and my questions. I sensed that I was touching on questions they themselves weren't sure of, and I could visibly *see* the doubt they had in their own faith. It was all over their faces. That was a scary time for me, to see my spiritual leaders visibly shaken. I even left the church for awhile and sought out Orthodox Judaism. I knew there had to be one church that had it right, and that one church had to be continuous with Judaism. I wanted to find some historical continuity. Christ had promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, so I knew it had to exist somewhere.
Studying Orthodox Judaism answered a lot of questions for me, and helped me put things together that I hadn't understood before, but it wasn't enough by itself. I knew I still believed in a supernatural and mystical God and I believed that a supernatural God could become incarnate, so I still believed in Jesus and who He said He was. But having been involved with much of mainline Christianity, from fundamentalist groups to Roman Catholicism, I knew I couldn't go back to those denominations and the insecurity I felt there. And then "Russian Orthodox Church" popped into my mind. I knew absolutely nothing about Orthodoxy, but had seen a clip of the Russian Church on tv one time. I had heard of the Orthodox Church. So I started there. Its going on 4 years now, and I haven't looked back.
So tonight, I am off to the first of the Bridegroom Matins. And I extend an invitation to anyone else who is curious about what Orthodoxy is. I invite anyone who isn't completely satisfied with their Christian experience thus far. Come and see!
The reason for the difference in dating Western Easter and Eastern Pascha are complicated. In response to my original post here, someone commented that I was wrong about the dating and how the dates were determined. They were correct and rather than post their comment and make the blog seem like a "point, counterpoint", I decided to do a little more research and edit my original post, which had been written in somewhat of a hurry anyway.
From wikipedia:
Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the Moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon whose 14th day (the ecclesiastic "full moon") is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastic "vernal equinox").
Still, that doesn't explain why Western and Eastern Easter continue to frequently fall on different dates. Basically, it has to do with the fact that the Western Church uses the Gregorian Calendar, and the Eastern Church uses the Julian Calendar.
So....today is Palm Sunday (also known as Willow Sunday, as we bring Pussy Willows to church that day). Several weeks ago, "Great Lent" began. Even 2 weeks prior to that, we began easing into the Great Fast. Two weeks before Great Lent, we gave up meat, and then the following week we gave up dairy. Sunday of Great Lent is called "Forgiveness Sunday" as we seek forgiveness from anyone we may have offended, knowingly or not. We all lined up around the inside of the church and asked each and every other member of the congregation personally to forgive us. And of course, we are encouraged to do the same in our private lives as well.
It is a very beautiful and appropriate way to begin something as serious and awe-inspiring as Great Lent. Throughout this season of Lent, I have had different people ask me what I'm giving up. But Eastern Orthodox Lent is different. We do not decide individually what we will give up for Lent. Instead, the entire Church across the globe fasts together. We fast from animal products, essentially eating a vegan diet. I struggle with it every single year, but I keep trying just the same. Of course, vegan is the "rule" but it is not legalistic. In collaboration with our spiritual fathers, we flex that rule to derive the most benefit for each of us in our Christian Lives.
Today is the end of Great Lent "proper" and the beginning of Holy Week. Today is Palm Sunday for us, though it is Easter for Western Christians. Tonight is the first of three "Bridegroom Matins" services. One tonight, one tomorrow night, and one on Tuesday night. Wednesday night is "Holy Unction" where we seek healing from anything that may ail us, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. During the Holy Unction service, we will each be annointed with a special mixture of oil and wine. Due to my work schedule, I have not been able to get to a Holy Unction service since my conversion 3 1/2 years ago. I plan to go this week though, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Thursday night is the night in which we go over the Gospels, re-living the last few days/hours of Christ's life. And it *is* a re-living. I honestly feel transported back in time, walking alongside Christ and His disciples. The music and the readings really take me back, and I feel like I've got one foot in the past, and one foot in the present.
Friday is the crucifixion, death, and burial. I have not been able to make it to the morning and afternoon services, but at night, we literally bury Christ in the tomb by burying an icon of Christ in a "tomb" in the center of the church, and adorning the grave with flowers. Throughout the night at least one person stays by the grave, "gravewatching". Saturday morning we have services again, and catechumins are received into the Church by Chrismation (anointing with oil). I remember when I was received. It was the week before Christmas. What a special time. Even now, 31/2 years later, I still feel like I am part of something SO MUCH BIGGER than myself, something even bigger than the Universe. There is so much to learn and I still feel that I've only scratched the surface!
Finally, after the build up of sad and yet joyful anticipation, we arrive again at the Church on Saturday at 10:30pm. The church is dark, and we light candles and sing hymns. It is 3 services rolled into one, so it generally takes 3-3 1/2 hours. The last part of the service is Divine Liturgy, and celebrates the resurrection of our Lord. Before we start that service, we proceed outside the dark church, walking in a procession around the church while singing quietly. The bell tolls several times, (we warn the neighbors every year so they will not be startled). And as we walk back into the church, the church is all lit up and we begin joyful singing and shouting "Christ is Risen!!!" and "Indeed He is Risen!!" in the many different languages that are spoken by present day Orthodox all over the world.
Divine Liturgy begins and we share in the Eucharist. And after the service ends, we all gather in the parish hall where a feast has been waiting for us. The feast and the people are blessed, and we finally break the long Lenten fast with foods we refrained from for 40 days. Someone plays music, and we sing songs and shout "Christ is Risen!!!" again and again.
The Orthodox sure do know how to have a party. And they know how to do Pascha. Its better than commercialized Christmas! (Orthodox Christmas is better than commercialized Christmas, and for much the same reason!) It is so hard to describe all the emotions one feels throughout Holy Week as we recount, and relive the last days, and then the resurrection of our Lord and Savour Jesus Christ. I look forward to it every year. And every year, I promise myself I will try to become even more involved with the parish and with church life. There are so many special services, feasts, and fasts throughout the year. It is true that Orthodoxy is not a religion, it is a Way of Life. Every day has some significance to it. And we participate in all of these feasts and fasts and special occasions in so many ways. The saints are ever before us, instructing us, each and every day, as we celebrate one or more saints' days. We name ourselves and our children after saints. We celebrate those name days and the day we are received into the church is like an annual birthday. We strive to imitate saints, as we grow to become more like Christ.
And no matter where I am, I know I can attend an Orthodox Church somewhere, and the Liturgy will be the same as the one being celebrated at home. We are all interconnected, all across the globe, throughout the universe. During Divine Liturgy and the Eucharist, we truly exist as the Church in its "wholeness", those who have gone before us, those of us struggling through life right now, and those who will come after us. We are all together in the Eucharist. The icons in the church truly are "windows into heaven" and I can feel the presence of the Church Triumphant and all the angels all around us. The Whole Church is a living organism, dynamic and alive. Its not just an exercise we go through on Sundays and Wednesdays. it is a living, dynamic, Entity that we align ourselves with, that extends into all of my life, in every detail. No other "denomination" has given me such a feeling of being alive.
And there is a security,a knowing, in being Orthodox.
Life and death and the universe is like a category 5 hurricane, and being Orthodox is like being inside the Ark that Noah built, instead of flailing around in a rowboat trying to survive. Before Orthodoxy, I had a lot of tough questions that needed answers, and my protestant pastors could not answer my questions. Those pastors became visibly uncomfortable with me and my questions. I sensed that I was touching on questions they themselves weren't sure of, and I could visibly *see* the doubt they had in their own faith. It was all over their faces. That was a scary time for me, to see my spiritual leaders visibly shaken. I even left the church for awhile and sought out Orthodox Judaism. I knew there had to be one church that had it right, and that one church had to be continuous with Judaism. I wanted to find some historical continuity. Christ had promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, so I knew it had to exist somewhere.
Studying Orthodox Judaism answered a lot of questions for me, and helped me put things together that I hadn't understood before, but it wasn't enough by itself. I knew I still believed in a supernatural and mystical God and I believed that a supernatural God could become incarnate, so I still believed in Jesus and who He said He was. But having been involved with much of mainline Christianity, from fundamentalist groups to Roman Catholicism, I knew I couldn't go back to those denominations and the insecurity I felt there. And then "Russian Orthodox Church" popped into my mind. I knew absolutely nothing about Orthodoxy, but had seen a clip of the Russian Church on tv one time. I had heard of the Orthodox Church. So I started there. Its going on 4 years now, and I haven't looked back.
So tonight, I am off to the first of the Bridegroom Matins. And I extend an invitation to anyone else who is curious about what Orthodoxy is. I invite anyone who isn't completely satisfied with their Christian experience thus far. Come and see!
Composting the Garden
Well, its been a long while since I've posted. Just to update, I've got 2 compost bins. Both are full of nice moist dark dirt that is loaded with earthworms. We didn't do the compost exactly right, but it seems to have turned out pretty well anyway. So last Sunday, I decided I would do something about it, since we need a new empty compost bin to begin for Fall, if not for Spring next year.
My first realization was that I'd wished I'd moved the compost bins closer to the garden! Shovelfull by shovefull, I loaded up a wheelbarrow and took the compost to the garden, wheeled it into the garden and dumped it in a pile. It probably took me about 20 trips to empty out one bin. (I still haven't gotten around to the other bin). After it was all dumped on our garden, I remembered it was supposed to rain on Monday, so I decided I'd probably better turn the soil. All I have is hand tools. So, once again, one shovel-full at a time, I turned the soil over. Its a week later, and I STILL have a blister on my thumb....whaaaaa :o). But at least 2/3 of the garden is primed for planting.
My first realization was that I'd wished I'd moved the compost bins closer to the garden! Shovelfull by shovefull, I loaded up a wheelbarrow and took the compost to the garden, wheeled it into the garden and dumped it in a pile. It probably took me about 20 trips to empty out one bin. (I still haven't gotten around to the other bin). After it was all dumped on our garden, I remembered it was supposed to rain on Monday, so I decided I'd probably better turn the soil. All I have is hand tools. So, once again, one shovel-full at a time, I turned the soil over. Its a week later, and I STILL have a blister on my thumb....whaaaaa :o). But at least 2/3 of the garden is primed for planting.
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