The Great and Holy Feast of Pascha

Categories: orthodox-life, holidays, hymns, parish-life, feast-days

Date: 27 April 2008 01:51:30

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!

That chant is in my head: as well it should be -- it is sung often enough during the Orthodox Holy Pascha service.

This year I found the service, in its entirety, far more moving than I have in previous years. I have always been moved by the 'lighting of the fire' and the procession outside the church: who could not be? I have been moved by the constant refrains of "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!": again, who could not be?

But I will be honest and say I always thought those in the Western churches, with organs and metrical hymns, had a far 'better' Easter celebration. Byzantine music, particularly that of the Arabic-speaking world, is a very different beast -- and can take some getting used to. Also, I am a big fan of organs: they do, to me, speak of the joy, the power, the might of God. And I have, truth be told, missed them.

But this year's Pascha was different. This year's Great Lent was different. And this year's Holy Week was very different. Great Lent was a struggle: I had to confront some things I had left dormant for far too long, and the release that came from confessing them was a blessed release indeed. I felt I had made some steps towards understanding "the Orthodox mindset" and the purpose of this life: some steps, baby steps -- but steps nonetheless. And through these struggles, these trials, these realisations of hopelessness, the joy, the light, the power of Pascha, and the Resurrection from the dead of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, seemed to shine that much brighter. Exceedingly bright, and I finally saw the great joy, the great celebration, the great beauty, of the Orthodox Church's Paschal celebrations. Thanks and praise be to God.

We had a wonderful parish meal afterwards: our parish certainly knows how to eat! All thanks to the wonderful women of our parish who have such fine culinary skills and who work tirelessly in all areas. I pushed aside my anxiety, and had a wonderful meal, and chat, with a number of people in our parish. It felt wonderful and was a great blessing. One conversation I had, with Father and several parishioners, concerned the possibility of a "Holy Week Bloopers Tape": a collection of all the mistakes made during the Holy Week services -- there were some funny ones, such as rather than the Psalm verse, "The fool has said in his heart there is no God", the chanter said, "The Lord has said in his heart there is no God." We'd have quite a few -- especially given all the services the Orthodox Church has during Holy Week.

A blessed evening indeed.

Christ is Risen!