The Orthodox Church Calendar (p. 2)
On Holy Saturday night we begin to see the light dawning in the East, heralding His Resurrection. Then on Pascha, just before dawn, we all gather in the pitch-dark church to await that glorious moment when the Myrrhbearing Women come to the tomb and discover that the Lord is risen. The priest lights one candle and the flame passes to the waiting candles of all the congregation, as we sing, "Come receive the Light, not overcome by night. Come glorify Christ, who is risen from the dead." Then the clergy and the choir lead the people out the door and in procession around the outside of the church, singing, "Your Resurrection, O Christ our Savior, the angels in heaven sing. Enable us on earth to glorify You in purity of heart."
Arriving back at the front of the church, the priest pounds on the door with a large cross, proclaiming, "Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O everlasting doors, that the King of glory may enter!" A voice from inside the church challenges him: "Who is this King of glory?" and the priest responds, "The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!" Then the doors are opened and the people stream back into the nave, now brightly lit with the glory of His Resurrection, singing over and over, "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!" This refrain, sung in a variety of tunes and languages, will accompany the joyful people all through the forty days of Pascha until Ascension. We never tire of singing it, for it expresses all our hope.
The service continues with the priests walking through the congregation strewing rose petals and bay leaves everywhere, continually shouting "Christ is risen!" to which the people respond, "Indeed He is risen!" while the choir attempts to sing the Matins service. The Liturgy continues with the reading of the Gospel, John 1:1-14, and a homily written by St. John Chrysostom in the fourth century, which promises the joy of Pascha to all, even those who have "come at the eleventh hour"-that is, those who have not participated in all the preparation of Lent and Holy Week. All the faithful greet each other with a holy kiss. The Liturgy climaxes, as it does every Sunday of the year, with the Eucharist, wherein the faithful partake of the mystically transfigured Body and Blood of Christ.
After the Liturgy, it's time to eat! The priest distributes red-dyed eggs, symbolic of the Resurrection, as the people come up to venerate the cross. Then he blesses the baskets the people have brought, overflowing with meat, cheese, butter, eggs, wine, and special festal foods-everything we haven't eaten since before Great Lent. We eat and drink together, passing our goodies around to our neighbors; the wine goes to our heads because we haven't eaten to speak of in three days, and everyone is simultaneously exhausted and bursting with joy and good will. We go home for a nap, get together in smaller groups for dinner later on, and finally meet at the church again for Agape Vespers. Here we read the Gospel in as many languages as we can muster, again embrace each other with a holy kiss, and sing "Christ is risen" until our throats are raw.
We go on singing and celebrating through Bright Week, the week following Pascha, and (in a more subdued way) through the forty days until the Ascension of Our Lord. At His Ascension, Christ carried our redeemed humanity into heaven, to the very Throne of God, making it possible for us to follow Him there. Thus the process of our redemption is completed.
It's nice to read about, but you really have to be there to understand. And it's best to be there through the whole process, from Zacchaeus Sunday (the beginning of the Triodion) to Ascension. Consult the calendar for this year's dates, and join us!
The Twelve Great Feasts
In the following sections, dates will be given thus: first the
liturgical date (the date on which the feast is celebrated in churches
using the new calendar), then in parentheses the secular date (the
date on which the feast is celebrated in churches using the old
calendar, including St. Lawrence).
In chronological order from the beginning of the Church year on September 1 (Sept. 14), the Twelve Great Feasts are as follows:
The Nativity of the Theotokos, September 8 (Sept. 21)
On this day the Church celebrates the beginning of our salvation with
the birth of Mary, the Mother of God.
The Elevation of the Cross, September 14 (Sept. 27)
On this day the Church commemorates the finding of the True Cross of
Our Lord by St. Helen, the mother of St. Constantine, the first
Christian emperor.
The Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple, November 21 (Dec. 4) Here we remember the consecration of Mary to the Lord as a young child.
The Nativity of Christ, December 25 (Jan. 7)
In the Incarnation, God empties Himself to become as one of us, so
that we may be saved.![[ Kids in the River ]](../images/theophany.jpg)
The Theophany of Our Lord, January 6 (Jan. 13)
This feast, also known as Epiphany, celebrates the revelation of
Christ as God at His Baptism.
The Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple, February 2 (Feb. 15)
On this day the Church commemorates the presentation of the infant
Jesus in the Temple on the fortieth day after His birth, and His
meeting there with the prophet Simeon, who revealed that Christ had
come to save all mankind-not only the Jews.