| 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. |