Christ is Risen!

Last night was Pascha. I'm going to make this note quick because frankly I'm enjoying the day too much to blog. I'll do that later.

For those of you who don't know (first timers to this site), last night was Orthodox Easter. I say last night. It was really today (we Orthodox calculate liturgical time like the Jews, from Sundown to Sunup). So we gathered at church at 11:00 at night, 10:00 if we wanted to get a seat, and even then I stood the whole time. The place was packed.

The service starts in relative silence, in a darkened nave with the chanter reciting the Psalms. Then all the lights go out, even the vigil lamps. The priest, with a lone candle, sings "Come take ye light from the Light that is never overtaken by night. Come glorify Christ, risen from the dead!" It is hauntingly beautiful. Then we sing as we light each others candles from that one flame. After that we process around the church. It had been raining, but it stopped long enough for us to march around the church.

After a reading from the shorter ending of Mark we re-entered the church singing, "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death! And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!" When the entire church is lit and the priests are in their white vestments and everyone is raising their candles together, it looks like the church is sparkling, radiating a heavenly light.

Pascha is the only time we Orthodox get a little Pentecostal. The priests march up and down the church censing and shouting, "Christ is risen!" We respond "He is risen indeed!" Some churches say, "Truly he is risen!" which I have to confess I like better, but no matter. It means the same thing. The priests also "speak in tongues," shouting Christ is risen in as many languages as possible, mostly English, Greek, Arabic, and Russian. But I also heard German – Er ist wahrhaftig aufterstanden! – and what I think was maybe Hawaiian or maybe Aleut. I'll have to ask Fr. Bob when I see him tonight.

After that it is mostly liturgy as usual. The whole thing wrapped up somewhere around 1:30. Then we headed over to the parish hall to have our Pascha Baskets and the food in them blessed. Can you say, "Flesh-meat?" I like to think of the Paschal Feast as an extension of the Eucharist, knitting the Body of Christ together in the fellowship and levity that only forty days of Great Lent, six days of holy week, and about four hours of standing and singing and shouting can bring. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!