Pascha Memories
Background:
At one point in the Eastern Orthodox Pascha (Easter) service, the priest and almost all the people leave the church and walk around it, singing a hymn, until they return to the front doors. The priest then knocks on the door with a wooden cross, and from this site
The doors then burst open and the priest and the people begin to joyously sing "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"
This is all to symbolize the harrowing of Hell by Christ, after His death, when He brought out the captives. It's a very dramatic moment.
Context:
St. Nikolai is a new mission that meets at a college chapel. Because it's not their property, they are very careful about the place. I've been to a church where the priest banged so hard on the door that there were dings in the metal door.
Story:
Fr. Joseph approached the doors and had the conversation with the man on the other side of the door, and then, stepped back and
hit the handicapped button with his elbow. We waited for the door to slowly glide open.
I laughed hysterically.
I love Pascha.
To my western friends, Happy Easter! To my Orthodox friends, Christ is Risen!
At one point in the Eastern Orthodox Pascha (Easter) service, the priest and almost all the people leave the church and walk around it, singing a hymn, until they return to the front doors. The priest then knocks on the door with a wooden cross, and from this site
- The Priest knocks on the doors three times saying: Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. And a voice asks: Who is this King of Glory? The priest answers: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. The priest the knocks again saying: Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. And again the voice asks: Who is this King of Glory? The priest then replies: The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory.
The doors then burst open and the priest and the people begin to joyously sing "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"
This is all to symbolize the harrowing of Hell by Christ, after His death, when He brought out the captives. It's a very dramatic moment.
Context:
St. Nikolai is a new mission that meets at a college chapel. Because it's not their property, they are very careful about the place. I've been to a church where the priest banged so hard on the door that there were dings in the metal door.
Story:
Fr. Joseph approached the doors and had the conversation with the man on the other side of the door, and then, stepped back and
hit the handicapped button with his elbow. We waited for the door to slowly glide open.
I laughed hysterically.
I love Pascha.
To my western friends, Happy Easter! To my Orthodox friends, Christ is Risen!