This year, the Roman-Catholic Church observes Easter on April 21. Today, it is Holy Saturday, a silence day when no ceremony is officiated as Jesus Christs is in grave. Everyone is invited to meditate about the passion and death of Christ, said priest Petru Ciobanu, chancellor of the Diocesan Curia of the Roman-Catholic Diocese of Chisinau.
The Diocese of Chisinau consists of 20 parishes situated all over Moldova, three of which in Chisinau. The most known one is the Cathedral “Divine Providence” located in central Chisinau. This is the head office of the Diocese.
The Easter Vigil to celebrate the Resurrection of God starts in Chisinau at 8:30pm. This is the highpoint of the liturgical year. The first part of the service consists in the lighting and blessing of the Pascal Fire outside church. The Paschal candle and the other candles are later lit from this. The Easter Proclamation addressed to God and four readings from the Old Testament follow, said priest Petru Ciobanu.
The Easter Vigil includes a reading from the New Testament, the Resurrection Gospel, blessing of water, renewal of baptizing promises. Later, the Liturgy officiated in several languages continues traditionally with the taking of the communion by the faithful. After almost a day and a half of silence, the bells start again to ring to announce the Resurrection of Christ. When the Liturgy ends, after 10:30pm, the procession of the Paschal candle, which is the symbol of Resurrection, is staged around the cathedral, together with the statute of Jesus Christ. The food is later blessed. By tradition, in Chisinau the Christians form two lines in the courtyard of the cathedral and the priests bless the food for the holiday meal.
“I want to wish al the Christian faithful who celebrate Easter earlier or later to have the hearts full of this divine joy, which is the only one that can give meaning to our life and can open up the way to salvation and the own resurrection. I wish everyone a life full of Light that represents not something, but someone – Jesus Christ,” was priest Petru Ciobanu’s message transmitted through IPN.
On April 21, the Liturgy will be held with great solemnity in the Roman-Catholic parishes starting at 9am. At the beginning of the service, the Christians will be splashed with water blessed the previous night so as to remember the baptizing ceremony. The Paschal candle will be placed near the altar. In the Cathedral “Divine Providence”, liturgies will be held at 9am – in Polish, at 10:30am – in Russian, directed by Bishop of Chisinau Anton Coșa, and at midday – in Romanian.
In a discussion with IPN’s reporter, Monsignor Anton Coșa shared his thoughts, saying given that Easter is the occasion when the family and relatives come together, he would like to encourage the Catholic Christians who look for God, to find him close to them namely in these moments of celebration that can also mean concrete gestures of charity, openness to the needs of some of the people.
“Let the feast of the Resurrection bring us closer, not only the Catholic Christians, but everyone, so that we find a beacon in this Light given by Jesus by his Revival, towards which we should go together in understanding and harmony, by recognizing the real values. I wish everyone Happy Holidays and Jesus has Risen!” said Monsignor Anton Coșa.
According to the Bishop, there are no statistical data about the exact number of Catholic Christians in Moldova, but this is estimated at over 20,000. There are 20 Catholic parishes, six of which are situated in the Transnistrian region.
