Priest Andrei Rusu of “Saint Martyr Dumitru” Church of Chisinau said that on Easter the Christians celebrate the return to life of Jesus Christ and this event is lived and produces a lot of joy in the church. The people regrettably secularized the religious holidays as they devote attention primarily to the gastronomic aspect, celebrating them mainly on the days they gather together inside the family, in the best case. A large part of those who celebrate on this day do not conceive Easter as a miracle that occurred over 2,000 years ago and that continues to occur.
“It remains a miraculous secret that has radically changed the course of life. Jesus accepted to die for the whole mankind so as to save the people from the slavery of sin and returned to life on the third day. This way, through resurrection, we have access to eternal life,” the priest stated for IPN.
Andrei Rusu said that except for large monasteries of the Orthodox world, in which two Easter Vigils are held – one at night and one during the day, in all the Orthodox churches the Paschal Vigil is officiated at night. At “Saint Martyr Dumitru” Church, the service begins at 10pm. After the reading of the Acts of the Apostles, the Midnight Office is served “at the fourth hour of the night”, generally, in practice, timed to end shortly before midnight, during which the Canon of Holy Saturday is sung again and commentaries of Saints Epiphanius of Cyprus and John Chrysostom are read.
After the candles are lit, the parishioners together with the priest go around the church for three times. The priest says for three times “Christ is Risen!” and the parishioners answer “He is Risen Indeed”. Later, the church doors are opened and the traditional services are held. At the end, a message is read and the people are urged to enjoy the holidays and the revival of Christ and not to be said. The priest then blesses the food brought by parishioners in baskets to the church, splashing it with holy water. The people take Holy Fire and go home to sit at the holiday table together with the family, tasting blessed food first.
Starting at 2pm on Easter Day, the vespers will be held at “Saint Martyr Dumitru” Church of Chisinau. This will be followed by the traditional concert of paschal songs given by the Church’s children choirs.
