The Roman-Catholic Christians from all over the world this year observe Easter on March 27. Deacon Edgar Vulpe, of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Chisinau, has told IPN that the traditions, feelings and motivation of the Catholic Christians for Easter are primarily the same as those of the Orthodox Christians.
According to the deacon, the people must prepare for the Resurrection Sunday during Great Lent. “We, the Catholic Christians, are urged to observe a physical fasting period, which is free from pleasure, ambitions and vainglory that weaken our spiritual nature. In this period we can become cleaner,” stated Edgar Vulpe.
During Holy Week, which is the week before Easter Day, it is recommended reading fragments from the Bible, which make the people ponder over the events that brought Jesus Christ to Golgotha, where he was crucified. “We live again the last days of the Savior before his crucifixion. The sufferings fade away because the Resurrection is the most important event that we celebrate on Easter,” said Edgar Vulpe.
The Easter Liturgy is the longest one during the year and starts usually at 8pm. A difference is that the Roman-Catholics do not have Holy Fire brought from Jerusalem. The bishop lights the candle that he blesses and shares Holy Light to the parishioners. “Easter Sunday is a great feast. Besides going to church, we also reunite with the family and visit out parents. We have the same paskha, the same tradition of blessing the Easter food and the same painted eggs,” stated the deacon.
This year, the Roman-Catholic Christians observe the Resurrection Sunday six weeks earlier than the Orthodox Christians, who will celebrate Easter on May 1. Deacon Edgar Vulpe explained that this difference in dates is due to the fact that the Bible does not specify a date when Jesus Christ was crucified and when he returned to life. Also, in the 16h century, when the Gregorian calendar was introduced, some of the churches didn’t accept it.
In Moldova there are over 20,000 Roman-Catholic Christians.
