Church Services
April 7 - April 9, 2007 - This Photoreport on Holy Week and PASCHA Consists of Two Portions - the first portion being devoted to the time period known in the Orthodox Church as Holy Week and this portion - the second portion - devoted to PASCHA - The Feast of Feasts - and Bright Monday. Unlike other websites which proffer a "photoreport" that contains photos but leaves the viewer without text to explain what they are viewing, all archived pages on our parish site are true photoreports - that is, photos with explanatory text. As you complete your review of this page and finish with the Easter Egg Hunt and Potluck Paschal Luncheon of Bright Monday, you will be reminded to have a look at the the first part of the report on Holy Week if you have not already done so.
Great and Holy Saturday Afternoon
April 7, 2007 - Late in the afternoon of Great and Holy Saturday, Paschal Food is blessed as a matter of practicality and convenience for those unable to attend the second blessing after Paschal Divine Liturgy. Below are scenes from the colorful service which was held in the Church Hall on the site of our original house of worship. An infinite variety of food and basket arrangement is to be seen at this service.
The Feast of Feasts - PASCHA - The Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
April 8, 2007 - Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen! The most glorious day on the Orthodox Christian calendar is PASCHA - the celebration of Jesus Christ's Resurrection from the dead and the basis for our Orthodox Faith and hope. This year Eastern and Western observance of PASCHA/Easter coincided. This will not happen again until the years 2010 and 2011. It is most unusual that the common date observance of PASCHA/Easter occurs two years consecutively. As an editorial aside, your reporter believes that it would be wonderful if all of Christianity could observe a unified date of observance for the Lord's Resurrection but unfortunately he does not forsee that happening in his lifetime.
You may click on the photo above to view an enlargement.
Above and below are scenes from the Nocturne service which proceeds the Church procession at midnight.
Photos below - the Church procession occurred at midnight as anticipated although it was unseasonably cold. Those with a good memory will recall that last year's Church procession was prohibited from taking place due to rain.
You may click on the photo above left to view an enlargement.
Much goes on within the Church during the procession to ready the interior for the return of the clergy and parishioners. Above left - Karen Berezniak and Paula Mindzak remove the last flowers from The Tomb. Above right - young, strong men come out in force to reposition the tetrapod to a place where it might rightfully be called "center tetrapod". Below left - Joe Hartman manually rang the bells during the Church procession while Janet Hartman was at the rear doors of the Church. She would be the first to greet Fr. David at the conclusion of the procession. In the block of photos below we see the progression of the Paschal Matins and Divine Liturgy at the well-attended service.
You may click on the photo above right to view an enlargement.
You may click on either photo above to view an enlargement.
Above - Fr. David and Fr. Sergius stand at the High Place beneath the icon mural of the Resurrection during the reading of the Epistle. Below left - Fr. David reads John 1:1-18. The first verse of the Paschal Gospel was read in more than a dozen languages - both classical and modern. Below right - Fr. Sergius's handwriting shows John 1:1 in Church Slavonic.
Above left and right - the choir loft was populated with dedicated singers who performed beautifully under the direction of equally-dedicated Choirmaster Basil Kozak.
Above left - the Artos was blessed at the conclusion of the Paschal Divine Liturgy. Above right - there were many visitors to our parish. They are always welcome. Below left - Fiona Garretson distributes the traditional red-dyed Easter eggs to parishioners as they depart for home at the conclusion of the service. Below right - a view of our Church at 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.
You may click on the photo above right to view an enlargement.
Paschal Vespers
April 8, 2007 - Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen! Vespers in the Orthodox Church are normally celebrated after 6:00 p.m. in the evening. However, because of the magnitude of the Feast, they are served much earlier. In some Churches the Vesper service is held at 1:00 p.m. Our Church celebrates Paschal Vespers at 3:00 p.m. on PASCHA afternoon. Below are scenes from that service. A Church procession was held but only one cycle of the Church was made due to the cold and the wind.
Bright Monday - The Second Day of PASCHA
April 9, 2007 - Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen! Bright Monday is the second day of PASCHA - a three day Feast. On this day in the morning a Paschal Divine Liturgy is celebrated. In our Church the Liturgy is followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for the children and a Paschal Potluck Luncheon for all. Below are scenes from the service and from the festivities which followed.
Above - Fr. David reads the Gospel reading appointed for the day. Below left - Altar servers were out in force. Below right - Basil Kozak guided our choir in the singing of the responses.
You may click on the photo above left to view an enlargement.
Above left and right - it was good to see a number of children in the choir on this day. They are the future of our choir and of our Church.
You may click on either photo above to view an enlargement.
Above left and right - many children and adults partook of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Below left and right - the children held icons during the Church procession which occurred as the Liturgy was concluding.
You may click on the photo above to view an enlargement.
Above left - the children were off and running to see who could collect the most Easter eggs (above right) in our annual Easter Egg Hunt.
In the photos above we see the Paschal Potluck Luncheon which followed the Easter Egg Hunt. Above right - Meredith Garretson and Paul Rogozenski celebrated birthdays during Bright Week and so a celebratory cake was prepared for them. In the photo above right Fiona Garretson blows out candles by proxy for her sister Meredith. Below, Meredith Garretson scatters Easter eggs for the children. This concludes the two part photoreport on Holy Week and PASCHA. If you have not seen Part I. of this report on Holy Week 2007 in our parish, you are invited to do so now.
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Copyright © 2007, Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, South River, NJ
