Church Services
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April 23 - 29, 2006 - CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN! SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church observed PASCHA - the Feast of Feasts - on April 23, 2006. There is no greater Feast Day on the Orthodox calendar. PASCHA is celebrated for three days (the Feast Day itself followed by Bright Monday and Bright Tuesday) in the Orthodox Church. The week of the Feast Day is known as Bright Week and all the name days of that week are preceded by the prefix "Bright". As a measure of the magnitude of Pascha, fasting is prohibited during all of Bright Week and kneeling is not permitted in Church for the fifty day period ended with Pentecost. Parishioners greet one another with the words "Christ Is Risen!" to which the response is "Indeed He Is Risen!". Below are scenes including the blessing of Paschal food, Paschal Nocturne and Paschal Liturgy, Paschal Vespers, and Paschal Liturgy on Bright Monday with the traditional festivities which followed.
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The photos above and below show our Church Hall at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, April 22. Normally empty on this day and time, the Church Hall is filled today with parishioners who have brought Paschal food for blessing. No blessed food is to be consumed until after the Paschal Liturgy, however, the blessing is a concession to the aged and infirm who might not otherwise be able to be present for the 3:00 a.m. blessing early Sunday morning at the conclusion of Paschal Liturgy.
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In the block of four photos above, we see the Church filled to capacity at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday evening as the Paschal services begin. Rev. David Garretson, Rector of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church censes the Winding Sheet for the last time and then carries the Winding Sheet reverently to the Sanctuary where it is placed on the Altar Table. The first light of PASCHA is then passed from Fr. David to two select parishioners (this year, Helen and John Pelak) who then in turn pass the light to the awaiting parishioners who hold unlit candles.
Normally at this juncture of the service, an outdoor Paschal procession takes place on the streets of South River. However, for the second year in a row, rain forced cancellation of the procession and the Narthex of our Church became proxy for the great outdoors. Above right, V. Rev. Sergius Kuharsky, Pastor Emeritus of our parish, confers with Fr. David in the Narthex as parishioners within the Church rearrange floral arrangements and replace the empty Tomb with the center Tetrapod.
Above right, Fr. David reads the Catechetical Address of St. John Chrysostom. Below left - Reader Michael Steffaro reads the appointed Epistle from the Acts of the Apostles. Below right and the three photos which follow - parishioners read a passage from the appointed Paschal Gospel reading in multiple languages.
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Above right - Miss Amanda McLaughlin receives the Sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time as an Orthodox Christian. On the preceding day, she received the Holy Sacraments of Adult Baptism and Chrismation.
Above, ever-dedicated Basil Kozak led our equally-dedicated Church Choir. Below left and right, Fr. David blesses the traditional red-dyed eggs and The Artos, respectively.
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Above, young parishioners distributed the red eggs at the conclusion of the Paschal Liturgy. Above right, the Sanctuary at the conclusion of the Paschal Liturgy. Below left, four parishioners hold their symbolic red eggs. Below right, parishioners - umbrellas in hand - departed Church for their homes at 3:00 a.m. Paschal Liturgy began at approximately 1:00 a.m. Because of the magnitude of the Feast, it is the only Liturgy of the year which departs from the rule that no Liturgy should begin before sunrise nor begin after 12:00 noon.
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The service of Vespers normally begins after 6:00 p.m. Again, because of the magnitude of the second day of PASCHA, Paschal Vespers is traditionally served at 3:00 p.m. The service is accompanied by a Paschal Procession around the perimeter of our Church as the photos above and below show.
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Paschal Liturgy was celebrated on the second day of PASCHA - also known as Bright Monday. This service embodies a Paschal Procession which, this year, was forced by rain to occur within the body of our Church. Below, children participated in the procession, carrying icons. There was a reading of a Gospel passage at each of the four faces of our Church.
Above left, children took the day off from school to attend the service and to sing in the choir.
Rain also forced the Easter Egg Hunt to stay indoors and improvisation was the order of the day. Above and below are scenes of the children having fun with Easter eggs and scenes of the Paschal foods which were available for all parishioners at the traditional Potluck Paschal Luncheon.
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Copyright © 2006, Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, South River, NJ
