What year was Easter on April 11th? How Easter is traditionally celebrated in the Russian Federation

Every year, all Orthodox people look forward to the onset of the Great and bright holiday with a rolling date - Easter. In order to determine the date of this day, a lunisolar calendar with certain cycles is used.

When in 2018 will the Orthodox celebrate the most important holiday - Easter?

Prepare for the Great and bright holiday all Orthodox residents Russian Federation will be in the spring. Church representatives say that in 2019 Easter falls on April 28. It is on this day that the fast ends, which is followed by people who want to partially touch the life of Jesus and take over his suffering.

In the text of the Bible there is a story that after the crucifixion and transfer of the body of Christ to the cave, 3 days passed. In order to perform the traditional procedure of applying incense to the body, Mary Magdalene was the first to approach the cave. It was she who saw that the entrance to the cave was open and there was no body. The woman thought that Jesus Christ had been stolen. False assumptions were dispelled by the Angel, who informed the women, who also arrived at the cave, that the Son of God had risen.

How is Easter traditionally celebrated in the Russian Federation?

People who see each other on this day say the traditional greeting - "Christ is Risen!" The answer is the phrase - "Truly Risen!". There is also a triple kiss on the cheek. This process is called “christening” in the church. Before the celebration, people prepare very carefully. A week before Easter, it is necessary to complete all planned tasks and clean the house on Maundy Thursday.

On Easter, the traditional end of the fast takes place, so millions of housewives bake Easter cakes or purchase them in advance in bakeries. A prerequisite to prepare for Easter is also the coloring of eggs. These are very interesting activities, to which children are traditionally attracted. Usually, all preparatory activities are completed on Saturday.

Easter is the main Orthodox holiday, so the best dishes that can be cooked should be on the tables. You can start eating food only after visiting the church. Traditionally, they go there in the morning, on Sunday. After everyone sits down at the table, the eldest member of the family should take an egg sprinkled with holy water, clean it and cut it into several pieces in accordance with the number of households. It is believed that each piece of this egg can bring good luck to the family.

Some housewives bake not only Easter cakes, but also prepare gingerbread. They are intended mainly for children, so they are made in a colorful theme using mastic and bright colors. It is important to remember that those people who keep fasting should not lean too much on fatty foods on Easter, as they risk harming the body.

M hello to you, dear visitors of the Orthodox website “Family and Faith”!

Christ is Risen!

To For spiritual and Paschal reading, we offer an excerpt from the “Book of Paschal Joy”, dedicated to the 11th day of Holy Pascha of Christ:

Canto Ninth of the Canon of Fomina's Week

T howl a bright day and most bright, Christ, all-bright grace, red with kindness, you appeared as your disciple, we magnify in songs.

(Your shining day and the brightest, Christ, all-luminous grace, in which You, blooming with beauty, appeared to Your disciples, we magnify in hymns).

T heaven, palpable with a mortal hand in the ribs, and not scorching this one, with the fire of an immaterial Divine being, we magnify in songs.

(You, palpable with a mortal hand in the ribs, and not scorched by the fire of the immaterial Divine nature, we magnify in hymns).

T I am like God from the tomb of the resurrected Christ, not seeing with my eyes, but believing with heartfelt love, we magnify with songs.

(Thee, Christ, risen like God from the tomb, not seeing with our eyes, but believing with heartfelt love, we magnify with hymns).

(And from an interview with Yulia Pavlyuchenkova “Mom of eleven children who manages everything”).

P Several years have passed since the death of her husband. I got fans. But no one wanted to get married, everyone wanted to. And, of course, I didn't want to. Or “the wrong ones” wanted to get married, because my confessor sent them away with nothing.

And the priest generally said: “Come on, go to the monastery.” Then I was indignant: “And who will give birth if everyone is in a monastery?” (A lot of my church acquaintances have become monastics.) In response, I hear: “Are you going to give birth? And how many will you give birth? I say: “I don’t know how much. Give me a husband, please, I will give birth. The priest suggests: “Well, well, let's pray. We will pray to St. Nicholas. You need such a serious, military husband. You will twist the other into a ram's horn."

In a month I meet Kolya. Before that, I had no acquaintances with that name at all. That is, when we met, it never occurred to me that this was my future husband. We met in a sanatorium, walked, walked, talked. Without any feelings and emotions. Just friendly.

And before I left, he changed his tickets two days earlier to fly with me. When the plane landed in Moscow, he says: "Let me marry you." Recovering from surprise, I sent him to my confessor to sort it out. After some time, he calls: “Batiushka said: “Why did you come unbaptized?”

I was delighted, because somehow I was not ready to get married so unexpectedly. He went, was baptized, then again to my confessor. All this happened without me, I didn’t know about anything. After some time, he calls me: “Julia, where is Krasnaya Gorka in Moscow? Father ordered to get married on Krasnaya Gorka. I ran to the priest, and he: "This is your husband, get married without talking."

So I got married almost to a stranger then. And therefore, ten years later, I can say: love is something that can be acquired, adjusted. Ask God. And in every way you need to try to protect her.

On the eve of the wedding, we went to the courtyard of the monastery, where we will get married, and in the courtyard of the monastery Kolya calls his mother: “Mom, I'm getting married the day after tomorrow. The bride is a good girl. She has four children." I hold my breath, waiting for my mother's reaction. She asked Kolya to hand over the phone to me. I pick up the phone, assuming that I will hear it now. I hear the unexpected: “Did you persuade him to be baptized?” “Not me, the father said that it is necessary,” I answer. “Understood,” my husband’s mother, a strict strong-willed lady, replies. - I told him for 30 years that he needed to be baptized. Listen, baby, I'll always be by your side. A man with four children who forced my son to be baptized is worth a lot. We are still friends with her.

“If in this life alone we hope in Christ,
then we are the most miserable of all people!” (1 Cor. 15:19).

It would seem that the meaning of Easter - as we usually call our main holiday - is quite transparent. Alas! Experience tells a different story. Here are just two of the most typical examples.
Lesson in one "Orthodox gymnasium". Wanting to reveal the level of knowledge of children, I ask: “How did Christ and the apostles celebrate Easter?” - A reasonable answer follows: “They ate Easter cakes and colored eggs”! There is nothing to object to! How about adults?

Easter night breaking fast in one church. Indeed, we eat eggs and Easter cakes (and not only). “Suddenly” an important idea comes to the mind of an already middle-aged chanter, and he turns to the priest (with a theological education) in bewilderment. “Father! Here we all sing and sing "Christ is Risen!" And we call the holiday "Easter"! So after all, the Jews celebrate Easter, but they do not believe in Christ at all! Why is that?!"
This is no exception: that what since childhood, we perceive at the household level, as a kind of beautiful ritual, it seems to us for granted and does not require study.
Let's arrange an "Easter lesson" for ourselves and ask: what associations does the Easter greeting "Christ is Risen!" give rise to in our minds? - "Truly Risen!"
Night procession with candles, - everyone will immediately answer, - joyful singing and mutual kisses. Food familiar from childhood appears on the home table - red and painted eggs, ruddy Easter cakes, vanilla-scented curd Easter.
Yes, but this is only the external paraphernalia of the holiday, a thoughtful Christian will object. - And I want to know why our feast of the Resurrection of Christ is usually called the Hebrew word "Easter"? What is the connection between Jewish and Christian Passover? Why is the Savior of the world, from whose birthday mankind counts new era, was bound to die and be resurrected? Could not the all-good God establish New Union (Covenant) with people differently? What is the symbolism of our Easter service and holiday ceremonies?

The historical and symbolic basis of the Jewish Passover is the epic events of the book of Exodus. It tells about the four-century period of Egyptian slavery, in which the Jewish people, oppressed by the pharaohs, lived, and the wonderful drama of their liberation. Nine punishments (“Egyptian executions”) were brought down on the country by the prophet Moses, but only the tenth made the cruel heart of the pharaoh soften, who did not want to lose the slaves who built new cities for him. It was the defeat of the Egyptian firstborn, followed by the "exodus" from the House of Slavery. At night, in anticipation of the exodus, the Israelites celebrate the first Passover meal. The head of each family, after slaughtering a one-year-old lamb (lamb or kid), anoints the doorposts with its blood (Ex. 12:11), and the animal baked on fire is eaten, but so that its bones are not broken.
“So eat it like this: let your loins be girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staffs in your hands, and eat it with haste: this is the Passover of the Lord. And this very night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to cattle, and I will execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. And your blood will be a sign on the houses where you are; and I will see the blood and pass over you, and there will be no destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:11-13).
So on the night of the first spring full moon (from the 14/15 month of Aviv, or Nisan) in the 2nd half of the 13th century BC, the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt took place, which became the most important event in Old Testament history. And Easter, which coincided with deliverance, became an annual holiday - a memory of the exodus. The very name "Easter" (Heb. P e sakh- “passage”, “mercy”) indicates that dramatic moment (“the tenth plague”), when the angel of the Lord who struck Egypt, seeing the blood of the Paschal lamb on door jambs Jewish houses, passed by and spared the firstborn of Israel (Ex. 12:13).
Subsequently, the historical character of Easter began to express special prayers and a story about its events, as well as a ritual meal consisting of lamb meat, bitter herbs and sweet lettuce, which symbolizes the bitterness of Egyptian slavery and the sweetness of newfound freedom. Unleavened bread reminds of hasty gathering. Accompanying the Easter homemade meal are four cups of wine.

The night of the exodus was the second birth of the Israeli people, the beginning of its independent history. The final salvation of the world and the victory over the "spiritual slavery of Egypt" will be accomplished in the future by God's Anointed One from the family of King David - the Messiah, or, in Greek, Christ. So at first all the biblical kings were called, and the question of who in their row will be the last remained open. Therefore, every Easter night, the Israelites waited for the appearance of the Messiah.

Performance: "Heavenly Easter"

“With all my heart I wished to eat this Passover with you
before my suffering! I tell you, don't eat it for me anymore,
until it is accomplished in the Kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15-16)

The Messiah-Christ, who came to deliver all people from the spiritual "Egyptian slavery", takes part in the Jewish "Passover of expectation". He completes it with the fulfillment of the Divine plan inherent in it, and thereby abolishes it. At the same time, the nature of the relationship between God and man is radically changing: having fulfilled its destiny temporary Union God with one people becomes "old" ("obsolete"), and Christ replaces them new - and eternal! –Union-Covenant co everyone humanity. During His last Passover at the Last Supper, Jesus Christ speaks words and performs actions that change the meaning of the holiday. He Himself takes the place of the Paschal sacrifice, and the old Pascha becomes the Passover of the new Lamb, slain for the cleansing of people once and for all. Christ establishes a new Paschal meal - the sacrament of the Eucharist - and tells the disciples about His imminent death as about the Passover sacrifice, in which He is the New Lamb slain "from the foundation of the world." Soon He will descend into the gloomy Sheol (Hades) and, together with all the people who were waiting for Him there, will make a great Exodus out of the kingdom of death into the shining kingdom of His Father. It is not surprising that the main prototypes of the Calvary sacrifice are found in the ritual of the Old Testament Passover.

The Passover lamb (lamb) of the Jews was "male, without blemish" and was sacrificed on the afternoon of Nisan 14. It was at this time that the Savior's death on the cross followed. The executed should have been buried before dark, so the Roman soldiers, in order to hasten their death, broke the legs of two robbers who were crucified with the Lord. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he had already died, and they did not break his legs.<...>. For this happened in fulfillment (of the words) of Scripture: "Let not his bone be broken" (John 19:33, 36). At the same time, the very preparation of the Passover lamb was a type death on the cross Savior: the animal was "crucified" on two cross-connected stakes, one of which ran along the ridge, and the front legs were tied to the other.
This deepest relationship between the old and the new Pascha, their concentration (the abolition of one and the beginning of the other) in the person of Jesus Christ explain why His feast Sunday retains the Old Testament name Easter. “Our Passover is the sacrificed Christ,” says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 5:7). Thus, in the new Easter, the final completion of the Divine plan for the restoration of the fallen ("old") man in his original, "heavenly" dignity took place - his salvation. “Old Pascha is celebrated because of the salvation of the short-term life of the Jewish firstborn, and the new Pascha is celebrated because of the gift of eternal life to all people,” St. John Chrysostom so succinctly defines the relationship between these two celebrations of the Old and New Testaments.

Easter is a forty-day holiday

The Day of the Bright Resurrection of Christ - as “holidays and a celebration of celebrations” (Easter hymn) - requires special preparation from Christians and therefore is preceded by Great Lent. The modern Orthodox Easter (night) service begins with the Lenten Midnight Office in the church, which then turns into a solemn procession, symbolizing the myrrh-bearing women walking to the Savior’s Tomb in the predawn darkness (Luke 24:1; John 20:1) and informed of His resurrection in front of the entrance to the tomb. Therefore, the festive Easter Matins begins before closed doors temple, and the bishop or priest leading the service symbolizes the angel who rolled away the stone from the doors of the Sepulcher.
Joyful Easter greetings end for many already on the third day, or with the end of the Easter week. At the same time, people are surprised to accept Easter greetings and embarrassedly clarify: “Happy Easter?” This is a common misconception in the non-church environment.
It should be remembered that the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ does not end with Bright Week. The celebration of this greatest event for us in world history continues for forty days (in memory of the forty-day stay on earth of the Risen Lord) and ends with the “Pascha Giveaway” - a solemn Easter service on the eve of the Feast of the Ascension. Here is another indication of the superiority of Easter over other Christian celebrations, none of which is celebrated by the Church for more than fourteen days. “Easter rises above other holidays, like the Sun above the stars,” St. Gregory the Theologian reminds us (Conversation 19).
"Christ is Risen!" - "Truly Risen!" We greet each other for forty days.

Lit.:Men A., prot. Son of Man. M., 1991 (Part III, ch. 15: "Easter of the New Testament"); Ruban Yu. Easter (Holy Resurrection of Christ). L., 1991; Ruban Yu. Easter. Bright Resurrection of Christ (History, worship, traditions) / Nauch. ed. prof. Archimandrite Jannuary (Ivliev). Ed. 2nd, corrected and supplemented. SPb.: Ed. temple icons Mother of God"Joy of All Who Sorrow" on Shpalernaya St., 2014.
Y. Ruban

Questions about Easter

What does the word "Easter" mean?

The word "Passover" (Pesach) literally translated from Hebrew means: "passing by", "transition".

In Old Testament times, this name was associated with the exodus of the sons from Egypt. Since the ruling pharaoh resisted God's plan to leave Egypt, God, admonishing him, began to consistently bring down a series of disasters on the country of the pyramids (later these disasters were called "Egyptian plagues").

The last, most terrifying disaster, according to God's plan, was to break the stubbornness of the pharaoh, finally crush the resistance, induce him, finally, to submit to the Divine will.

The essence of this last execution was that among the Egyptians all the first-born were to die, starting from the first-born of cattle and ending with the first-born of the ruler himself ().

This execution was to be carried out by a special angel. In order that he, striking the first-born, would not strike along with the Egyptian and Israeli, the Jews had to anoint the jambs and crossbars of the doors of their dwellings with the blood of the sacrificial lamb (). And so they did. The angel, seeing houses marked with sacrificial blood, bypassed them "side", "passed by." Hence the name of the event: Easter (Pesach) - passing by.

In a broader interpretation, the Easter holiday is associated with the Exodus in general. This event was preceded by the offering and consumption by the entire society of Israel of Easter sacrificial lambs (at the rate of one lamb per family; in case this or that family was not numerous, it had to unite with its neighbors ()).

The Old Testament Paschal lamb represented the New Testament, Christ. Saint John the Baptist () called Christ the Lamb that takes on the sin of the world. The apostles also called the Lamb, by whose blood we are redeemed.

After the Resurrection of Christ, Easter, among Christianity, began to be called the Holiday dedicated to this event. AT this case the philological meaning of the word "Easter" (transition, passage) received a different interpretation: the transition from death to life (and if we extend it to Christians, then it is also a transition from sin to holiness, from life outside of God to life in the Lord).

Little Easter is sometimes called Sunday.

In addition, the Lord Himself is also called Easter ().

Why is Easter celebrated if Easter was celebrated even before the birth of Jesus Christ?

In the days of the Old Testament, the Jews, following the Divine will (), celebrated Easter in remembrance of their exit from Egypt. Egyptian slavery became one of the darkest pages in the history of the Chosen People. Celebrating Easter, the Jews thanked the Lord for the great mercies, good deeds, associated with the events of the period of the Exodus ().

Christians, celebrating the Easter of Christ, remember and sing of the Resurrection, who crushed, trampled death, gave all people the hope of a future resurrection into eternal blessed life.

Despite the fact that the content of the Jewish Passover is different from the content of the Passover of Christ, the similarity in names is not the only thing that connects and unites them. As is known, many things, events, persons of the time of the Old Testament served as prototypes of New Testament things, events and persons. The Old Testament Paschal lamb served as a type of the New Testament Lamb, Christ (), and the Old Testament Pascha served as a type of the Easter of Christ.

We can say that the symbolism of the Jewish Passover was realized on the Passover of Christ. The most important features of this figurative connection are the following: just as through the blood of the Passover lamb the Jews were saved from the damaging effect of the destroying angel (), so we are saved by the Blood (); just as the Old Testament Easter contributed to the liberation of the Jews from captivity and slavery to the pharaoh (), so the Sacrifice of the Cross of the New Testament Lamb contributed to the liberation of man from slavery to demons, from the captivity of sin; just as the blood of the Old Testament lamb contributed to the closest unity of the Jews (), so the Communion of the Blood and Body of Christ contributes to the unity of believers in one Body of the Lord (); just as the consumption of the ancient lamb was accompanied by the eating of bitter herbs (), so the Christian life is filled with the bitterness of hardships, suffering, deprivation.

How is the date of Easter calculated? Why is it celebrated on different days?

According to Jewish religious tradition, in the days of the Old Testament, the Passover of the Lord was celebrated annually on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (). On this day, the slaughter of Easter sacrificial lambs took place ().

From the Gospel narrative it follows convincingly that the date of the Cross suffering and death chronologically corresponded to the time of the Jewish Passover ().

From then until the completion of the Lord Jesus Christ, all people, dying, descended in souls into. The path to the Kingdom of Heaven was closed to man.

From the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, it is known that there was a special area in hell - the bosom of Abraham (). The souls of those Old Testament people who especially pleased the Lord and fell into this area. How contrasting was the difference between their state and the state of sinners, we see from the content of the same parable ().

Sometimes the concept of "Abraham's bosom" is also referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven. And, for example, in the iconography of the Last Judgment, the image of the "bosom ..." is used as one of the most common and significant symbols of Paradise dwellings.

But this, of course, does not mean that even before the Savior's crushing, the righteous were in Paradise (Christ's victory over hell took place after His Cross Suffering and death, when He, being in the tomb with His body, descended by Soul to the underworld places of the earth ()).

Although the righteous did not experience those grave sufferings and torments that fierce villains experienced, they were not involved in the indescribable bliss that they began to experience after being released from hell and elevated to Glorious Heavenly villages.

We can say that in some sense the bosom of Abraham served as a type of Paradise. Hence the tradition to use this image in relation to the Heavenly Paradise opened by Christ. Now everyone who seeks can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

At what point in the service on Saturday does Holy Week end and Easter begin?

On Saturday evening, usually an hour or half an hour before midnight, as the rector decides, a celebration is celebrated in the churches. Despite the fact that in separate manuals the following of this service is printed together with the following of Holy Pascha, according to the Charter, it still belongs to the Lenten Triodion.

The Vigil before the Pascha of Christ emphasizes the importance and significance of the expectations of the coming Triumph. At the same time, it recalls the vigil of the people of God (sons) on the night before their departure from Egypt (we emphasize that it was with this event that the Old Testament Easter was associated, which represented the Cross Sacrifice of Christ).

In the continuation of the midnight office, incense is carried out around, after which the priest, raising it to his head, takes it (Facing to the east) into (through royal doors). The shroud is laid on, after which censing is performed around it.

At the end of this service, it happens (in commemoration of how they went, with aromas, to the Sepulcher of the Savior), and then Paschal is already performed.

At the end procession believers stop with reverence before the gates of the temple, as if before the Sepulcher of Christ.

Here the rector initiates Matins: "Glory to the Saints...". After that, the air is filled with the sounds of the festive troparion: "Christ is risen from the dead" ...

In the Orthodox environment, there is an opinion that if a person died on the day of Easter, then his ordeals are alleviated. Is this a popular belief or church practice, tradition?

We believe that in different cases such a "coincidence" can have a different interpretation.

On the one hand, we understand well that God is always open to man with His () and (); it is only important that the person himself strive for unity with God and the Church.

On the other hand, we cannot deny that on the days of the Main Feasts of the Church, and, of course, during the Paschal Celebrations, the unity of believers with God is manifested in a special way. Let us note that on such days churches are (often) filled even with those Christians who are very far from regular participation in church services.

We think that sometimes death on Easter can testify to a special mercy for a person (for example, if a saint of God dies on this day); however, considerations of this kind cannot be elevated to the rank of an unconditional rule (this can even lead to superstition).

Why is it customary to paint eggs at Easter? What colors are allowed? Is it possible to decorate Easter eggs with icon stickers? How to deal with the shell from the consecrated eggs?

The custom of believers to greet each other with the words "Christ is risen!" and giving each other colored eggs dates back to ancient times.

Tradition firmly connects this tradition with the name of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Marina Magdalene, who, by the way, went to Rome, where, having met with Emperor Tiberius, she began Her own with the words “Christ is Risen!”, Giving him, at the same time, a red egg.

Why did she give the egg? The egg is a symbol of life. Just as from under a seemingly dead shell life is born, which is hidden until time, so from the tomb, a symbol of corruption and death, the Life-giver Christ arose, and someday all the dead will rise.

Why was the egg given to the Emperor by Marina Magdalene red? On the one hand, red symbolizes joy and triumph. On the other hand, red is a symbol of blood. We are all redeemed from a vain life by the Blood of the Savior shed on the Cross ().

Thus, giving eggs to each other and greeting one another with the words “Christ is risen!”, Orthodox Christians profess faith in the Crucified and Risen One, in the triumph of Life over death, the victory of Truth over evil.

It is assumed that in addition to the above reason, the first Christians dyed eggs the color of blood, not without the intention of imitating the Old Testament Easter rite of the Jews, who smeared the jambs and crossbars of the doors of their houses with the blood of sacrificial lambs (doing this according to the word of God, in order to avoid the defeat of the firstborn from the destroying angel) () .

Over time, other colors became established in the practice of dyeing Easter eggs, for example, blue (blue), reminiscent of, or green, symbolizing rebirth to eternal blissful life (spiritual spring).

Nowadays, the color for dyeing eggs is often chosen not based on its symbolic meaning but based on personal aesthetic preferences, personal imagination. Hence and so a large number of colors, up to unpredictable.

It is important to remember here: the color of Easter eggs should not be mournful, gloomy (after all, Easter is a great Holiday); in addition, it should not be too defiant, pretentious.

It happens that Easter eggs are decorated with stickers with icons. Is such a "tradition" appropriate? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to take into account: an icon is not a picture; it is a Christian shrine. And it should be treated exactly like a shrine.

Before the icons it is customary to pray to God and His saints. However, if the sacred image is applied to eggshell, which will be cleaned off, and then, perhaps, dumped into the garbage pit, it is obvious that the “icon” can also get into the trash along with the shell. It seems that it is not long before blasphemy and sacrilege.

True, some, fearing to anger God, try not to throw away the shells from the consecrated eggs into the trash: they either burn it or bury it in the ground. Such a practice is permissible, but how appropriate is it to burn or bury the faces of saints in the ground?

How and when is Easter celebrated?

Easter is the oldest church holiday. It was established back in . So, Paul, inspiring the brothers in faith to a worthy, reverent celebration of the Day of the Resurrection of Christ, rivers: “cleanse the old leaven to be a new test for you, since you are unleavened, for our Pascha, Christ, was slain for us” ().

It is known that the early Christian one united under the name of Easter two adjoining weeks: the preceding day of the Resurrection of the Lord and the next. At the same time, the first of the indicated weeks corresponded to the name "Easter of Suffering" ("Easter of the Cross"), while the second - to the name "Easter of the Resurrection".

After the First Ecumenical Council (held in 325, in Nicaea), these names were forced out of church use. For the week preceding the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, the name "Passion" was fixed, and for the next - "Light". The name "Easter" was established behind the Day of the Resurrection of the Redeemer.

Divine services during the days of Bright Week are filled with special solemnity. Sometimes the whole week is called, as it were, one Bright Holiday of Easter.

In this Christian tradition one can see the connection with the Old Testament, according to which the feast of (Jewish) Passover was connected with the feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted from the 15th to the 21st day of the month of Nisan (on the one hand, this holiday, celebrated annually, was supposed to remind the sons of the events of the exodus of their people from Egypt; on the other hand, he was associated with the beginning of the harvest).

In the continuation of Bright Week, worship is carried out with the open - in commemoration of the fact that, through the Resurrection, victory over and death, he opened the gates of Heaven to people.

The giving of Pascha takes place on Wednesday of the 6th week, in accordance with the fact that before His Day, the Lord Risen from the Sepulcher, walking the earth, showed himself to people, testifying to His Resurrection.

In total, until the day of giving Easter - there are six Weeks: the first - Easter; the second is Fomina; the third - holy myrrh-bearing women; the fourth is about the relaxed; the fifth is about the Samaritan woman; the sixth is about the blind.

During this period, the Divine dignity of Christ is especially sung, the miracles performed by Him are remembered (see:), confirming that He is not just a Righteous Man, but the Incarnate God, Who Resurrected Himself, correcting death, crushing the gates of the kingdom of death, - for our sake .

Is it possible to congratulate people of other faiths on Easter?

Pascha of Christ is the most solemn and great Feast of the Universal Church (according to the metaphorical statement of the holy fathers, it surpasses all other church holidays as much as the radiance of the sun surpasses the radiance of the stars).

Thus, Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, visiting Rome, greeted the pagan emperor Tiberius precisely with this proclamation. “Christ is risen!” she told him, and presented a red egg as a gift.

Another thing is that not every non-believer (or atheist) is ready to respond to Easter greetings (if not with joy, then at least) calmly. In some cases, this kind of greeting can provoke irritation, rage, violence and anger.

Therefore, sometimes, instead of an Easter greeting of this or that person, it is appropriate to literally fulfill the words of Jesus Christ: “Do not give shrines to dogs and do not throw your pearls in front of swine, so that they do not trample it under their feet and, turning, do not tear you apart” ().

Here it is not bad to take into account the experience of the Apostle Paul, who, by his own admission, while preaching the faith of Christ, tried to adapt to the circumstances and the psychological state of people, being for the Jews - like a Jew, for the sake of gaining the Jews; for those under the law - as under the law, for the sake of acquiring the under the law; for those who are strangers to the law - as a stranger to the law (without being, however, himself a stranger to God's law) - in order to gain strangers to the law; for the weak - as the weak, for the sake of gaining the weak. For everyone, he became everything in order to save at least some of them ().

Is it possible to work and clean on Easter days?

It is customary to prepare for the Easter holiday in advance. This means that the work that can be done in advance is better done in advance. Work that is not connected with the Holiday and does not require immediate execution is better (for the duration of the Holiday) to be postponed.

So, for example, the ancient Christian monument "The Apostolic Ordinances" gives a firm indication that neither in Holy Week, nor in the Paschal (Bright) week following it, “let the slaves not work” (Apostolic Decrees, Book 8, ch. 33)

However, there is no unconditional ban on any kind of work at all during the Easter period, regardless of the circumstances.

Suppose there are many types of professional, service and social activities, requiring the indispensable participation of one or another person, regardless of his desire and from.

This kind of activity includes: law enforcement, military, medical, transport, fire fighting, etc. Sometimes, in relation to this kind of work on the Feast Day, it is not superfluous to recall the words of Christ: “give Caesar’s to Caesar, and God’s to God” ().

On the other hand, exceptions to work can occur even when it comes to such daily tasks as cleaning the house, washing dishes.

Indeed, if during the Easter holiday the table is filled with dirty plates, spoons, cups, forks, food waste, and the floor is suddenly flooded inappropriately with some kind of drink, all this will need to be left as is until the end of the Easter celebrations?

What is the tradition of consecrating bread - artos?

On the Bright Day of Easter, at the end of the Divine (after the ambo prayer), a solemn consecration of a special one takes place - a (literally translated from Greek, “artos” means “bread”; in accordance with the meaning of the name Easter (Pesach - transition) as the transition from death to life , in accordance with the consequence of the Resurrection as the Victory of Christ over and death, the Cross crowned with thorns is imprinted on the artos, a sign of victory over death, or an image).

As a rule, artos relies on opposite the icon of the Savior, where, then, it remains in the continuation of Bright Week.

On Bright Saturday, that is, on Friday evening, the artos is shattered; at the end of the Liturgy, on Saturday, it is distributed for consumption by the faithful.

As in the continuation of the Bright Feast, believers eat Easter in their homes, so during the days of Bright Week in the houses of God - the temples of the Lord - this consecrated bread is presented.

In a symbolic sense, artos is compared with the Old Testament unleavened bread, which was to be eaten, in the continuation of the Paschal week, by the Israeli people, after they were freed by the right hand of God from Egyptian slavery ().

In addition, the practice of consecrating and preserving the artos serves as a reminder of the apostolic practice. Accustomed to eating bread with the Savior, during His earthly ministry, they, according to Him, gave Him a part of the bread and laid it down at the meal. This symbolized the presence of Christ among them.

This symbolic line can be strengthened: serving as an image of Heavenly Bread, that is, Christ (), the artos serves as a reminder to all believers that the Risen One, despite the Ascension, is constantly present in, in accordance with the promise: “I am with you all the days until the end of the age »().

Over time, the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ was erected over the cave, in which they built a chapel - the Kuvuklia - just above the burial place. Since then, every year on Saturday, on the eve of Orthodox Easter, believers observe an amazing phenomenon: the Holy Sepulcher is consecrated with blessed fire.

Everything happens under the strict supervision of civil authorities. The lights in the temple are extinguished on Good Friday. The premises are carefully checked and sealed. The patriarch himself is exposed before entering the cuvuklia, leaving him in one cassock. Conducted inspection excludes the presence of anything flammable. Only after these precautions is the seal removed from the entrance, opening the Holy Sepulcher to the patriarch. The earnest prayer begins.

At the appointed hour, a certain cloud appears over those present, settling with dew. The condensate saturates the cotton wool, obviously laid out at the burial site, and it suddenly bursts into blue flame. At the top of the cuvuklia, lamps and chandeliers are lit. The viceroy touches the cotton wool with unburnt candles, which also flare up. Bright light, overcoming twilight, fills everything around.

It is noteworthy that the Holy Flame descends only during the service of an Orthodox priest. In 1687, rich Armenians paid the Turks, who then owned Jerusalem, not to let the Orthodox into the temple. The conquerors fulfilled the request.

On the eve of the Great Day, the Armenians prayed in the church, and the exiles - on the street. But no matter how zealous the Gregorian Catholics were, there was not even a spark.

But a miracle happened outside: thunder suddenly struck, a marble column cracked, and flames flashed through the rift. (The split column can still be seen today).

This picture was observed by Turkish guards. One of them, heeding the supernatural arguments of the true faith, jumped to the Orthodox group from a height of more than ten meters - and remained unharmed. His footprints are still visible, imprinted in stone, like wax.

Signs have long been learned: if the fire lights up at noon, expect a good harvest. A miracle descending in the evening or towards night promises a hungry year.

In trying to know the nature of the Holy Fire, the first thought is a trick. Indeed, there are many substances that have the ability to ignite spontaneously. It is impossible to exclude the desire of the hierarchs to strengthen faith in a miracle. However, it is hardly possible to deceive crowds for thousands of years. And, questioning everything, it is reasonable to reckon with the presence of the Higher Will.

RELICS

In the case of Christ, these include:

Cross. It is currently divided into parts, the main of which are in Jerusalem, Rome and Constantinople.

Nails. During the crucifixion, a maximum of four were driven in, and today there are 32 rarities. Three are kept in Venice, two - in Rome. Notre Dame Cathedral has one copy. The explanation for this is the emergence of a large number of fakes.

Thorn crown. It now resides under the vaults of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Shroud. The most researched attribute of the Christian faith. Radiocarbon analysis dated the fabrication to the 14th century, which contradicted the legend. However, recent research conducted by Doctor of Biological Sciences D. A. Kuznetsov and Candidate of Technical Sciences A. A. Ivanov confirmed the church chronology.

Russian scientists simulated the conditions of the 1532 fire in the Chambéry temple, which affected the shroud. Then the flame raged for six hours, and a third of this time the monks poured water on the red-hot silver reliquary, saving the shrine stored in it.

During the experiment, the sample was exposed to a similar mixture of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, water vapor and silver cations, maintaining a temperature of 960° Celsius. The results were stunning: subsequent radiocarbon analysis showed a dramatic rejuvenation of the tissue. Conclusion: previous studies, without taking into account fire factors, reduced the age of the object. Its true value is just two millennia.

SCIENCE IS ETERNAL, LIFE IS SHORT

Each new knowledge only deepens the understanding of human ignorance, once again reminding: the road to the Absolute has no end.

And the Christian Church, born on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Jesus, has been standing for 1967 years, having survived many eras, periods and eras. It is truly said: God is God