Easter of Christ: the history and traditions of the holiday. Orthodox Easter When today was Easter

Easter is called the feast of feasts and the triumph of all feasts. They begin to prepare ahead of time for the long-awaited holiday, and the first thing we ask when talking about Easter 2018 is the date. What is the date of Easter in 2018 for Orthodox people? This question always arises, because the Resurrection of the Lord is one of those holidays whose celebration date is not fixed and changes from year to year.

Easter is the main holiday of Christianity, and of all its directions, the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Suffice it to recall that the dates of many religious holidays are "tied" to the date of the celebration of Bright Sunday - the Trinity, for example, is celebrated on the fiftieth day from Easter. However, in the Catholic and Orthodox branches of Christianity, this holiday is celebrated on different days.

How to find out the date of Easter in 2018?

In 2018 Orthodox Easter falls on April 8th. The period from the 1st to the 8th day (Passion Week) is the last week of Great Lent, preceding Bright Sunday. This period is popularly called the Great Days, because each of the days of the week has its own characteristics:

As you can see, the Severe Lent preceding Easter is especially strict in the Orthodox faith. Although, there are categories of parishioners who are allowed not to completely refuse food. These are sick people, children and women carrying babies.

April 8 - Bright Resurrection of Christ! A holiday that marks the victory over death and gives hope for salvation.

In 2018, Easter will be early, which means that in many regions of Russia you can expect an early arrival of spring. What will be the weather for the holiday in your city, read in the appropriate section of our website.

Calendar of Orthodox holidays and calculation method

The principle of calculating the day of the holiday is not too simple - it is based on the combination of the solar and lunar calendars. The main rule when deriving the date: "The holiday always falls on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon." At the same time, spring means that after March 21, the day of the equinox. It's hard enough to calculate the date of the holiday yourself, isn't it?

To make it easier for us to calculate, a long time ago Easter holidays were created - special calendars where Easter days are marked for many years to come.

Easter

Looking at the Easter calendar, we can accurately answer the question of when Easter is in 2018 for the Orthodox.

Why Christmas is always January 7th and Easter is different

This question worries a lot of people, because, for people who are ignorant, this is a bit contrary to logic. The history of Christianity was not very simple and it turned out that many of the holidays are usually celebrated according to the solar calendar, which has long been adopted in Europe. But there are those who count, according to the lunar calendar adopted in the Ancient East and Asia. Their dates, relative to our calendar, are fickle.

Easter traditions

The first thing the day starts with is a greeting. On Bright Sunday, it is customary to greet each other in a special way. A guest entering the house says to the hosts: “Christ is risen!” - and hears the answer: "Truly Risen!" These words are accompanied by three kisses. Such solemn actions among the people are called "Christosovanie", that is, "christening" - "congratulating each other on Easter."

Holy Fire

The symbol of the Light of God, shed on all nations after the Resurrection of Christ, the symbol of His forgiveness and mercy is the Easter fire. On the night of Christ's Sunday, the Holy Fire descends from heaven on the believers gathered in the temple in Jerusalem. A real miracle is a flame appearing as if from nowhere.

One feature of the Holy Fire is interesting - in the first minutes of its appearance, the flame does not burn it. Believers immerse their hands in flames, wash themselves with it - and there are no burns on the skin. Every year, the ceremony of the convergence of the Holy Fire is broadcast live not only on international, but also on central Russian TV channels. There is an ancient legend: the year when the Holy Fire does not break out in the temple will be the last year of life on earth, the year of the beginning of Judgment Time.

bell ringing

The crimson chime of bells floats over Russia - for many of us, memories of the first spring holiday are associated with bells. According to church canons, the bells can be rung only during the divine service – the believers are summoned to the service with a loud melodious sound. And only on Easter week the bells ring at any time - in honor of the great holiday. Many years ago, a tradition developed in Russia to open bell towers, giving access to the bells to everyone. And today everyone can climb up and ring the bell in honor of Bright Sunday. Of course, this applies to a greater extent to temples in villages, since in cities, not to mention megacities, this is physically impossible.

Meal and meal

And most importantly, what most people, and especially children, associate Easter with is delicious sweet Easter cakes and bright multi-colored eggs. Initially, tradition prescribed to paint Easter eggs in red - in honor of the blood of Christ. However, today we are happy to paint this symbol of the holiday in the brightest colors, showing how we rejoice at Easter. By the way, it is no accident that the egg became a symbol of the Resurrection. According to legend, Saint Mary Magdalene came to the emperor Tiberius, who ruled the Roman Empire, with a gift - a chicken egg painted bright red. It was impossible to approach without an offering, but Maria was poor, and one egg was all she could afford. Therefore, she decided to paint it to draw attention to the gift. The saint gave her gift with the words: “Christ is risen!”

The second culinary Easter tradition is the baking of Easter cakes. Each housewife has her own special recipe for sweet pastries. By the way, bread made from rich dough should be called Easter cakes, and cottage cheese "buns" - Easter. True, in modern culinary creativity, all these concepts have long been mixed up, and today the main thing is a delicacy baked with soul and love, which can be put on the table during a festive dinner.

Other Easters

Easter for Catholics

The dates of Catholic and Orthodox Easter are calculated differently. It happens that they coincide and the holiday is celebrated on the same day, but this happens extremely rarely. In 2018, the difference between the dates will be 1 week, but it also happens that it reaches one and a half months. Almost always, Catholic Easter comes first, and, after that, Orthodox.

Catholics use the Gregorian calendar in their calculations, while Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar.

The traditions of Catholic and Orthodox Easter are somewhat different, despite the fact that the essence is the same. So, Catholics begin to celebrate Easter from Saturday and make bonfires in front of the temples, from which Easter is lit.

One of the symbols is a rabbit, from which dishes are prepared, as well as figurines and pictures are presented. The rabbit for Western Christians is the same symbol of Easter as eggs and Easter cakes are for us.

Jewish Easter

Passover has a special meaning in Jewish culture. If for us this is the resurrection of Christ, then for the Jews it is a holiday of the deliverance of the people of Judea from Egyptian oppression, which is also commonly called the Exodus. The holiday is usually celebrated with family.

Easter(Greek πάσχα, lat. Easter, from Heb. פסח‏‎‎‎ ), Resurrection of Christ (Greek Ἡ Ανάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), Holy Christ's Resurrection- major liturgical event church calendar, the oldest and most important Christian holiday, celebrated back in the time of the apostles and established in honor of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the center of all biblical history and the foundation of all Christian doctrine. In Orthodoxy, the status of Easter as the main holiday is reflected in the words "holidays, a holiday and a celebration of celebrations." Currently, the date of Easter in any particular year is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar, which makes Easter a movable holiday. The name of the holiday in Russian and many other languages ​​\u200b\u200bcomes from the Hebrew word Pesach, which means the Jewish Easter and is associated with the word passah - “passed” (sometimes the name is interpreted as “passed, bypassed”).

Easter Sunday dates:

Easter 2016 -The 1 of May; Easter 2017 -April 16; Easter 2018 -April 8; Easter 2019 -April 28; Easter 2020 -April 19

The Aramaic name of the holiday sounds like pischa, and there is an opinion that it was through the Aramaic language that the word "Easter" entered the Greek.

The Old Testament Passover was celebrated in memory of the exodus of the Jewish people from Egyptian captivity. Among Christians, the name of the holiday has acquired a different interpretation - "transition from death to life, from earth to heaven."

The Old Testament Passover, like the current Pesach (Jewish Passover), was celebrated in memory of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, that is, the liberation of the Jews from slavery. The name “Pesach” (Hebrew פסח‏‎‎‎) means “passed”, “passed by”. It is connected with the story of ten Egyptian plagues.

One calamity (“execution”) was replaced by another, and finally, for Pharaoh’s refusal to let the people of Israel go, God “punished Egypt with a terrible execution”, killing all the first-born, that is, all the first-ranking male descendants - both among people and among cattle. The execution passed only the firstborn of the Jews, whose dwellings God distinguished by a conventional sign (the blood of a lamb on the door frame) and passed by:

“But 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 I will pass over you, and there will be no destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt. And may this day be remembered to you, and celebrate on this feast to the Lord in all your generations; as an eternal institution, celebrate it. Ref. 12:12 »

After the last execution, the pharaoh released the Jewish people along with their flocks, and the frightened Egyptians hurried the Jews to leave quickly (Ex. 12:31-33).

Both historically and etymologically, the Old Testament Passover was associated with the exodus of the Jews from Egypt through the Red Sea (the Gulf of Bardaville in northern Sinai, or the Gulf of Suez of the Red Sea).

Easter lamb

In memory of these events, “the whole society of Israel” was ordered on the evening of Nisan 14 (the first month of the Jewish calendar) to sacrifice a lamb - a one-year-old male lamb or goat, without blemish, which should be baked on fire and eaten completely, without breaking the bones, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs in the family circle during the Passover night (Ex. 12:1-10, Numbers 9:1-14). Eating the Passover meal acted as "evidence of the main event of the entire Old Testament history" - the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

The Paschal lamb was otherwise called "Passover" ("Pesach"). Such usage can be found, in particular, in the stories of the evangelists about the Last Supper (Matt. 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22:8-15).

Easter in the New Testament

Easter is repeatedly mentioned in the Gospels, but the story of the Last Supper occupies a special place in them, which is described by Matthew, Mark and Luke as a festive Easter meal (Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22: 8-15), and about the subsequent crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

It was during the Last Supper that Jesus Christ spoke the words and performed actions that changed the meaning of the holiday. Jesus replaced the place of the Paschal sacrifice with Himself, and as a result, “the old Pascha becomes the Pascha of the new Lamb, slain for the purification of people once and for all,” and the Eucharist becomes the new Paschal meal.

Since the execution took place on Friday, “then the Jews, in order not to leave the bodies on the cross on Saturday ... asked Pilate to break their legs and take them off” (John 19:31), and the soldiers broke the legs of the crucified robbers, however, “ when they came to Jesus, and saw him already dead, they did not break his legs” (John 19:32-32). John the Theologian, who tells about these events, finds in them the fulfillment of the words of Holy Scripture: “For this has happened, that the Scripture may come true: let not His bone be broken” (John 19:36).

The new understanding of the Paschal sacrifice is well reflected in the words of the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 5:7):

"... Our Easter, Christ, was sacrificed for us."

Termination of Old Testament sacrifices

After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, the ritual slaughter of the Passover lamb ceased, and in the modern Passover ritual, it is reminded of the command to “eat a small piece of baked meat” during the night meal.

Early Christianity

After Pentecost, Christians began to celebrate the first Eucharist services dedicated to the memory of the death of Jesus Christ. The liturgies were celebrated as the Last Supper - Pascha of suffering, associated with the death of the Cross. Thus, Easter became the first and main Christian holiday, which determines both the liturgical charter of the Church and the doctrinal aspect of Christianity.

Some early sources speak of weekly celebrations: Friday was a day of fasting and mourning in remembrance of the sufferings of Christ ("Shepherd of Hermas", III, V: 1), and Sunday - a day of joy (Tertullian, "De corona mil.", Ch. 3 ). These celebrations became more solemn during the period of the Jewish Passover - the anniversary of the death of Christ.

In the churches of Asia Minor, especially the Jewish Christians, in the 1st century A.D. e. the holiday was celebrated annually along with the Jewish Pesach - Nisan 14, since both Jews and Christians expected the coming of the Messiah on this day (Blessed Jerome, Commentary on Matt. 25:6 - PL 26:192). Some churches moved the celebration to the first Sunday after the Jewish Pesach, because Jesus Christ was executed on the day of Passover and resurrected according to the Gospels on the day after Saturday - that is, on Sunday. Already in the 2nd century, the feast takes on the character of an annual event in all the Churches. In the writings of early Christian writers - in the epistle of St. Irenaeus of Lyons to Bishop of Rome Victor, "The Sermon of Easter" by Meliton of Sardis, in the works of Apollinaris of Hierapolis, Clement of Alexandria, St. Hippolytus of Rome - there is information about the celebration of the annual day of the death of the cross and the Resurrection of Christ. It can be seen from their writings that initially the suffering and death of Christ were celebrated with a special fast as “Easter of the Cross” - πάσχα σταυρόσιμον, pascha crucificationis, it coincided with the Jewish Pesach, the fast lasted until Sunday night. After it, the actual Resurrection of Christ was celebrated as Easter of joy or "Easter Sunday" - πάσχα άναστάσιμον, pascha resurrectionis. Traces of these ancient holidays have been preserved in the modern liturgical Rule. This is especially noticeable in the festive elements of the services of Maundy Thursday, Friday and Saturday and in the structure of the night service on Easter Week, consisting of a minor Paschal Midnight Office with the canon of Great Saturday, and of the solemnly joyful Paschal Matins. Also reflected in the Charter is the ancient tradition of celebrating Sunday Easter until the Ascension.

Soon the difference in the traditions of the Local Churches became noticeable. There was a so-called. "Easter dispute" between Rome and the churches of Asia Minor. The Christians of Asia Minor, called the Quartodecimans or Quartodecimans (from the 14th day of the month of Nisan), strictly adhered to the custom of celebrating Easter on Nisan 14, relying on the authority of St. John the Evangelist. With them, the naming of the Jewish Easter passed to the name of the Christian and subsequently spread. Whereas in the West, which was not influenced by Judeo-Christianity, the practice of celebrating Easter on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover has developed, while calculating the latter as the full moon after the day of the equinox. In 155, Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, visited the Bishop of Rome, Anicetus, to agree on a joint celebration of Easter, but no agreement was reached. Later, in 190-192, at councils in Palestine, Pontus, Gaul, Alexandria, Corinth, the Roman Bishop Victor insisted that the Christians of Asia Minor renounce their custom, and demanded that other churches break communion with them. St. Irenaeus of Lyon spoke out against the excommunication of the Asia Minor, pointing out that differences on formal points should not jeopardize the unity of the Church.

Many communities were guided by the calculations of the Passover month adopted by the Jews. By this time, a firm connection between the equinox and the month of Nisan was not observed, and in some years this led to the celebration of Easter until the day of the vernal equinox (that is, the onset of a new astronomical year). This practice was not accepted by other communities.

First Ecumenical Council

The issue of a single day of celebrating Easter for the entire Christian ecumene was considered at the Council of Bishops convened in 325 in Nicaea, later called the First Ecumenical Council. At the council, it was decided to coordinate the day of the celebration of Easter between the communities, and the practice of focusing on the Jewish date, which fell before the equinox, was condemned:

“When the question arose of the most holy day of Pascha, by universal agreement it was deemed expedient that this feast should be celebrated by all on the same day everywhere... adhere to the customs of the Jews ... "

As the historian, bishop and participant in the council, Eusebius of Caesarea, reports in the book “On the Life of Blessed Basil Constantine,” at the First Ecumenical, all the bishops not only accepted the Creed, but also signed to celebrate Easter for everyone at the same time:

"Chapter 14. Unanimous decision of the Council regarding Faith and (celebration of) Easter:

For the consonant confession of the Faith, the saving celebration of Pascha had to be celebrated by everyone at the same time. Therefore, a general resolution was made and approved by the signature of each of those present. Having finished these things, the basileus (Constantine the Great) said that he had now won a second victory over the enemy of the Church, and therefore made a victorious feast dedicated to God.

Eusebius of Caesarea, retelling the words of Emperor Constantine, also cites the arguments that guided the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council for such a decision:

“Of course, we will not tolerate our Easter being celebrated in the same year another time.

So, let the prudence of your reverend consider how evil and indecent it is that at a certain time some observe fasting, while others celebrate feasts, and that after the days of Easter, some spend time in celebrations and peace, while others keep the prescribed fasts. Therefore, the Divine Providence favored that this be properly corrected and brought to the same order, to which, I think, everyone will agree.

Easter was chosen as the first Sunday after the first full moon, which occurs no earlier than the vernal equinox.

The Bishop of Alexandria had to calculate this day and communicate it to Rome in advance to ensure a single day of celebration. However, after some time the message stopped. East and Rome began to celebrate Easter each according to their own calculations, often on different days. In Alexandria, Easter tables were created - an Easter calendar that allows you to determine the date of Easter for a long period. They were based on a 19-year lunisolar cycle, and March 21 was taken as the date of the vernal equinox. In the 6th-8th centuries, this Paschal was adopted by the Western Church.

The original definition of the First Ecumenical Council regarding Easter became the basis for the church charter.

The Local Council of Antioch of 341 in its first canon requires strict adherence to the decisions of the First Ecumenical Council on the day of celebrating Easter, under pain of excommunication from the Church and defrocking.

The evidence of the 4th century says that Easter and Sunday at that time were already connected both in the West and in the East. The celebration of Easter on the Cross preceded the celebration of Sunday Easter, each lasting a week before and after Easter Sunday. Only in the 5th century did the name Easter become generally accepted to refer to the actual feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Subsequently, the day of Easter began to stand out more and more distinctly in the liturgical plan, for which he received the name "king of the days."

Middle Ages and Modern Times

In the 6th century, the Roman Church adopted the Eastern Paschalia. But for almost 500 years after the Council of Nicaea, Easter was celebrated on different paschalia. The Alexandrian Paschalia was used throughout Christendom until the end of the 16th century, for more than 800 years. The Eastern or Alexandrian Paschalia is built on four restrictions outlined by Matthew Vlastar:

“Four restrictions are laid down for our Passover, which are necessary. Two of them legitimize the Apostolic Canon (7th) and two originate from unwritten tradition. First, we must celebrate Easter after the vernal equinox; the second is not to do it on the same day as the Jews; the third - not just after the equinox, but after the first full moon, which has to be after the equinox; the fourth - and after the full moon, not otherwise than on the first day of the week according to the Jewish account. Therefore, in order for these four restrictions to be observed equally by the wise and the simple, and so that Christians throughout the world celebrate Easter at the same time, and, moreover, nowhere need special astronomical calculations, the fathers compiled a canon and betrayed the Church, without violating the said restrictions.

In 1582, in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new Paschal, called the Gregorian. As a result of the change in Paschalia, the whole calendar has changed. In the same year, Pope Gregory sent ambassadors to Patriarch Jeremiah with a proposal to adopt a new Gregorian calendar and a new Gregorian Paschalia. In 1583, Patriarch Jeremiah convened a large local council, inviting the eastern patriarchs, at which they anathematized not only those who accept the Gregorian Paschalia, but also the Gregorian calendar, in particular, in the rule of the Great Council of Constantinople of 1583 it is said:

"Z. Whoever does not follow the customs of the Church and, as the seven holy Ecumenical Councils ordered on Holy Pascha and the Month, and good legitimized us to follow, but wants to follow the Gregorian Paschalia and the Month, he, with godless astronomers, opposes all the definitions of St. cathedrals and wants to change and weaken them - let him be anathema "

As a result of the Paschal reform, Catholic Easter is often celebrated earlier than Jewish or on the same day, and in some years ahead of Orthodox Easter by more than a month.

Modernity

In 1923, the Patriarch of Constantinople Meletios IV (Metaxakis) held the so-called. "Pan-Orthodox" meeting with the participation of representatives of the Greek, Romanian and Serbian Orthodox churches, which adopted the New Julian calendar, even more accurate than the Gregorian and coinciding with it until 2800. The Eastern churches condemned this decision, and the Alexandrian Church held a Local Council, deciding that there was no need to introduce a new calendar. In the Russian and Serbian churches, after an attempt to change the calendar, they left the old one because of possible confusion among the people.

In March 1924, the Church of Constantinople (already under Gregory VII) and the Church of Greece switched to the new style. The Romanian Church adopted the "New Julian" calendar on October 1, 1924.

The indignation of the clergy and the people with the innovations of Meletius forced him to resign on September 20, 1923. On May 20, 1926, Meletius becomes Pope and Patriarch of the Church of Alexandria, where, contrary to the previous conciliar decision, he introduces new calendar. A large-scale church schism took place in the Greek churches, which has not been healed to this day. Several independent old-calendar Greek Synods were formed.

At the Moscow Meeting of 1948, it was decided that Easter and all movable holidays are celebrated by all Orthodox Churches according to the Alexandrian Paschalia and the Julian calendar, and non-moving holidays according to the one according to which this Church lives. In the same year, the Antiochian Orthodox Church switched to the New Julian calendar.

Today, the Julian calendar is fully used only by the Russian, Jerusalem, Georgian and Serbian Orthodox churches, as well as Athos.

The Finnish Orthodox Church has completely switched to the Gregorian calendar.

The rest of the Churches celebrate Easter and other movable holidays in the old style, and Christmas and other non-moving holidays in the new style.

In Britain, the Easter Act of 1928 fixed the date of Easter on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April; however, this resolution has not entered into force. In 1997, at a summit in Aleppo (Syria), the World Council of Churches proposed fixing the day of Easter in the solar calendar (also the second Sunday in April) or adopting a uniform Easter for the entire Christian world, based on astronomical requirements. The reform was scheduled for 2001, but was not accepted by all members of the Council.

The general rule for calculating the date of Easter is:

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon. The spring full moon is the first full moon after the spring equinox. Both Paschalia - Alexandrian and Gregorian - are based on this principle.

The date of Easter is determined from the ratio of the lunar and solar calendars (lunisolar calendar) (Matthew Vlastar, Syntagma. About Holy Easter).

The complexity of the calculation is due to a mixture of independent astronomical cycles and a number of requirements:

The revolution of the Earth around the Sun (the date of the vernal equinox);

The revolution of the Moon around the Earth (full moon);

The fixed day of celebration is Sunday;

To calculate the date of the full moon in the year Y, you need to find the golden number G - the order of the year in the 19-year cycle of full moons (Metonic cycle);

In 1 year n. e. the golden number was 2, respectively, in the year Y from R. X.

G = (remainder from Y/19)+1;

The base of the moon is a number showing the age of the moon on March 1, that is, how many days have passed by March 1 from the previous lunar phase. The difference between the bases of subsequent years is 11. The number of days in a lunar month is 30.

Base = remainder of (11 G)/30.

New Moon = 30 - Foundation;

Full Moon = New Moon + 14;

If the full moon is earlier than March 21, then the next full moon (+ 30 days) is considered Easter. If the Easter full moon falls on a Sunday, then Easter is celebrated on the following Sunday.

However, Eastern (Orthodox, Greek Catholics, and Old Eastern believers) and Western (Latin Rite Catholics and Protestants) Christians use different Paschals, resulting in the same rule resulting in different dates.

According to Eastern tradition, Easter is calculated according to the Alexandrian Paschalia; the date of the first day of Easter (Easter Week) falls on one of 35 days in the period from March 22 to April 25 according to the Julian calendar (which in the 20th-21st centuries corresponds to the period from April 4 to May 8 according to New Style). If Easter coincides with the feast of the Annunciation (March 25), then it is called Kiriopaskha (Lord's Easter). Orthodox Christians refer to the miraculous evidence of Easter as the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, which takes place on Holy Saturday before Orthodox Easter.

In the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, the date of Easter is calculated according to the Gregorian Paschal. In the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church carried out a calendar reform, the purpose of which was to bring the calculated date of Easter into line with the observed phenomena in the sky (by this time, the old Paschalia already gave the dates of the full moons and equinoxes, which did not correspond to the actual position of the stars). The New Paschalia was compiled by the Neapolitan astronomer Aloysius Lilius and the German Jesuit monk Christopher Clavius.

The discrepancy between the dates of Easter in the Eastern and Western churches is caused by the difference in the date of church full moons and the difference between solar calendars (13 days in the 21st century). Western Easter in 30% of cases coincides with Eastern, in 45% of cases it is ahead of it by a week, in 5% - by 4 weeks and in 20% - by 5 weeks. There is no difference between 2 and 3 weeks.

A perpetual calendar from Sweden to calculate the day of Easter in 1140-1671 according to the Julian calendar. Each rune corresponds to a specific number of the week in which the holiday will fall.

Easter in the church year

The most important passing holidays, celebrated in the sequence of gospel events, are tied to Easter:

Lazarus Saturday; Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem- a week before Easter:

According to ancient Jewish tradition, the Messiah - the King of Israel should be revealed on Pesach in Jerusalem. The people, knowing about the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, solemnly meet Jesus as the coming King (John 12:12);

Holy Week - the week before Easter

Great Monday, Holy Monday- Monday of Holy Week. On this day, the Old Testament patriarch Joseph, who was sold by his brothers to Egypt, is remembered as a prototype of the suffering Jesus Christ, as well as the gospel story about Jesus cursing a barren fig tree, symbolizing a soul that does not bear spiritual fruit - true repentance, faith, prayer and good deeds.

Great Tuesday- Tuesday of Holy Week, which remembers the sermon of Jesus Christ in the Jerusalem Temple.

Great Wednesday, Holy Wednesday- Wednesday of Holy Week, which remembers the betrayal by Judas of Jesus Christ and the anointing of him with the world.

Maundy Thursday- Christ establishes the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the Zion Room in Jerusalem. The Synoptic Gospels describe this day as the day of unleavened bread, that is, the Jewish Passover (Pesach). The Gospel of John and further events of other Gospels show that the Jews of Jerusalem celebrated Easter after the day of the execution of Christ, that is, two days later. One explanation, also based on the Qumran finds, suggests that the Galilean calendar was two days behind the Jerusalem calendar. Thus, at the Last Supper, the Old Testament Pesach - the lamb, wine and unleavened bread - is mystically associated with the New Testament Pascha - Christ, His Body and Blood;

Good Friday- according to tradition, before the Passover holiday, Pontius Pilate wanted to release one prisoner, in the hope that the people would ask for Jesus. However, incited by the high priests, the people demand that Barabbas be released. John emphasizes that the crucifixion takes place on the day of Easter, since the slaughter of the Paschal sacrificial lamb on the Old Testament Easter (Pesach) is a prototype of the New Testament Easter - the slaughter of Christ as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. Just as the bones of the Paschal lamb (first-born and without blemish) should not be broken, so Christ's legs are not broken, unlike other executed ones. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, having asked Pilate for the burial of the body of Jesus, wrap it in a shroud soaked in incense, and put it in the nearest coffin - a cave until the Sabbath rest. Mary Magdalene and the "other Mary" are present at the burial;

Holy Saturday- the high priests, remembering that Christ spoke about his resurrection on the third day, despite the current holiday and Saturday, turn to Pilate to put guards for three days so that the disciples do not steal the body, thereby depicting the resurrection of the teacher from the dead;

Enamel miniature "The Resurrection of Christ" (shoulder pad of Andrey Bogolyubsky, c. 1170-1180s)

Easter - Bright Resurrection of Christ:

Resurrection of Christ (the first day after Saturday) - after the Sabbath rest, the Myrrh-bearing Women go to the tomb. In front of them, an angel descends to the tomb and rolls off a stone from it, an earthquake occurs, and the guards are plunged into fear. The angel tells the women that Christ is risen and will lead them to Galilee. Appearance of Christ to the disciples;

Antipascha in Orthodoxy, the Octave of Easter in Catholicism is the appearance of the risen Christ to the disciples on the 8th day of Easter and the assurance of Thomas:

After 8 days (Antipascha, St. Thomas Week), Christ again appears to the disciples, including Thomas, through the closed door. Jesus tells Thomas to put his fingers into the wounds to make sure that the resurrected body is real. Thomas exclaims "My Lord and my God!".

Christ continues to appear to the disciples for forty days after his Resurrection, in particular, on the Sea of ​​Tiberias (in Galilee) when fishing (as reported by John the Theologian), as well as to more than five hundred witnesses (1 Cor. 15:6);

Ascension of the Lord- fortieth day after Easter:

On the fortieth day after the Resurrection, Jesus ascends to heaven, blessing the apostles;

Pentecost- the fiftieth day after Easter (in Orthodoxy it coincides with the Day of the Holy Trinity):

On the fiftieth day after the Resurrection, the apostles, according to the promise of the Lord, receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Easter traditions

Almost all Easter traditions originated in worship. Even the scope of Easter festivities is associated with breaking the fast after Great Lent - the time of abstinence, when all holidays, including family ones, were transferred to the celebration of Easter. Everything that expresses Renewal (Easter streams), Light (Easter fire), Life (Easter cakes, eggs and hares) becomes symbols of Easter.

Easter service

On Easter, as on the most important holiday of the church year, a particularly solemn service is celebrated. It was formed in the first centuries of Christianity as baptismal. Most of the catechumens after the preparatory fast were baptized on this special day.

Since ancient times, the Church has developed a tradition of performing the Easter service at night; or in some countries (for example, Serbia) in the early morning - at dawn.

Easter greeting

Starting from Easter night and the next forty days (until Easter is given away), it is customary to "Christify", that is, to greet each other with the words: "Christ is Risen!" - “Truly Risen!”, while kissing three times. This custom comes from apostolic times: “Greet one another with a holy kiss” (Rom. 16:16), also 1 Pet. 5:14, 1 Cor. 16:20.

Easter fire

Easter fire plays a big role in worship, as well as in folk festivals. It symbolizes the Light of God, enlightening all nations after Christ's Resurrection. In Greece, as well as in large cities of Russia, in Orthodox churches, before the start of the Easter service, believers wait for the Holy Fire from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In the event of a successful arrival of fire from Jerusalem, the priests solemnly carry it to the temples of the city. Believers immediately light their candles from him. After the service, many take the lamp with fire home, where they try to keep it alive for a year.

Easter

In Catholic worship, before the start of the Easter service, Easter is lit - a special Easter candle, the fire from which is distributed to all believers, after which the service begins. This candle is lit at all services of the Easter week.

In pre-revolutionary times in Russia, and in the West, to this day, a large fire is lit on the temple grounds. On the one hand, the meaning of the fire is the same as that of the Easter candle - fire is Light and Renewal. An Easter fire is also lit for the symbolic burning of Judas (Greece, Germany). On the other hand, those who left the temple or did not reach it can warm themselves near this fire, therefore it is also a symbol of the fire at which Peter warmed himself. In addition to the light illumination of bonfires and fireworks, all sorts of firecrackers and "crackers" are used to make the holiday solemn.

Easter meal

During Holy Saturday and after the Easter service, Easter cakes, cottage cheese Easter and Easter eggs are consecrated in churches, prepared for the festive table for breaking the fast after Great Lent.

The Easter egg in the Christian tradition denotes the Holy Sepulcher: the egg, although it looks dead on the outside, inside contains a new life that will come out of it, and therefore the egg serves as "a symbol of the tomb and the emergence of life in its very bowels."

Easter eggs. Curd Easter

In the Orthodox tradition, the custom of giving eggs is associated with the tradition of an egg donated by Mary Magdalene to Emperor Tiberius.

According to Demetrius of Rostov, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene found an opportunity to appear before the emperor and presented him with a red-colored egg with the words: “Christ is risen!” The choice of an egg as a gift, according to Saint Demetrius, was caused by the poverty of Mary, who, however, did not want to come empty-handed, the color of the egg was intended to attract the attention of the emperor.

Although eggs are dyed in different colors, it is red that is traditional: it symbolizes the blood of the crucified Christ. (In general, the red color is typical for Easter. In particular, this is the color of the liturgical vestments of this holiday.)

In the Orthodox tradition, Easter is associated artos - a special bread used during the divine services of Bright Week, which, in Russian parish practice, is consecrated at the end of the Paschal Liturgy, after the ambon prayer. This bread is kept in the church throughout the entire Bright Week and is distributed to the faithful after the liturgy on Bright Saturday. “In Russia, it is a common custom not to consume artos completely on this day, but to keep it at home for eating on an empty stomach,” which happens in special cases, for example, in case of illness.

They try to finish preparing the Easter table on Maundy Thursday so that nothing distracts from the services of Good Friday, the day of the removal of the Holy Shroud and prayer (in practice, of course, this is rarely observed).

Easter procession

Immediately before Easter, believers gather in the temple, from where the procession begins at midnight with loud singing of the stichera of the holiday. Then the procession approaches the doors of the temple and the service of Paschal Matins begins.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the procession is performed on the Divine Liturgy on Easter Eve, but not before the Liturgy, but after it. The Easter procession should not be confused with the service of the Way of the Cross, a special Catholic Lenten service in remembrance of the Passion of the Lord.

Easter bells

In Russia, as well as in other Orthodox countries, after the silence of the bells during Passion Days on Easter itself, the blagovest is especially solemnly rung. Throughout Bright Week, anyone can climb the bell tower and ring in honor of Christ's Resurrection.

In Belgium, children are told that the bells are silent until Easter, because they left for Rome and will return with a rabbit and eggs.

The sound accompaniment of the holiday also has an evangelical meaning. So, in some churches in Greece, as soon as they begin to read about the earthquake in Jerusalem in the Gospel, an unimaginable noise rises in the church. The parishioners, having waited, begin to beat with sticks on the wooden stairs, and the elderly rattle the seats of the benches, while the chandeliers sway from side to side. The man-made "earthquake" thus symbolizes the opening of the tomb at the resurrection of Christ.

“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 did the Savior of the world, from the day of whose birth humanity counts the New Era, must surely die and rise again? 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 sah- “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 the doorposts of 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 institutes a new Paschal meal - the sacrament of the Eucharist - and tells the disciples about His imminent death as an Paschal 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 Paschal lamb was a prototype of the death of the Savior on the cross: the animal was “crucified” on two cross-shaped 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, “paradise”, 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 in front of the closed doors of the 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. Church of the Icon of the 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. So that, when he struck the firstborn, he would not strike along with the Egyptian and Israeli ones, 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. In 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 was 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 representative 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 body in the tomb, by Soul descended into 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, censing is carried out around, after which the priest, raising it on his head, takes it (Facing to the east) into (through the 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 of the procession, the faithful stop with reverence in front of 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 Easter 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 life is born from under a seemingly dead shell, 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!”, the Orthodox 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 on the basis of its symbolic meaning, but on the basis of personal aesthetic preferences, personal fantasy. Hence such 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 the egg shell, which will be peeled off and then, perhaps, thrown into the garbage pit, then 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 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 united under the name of Easter two adjoining weeks: the previous 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 a 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 Passion Week, nor in the Paschal (Bright) Week following it, “let 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, official and social activities that require 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, a 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 Holiday, 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 Israel 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 »().

Easter is the main event of the Christian world, dedicated to the miraculous Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the victory of life over death.

The date of the holiday changes every year, since the day Easter is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar, based on the frequency of visible changes of the Sun and Moon.

About what date Easter is for Orthodox Christians, about the traditions and customs of celebrating it in Russia, read in this article.

When is Orthodox Easter

What date Easter will be in 2019 is calculated as follows: this important Christian holiday is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon that comes after March 21 - the day of the vernal equinox. If this full moon falls on a Sunday, the holiday is a week later, on the following Sunday.

Since Orthodox Christians use the method of calculating the date according to the Julian calendar (according to the old style), Easter for them comes on Sunday, April 28, 2019.

Traditions and customs of celebration in Russia

On Great Saturday before Orthodox Easter in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, at a particularly solemn night service, the Holy Fire is brought to the faithful, miraculously appearing in the Holy Sepulcher and symbolizing the resurrected Jesus Christ.

In Russia, the ceremony is broadcast live, and a piece of the Holy Fire is delivered to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and other churches in large cities by special flights.

All-night vigils - services on Easter night are held in every Orthodox church. During the service, exactly at midnight, the faithful make the Procession - a procession around the temple with a large cross, icons and the singing of the prayer canon.

Easter greeting

Immediately after the night service and on the first day of Easter, Orthodox Christians joyfully greet each other: “Christ is risen!” - "Truly Risen!" and kiss three times. According to tradition, the youngest in age should greet first, and the eldest should answer.

Easter bells

Another Orthodox Easter tradition is to ring the bells during non-liturgical hours on Bright Week, the week following the festive Sunday.

The bell towers are open to everyone, and everyone can ring the bell, of course, with a blessing.

Festive meal

The holiday is preceded by the time of abstinence - Great Lent, which ends with breaking the fast.

On the festive table Orthodox Christians must have Easter cakes consecrated in the church, painted eggs and cottage cheese Easter.

Easter cake - high rich yeast bread with the image of a cross. The tradition of obligatory Easter cake is associated with the apostles, who, after the Ascension of Christ, left a piece of bread on the table, symbolizing the presence of Jesus at the meal. In Russia, Easter cake is poured with white icing and the symbols XB are written - Christ is Risen.

The egg during the Easter meal symbolizes the Holy Sepulcher and the Resurrection - on the outside it looks dead, but inside it contains nascent life.

The custom of Christians to give eggs to each other comes from the tradition of a red-colored egg, which Mary Magdalene presented to Emperor Tiberius with the words "Christ is risen!". Easter eggs can be dyed in different colors, but it is red that is traditional - it symbolizes the blood of the crucified Christ, life, the sun and fertility. In Russia, eggs are dyed with onion skins to give them a red color.

Cottage cheese Easter is a special sweet dish made from cottage cheese with raisins and candied fruits in the form of a truncated pyramid, reminiscent of the Holy Sepulcher. Preparing mainly in the northern and central Russian regions.

Folk festivals and games

Easter festivities in Russia began on the first day of the holiday and could last a week or longer. On Krasnaya Gorka they led round dances with songs, swung on a swing, wooed and played Easter games.

Traditional Easter games are egg rolling and cue ball.

Egg rolling is a Slavic Easter game that involves rolling eggs from a small hill or simply on the ground or floor. At the end of the slide, various objects and toys are placed. The player whose egg touched the object takes it as a prize.

Rolling eggs among Christians is a symbol of the stone that rolled down before the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Holy Sepulcher. They are rolled on the ground to make it fertile.

Cue balls - two people take colored eggs and beat them three times - "Christen." The cracked egg goes to the winner.