home Health technologies Happy Easter holiday. What do people do on Easter, traditions?

Happy Easter holiday. What do people do on Easter, traditions?

Easter, or Light Christ's Resurrection- biggest Orthodox holiday and the main event of the year for Christians.

Currently Easter is moving holiday, and in each specific year its date is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar.

All holidays calendar-related with Easter (which is Palm Sunday, Easter, Ascension and Trinity) also change their date and are called moving or moving.

According to Christian tradition, the day of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon. In 2012 Orthodox Easter celebrated on April 15th. The history of Easter goes back to ancient times. ) in honor of the Exodus from Egypt. Christians have put a different meaning into this holiday and celebrate it in connection with the resurrection of Christ.

This holiday is more than 2000 years old, and many traditional actions have lost their meaning in the eyes ordinary person. In addition to the day of the resurrection of Christ, this day is famous for the end of strict fasting. Lent imposed a ban on any entertainment, and also very strictly limited foods that should not be consumed by fasting people during this period. Many holidays were specially postponed until after Lent in order to celebrate properly. The religious traditions themselves - the religious procession, the all-night service - were unusually vibrant in comparison with the routine and ordinary days of strict fasting.

So, how does the celebration itself happen?

Easter precedes Holy Week, dedicated to various religious activities preceding the holiday (read in more detail). The main preparation for Easter begins; on this day it is customary to restore order everywhere, including in the soul, as well as to take a bath.
This day is dedicated to mundane, ordinary everyday work, so that on Good Friday and Saturday we can prepare to celebrate the holiday with a pure heart and soul.
Probably, you shouldn’t take the meaning of the day so literally and arrange General Cleaning With capital letters, the deeper meaning of the day was to cleanse yourself spiritually.

Followed by Good Friday, the day of the removal of the shroud, the remembrance of the death of Christ. This is a day on which there should be no worldly affairs, only spiritual ones. Of course, in our realities it is difficult to avoid the everyday routine, but you can try to do only what is necessary.
On this day, believers attend a service and kiss the shroud, which will remain in the temple for three days, in honor of the three days that Christ spent in the tomb.
Saturday in Holy Week is called dyeing Saturday: eggs are dyed on Holy Saturday. Well, on Saturday night the consecration of traditional foods and all-night prayer take place. After this, Sunday actually comes - Easter Day.

The celebration of Easter begins with participation in the Easter service. IN Orthodox churches As a rule, the Easter service begins exactly at midnight. At the Easter liturgy, all believers try to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. Then Easter cakes, Easter cottage cheese, eggs and everything that is prepared for the festive table for breaking the fast after Lent are blessed. And after the service is over, believers celebrate Christ- greet each other with words "Christ is Risen" - "Truly He is Risen" and exchange a threefold kiss. Today this tradition is supported even by non-believers.
Believers give Easter eggs to each other as a symbol of the miraculous Resurrection of Christ.

Before Easter, housewives not only prepared food, they decorated the entire house with napkins and bouquets of primroses, all of which symbolized resurrection and life. Children and adults began the Easter meal by eating a traditionally red-colored egg. According to legend, the egg turned red in the hands of Emperor Tiberius when Mary Magdalene came to inform the emperor about the resurrection of Christ. The emperor, of course, did not believe it, saying that it was impossible, and the probability of resurrection was the same as if this egg turned red in his hands. According to legend, the egg turned red and a tradition was born.

Since pre-Christian times, their original meaning was in the form itself, Easter cake and eggs were symbols of fertility, but the tradition was preserved in Christianity, and housewives still bake these rich cupcakes, covering them with icing. Paska, or Easter, is a cottage cheese dish. Traditionally, it was shaped like a pyramid and stamped with the letters XB (Christ is Risen). They took the best cottage cheese for paska, ground it several times and flavored it with all kinds of spices, nuts, raisins, and also added cream and eggs to the cottage cheese. Such paskas were made small, since this dish is not stored for very long.

When should Easter cakes be blessed according to the rules?

Before you go to church to bless the Easter cakes, it is better to inquire in advance about the time and order Easter service. The time when Easter cakes are blessed in different churches differs. In one temple, consecrate food for festive table possible on Saturday, in another - early on Sunday morning.
In some churches, services are conducted in such a way that believers have the opportunity to bring food for blessing twice. But before you go to a church service, you need to prepare.

It is more convenient if all the products are placed in a basket, which is placed on the table. This basket is often decorated with flowers. But let its shape and size be compact and convenient. Besides her, there will be many others on the table, and there should be enough space for everyone. The basket is lined with napkins or a towel embroidered especially for the holiday. During transportation, Easter cakes and other products can be covered with a cloth.

The church service is conducted according to established canons, which allow for very minor deviations. According to the canon, each service is accompanied by a prayer chant, characteristic of a certain event, time of day, the presence of restrictions on days of fasting and memory of saints, and so on.

The Easter service lasts all night, and the ceremony of blessing the products prepared for the morning holiday meal takes place at 4 am. The parishioners then take these products home, and breakfast begins with them.

However, it is also permissible to bless foods on Holy Saturday. The ceremony takes place on Saturday evening, during the evening service. After Good Friday, Holy Saturday is considered a pre-holiday day, the priest already puts on white clothes, and the chants of the church choir become more joyful. The Resurrection of Christ is approaching.

It is more convenient to bless Easter cakes on Holy Saturday, because in order to do this on Sunday, you need to attend the end of the all-night service. Getting up early is very inconvenient, and not everyone can afford to stand the all-night vigil in church. Therefore, the tradition of blessing products the day before, on Saturday, appeared quite a long time ago. Housewives baked Easter cakes on Friday night or early Saturday morning and took them to church in the evening. And the morning was already spent at home, because after cleaning Maundy Thursday, prayerful and physical feat on Good Friday, preparations on Holy Saturday, not everyone had the strength for the all-night vigil.

What food can be blessed for Easter

Easter cakes, Easter cottage cheese, eggs, meat and wine - these are the products that are traditionally brought to church for consecration. It is not necessary to bring a lot of food, since the consecration of meat and wine, fast food, is symbolic. In this way one is allowed to end the fast. But breaking the fast begins either with eggs or a piece of Easter cake or Easter. Therefore, these products should be brought to church first of all.

It is not necessary to bring all the baked goods that were prepared the day before. One or two is enough. The first is eaten during the morning meal, divided among family members, the second is stored for another week or even more, perhaps until next Easter. But this is done very rarely now. Even the best Easter cake gradually becomes stale, so they try to eat it as quickly as possible while it is fresh. Everyone should bring colored eggs, because they are given as gifts, given for exchange, and often kept as a souvenir of the holiday.

Other products are brought to church if wealth allows. It should be remembered that not all parishioners can afford to buy good wine and meat products even for a holiday. That's why good deed will treat other parishioners in the church after the service with part of the food brought, or leave it for those who stay for a specially organized meal at the church.

You should also ask in advance what products you could bring to church along with the Easter cakes. Some priests do not allow meat and wine to be served, even if church tradition has nothing against it.

In addition to Easter cakes and cottage cheese paskas, you can display other baked goods: pies, buns, cookies, Easter sweet bread, pie. You can consecrate sweets and fruits. There are few prohibited products on the list. First of all, you should not try to bring vodka and other alcoholic drinks other than wine. The wine, by the way, does not have to be red. But white wine is not accepted in all churches.

It is better to come to the blessing of Easter cakes in advance. IN holidays There are many more parishioners in the church than usual. It is not always possible to immediately place your products on the table and get to it unhindered. In addition, the service may begin a little earlier or later than expected, and the time of consecration will shift. In small parishes this usually happens more often.

Easter meal

Then after the service, people rush home. It is believed: the sooner you come, the faster the economy will get going. If there is a bride in the house or a guy who wants to get married, they try to get home faster than everyone who lives with them. According to legend, whoever is home first will find a partner and get married this year.

Returning home from church, the family prepares for a festive meal. The symbol of Easter is eggs, rabbits, birds, nests, greenery, flowers and the theme of nature, rebirth, awakening and spring. All of these symbols, or at least some of them, should be present on your Easter table as a table setting. The Easter bunny can be on the table in the form of a figurine, chocolate figurine or drawing. You can also fold a napkin into a bunny shape. Birds on the table will symbolize the arrival of spring, and flowers and greenery will create a festive mood.
The table is covered with a festive tablecloth.
On Easter, the table for Easter breakfast is set in bright, joyful colors. The tablecloth, napkins, and dishes should be combined harmoniously, pleasing both the eye and the soul.

In the center of the table they place a dish with young greens, in which bright Easter eggs. If you were unable to grow greens (wheat or watercress) in advance, you can simply place the eggs on a large, beautiful plate. An ordinary plate decorated with paper napkins cut out in lace will also take on an elegant look. You can fill a shallow plate with red lentils, arrange colored Easter eggs in it, decorate with flowers and place on a lace napkin.
On another plate rises an elegant, lush Easter cake; cookies, gingerbread, and hot buns are also served. A plate with Easter is placed next to it.

Cold appetizers are not forgotten either: here you will find the indispensable roasted suckling pig, boiled pork, baked poultry, and various sausages, garnished with specially prepared vegetable dishes, and other goodies.

Various liqueurs, liqueurs and everything that the house is rich in are also put on the Easter table. The best wines for the Easter table are Cahors and red wine. Drinks include tea, coffee, cocoa, and heated cream and milk.

An indispensable addition to the Easter table are flowers. Hyacinths are considered traditional flowers, the aroma of which, mixed with the smells of Easter cakes, creates a unique Easter spirit, but a bouquet of tulips and daffodils is also suitable. If there are no fresh flowers, it doesn’t matter; a bouquet of willow twigs will look very original.

There is a tradition according to which the owner lights a candle on the table. The light, warmth and comfort that candles give us will be the finishing touch to the Easter table setting and will help create a festive atmosphere. Candles can be used in a wide variety, ranging from blessed thin church candles and ending with entire paraffin sculptures. On the eve of Easter, manufacturers produce candles in the shape of birds, rabbits and eggs, which will not only decorate, but also enliven the holiday table.

Gathered around the table, the family congratulates each other with words "Christ is risen!"

The Easter meal begins with the host peeling the blessed egg, cutting it into as many pieces as there are people gathered at the table, and everyone eating a piece. Next, everyone tastes paska and starts eating.

As a rule, many relatives and friends gather for the Easter table. Try to prepare an Easter gift for everyone: a beautiful egg and a small Easter cake.

The celebration of Easter lasts forty days - exactly as long as Christ appeared to His disciples after the Resurrection. On the fortieth day, Jesus Christ ascended to God the Father. During the forty days of Easter, and especially in the first week - the most solemn one - they go to visit each other, give colored eggs and Easter cakes, and play Easter games.

What time will the Closing Ceremony of the Universiade 2019 begin, where to watch:

Beginning of the Closing Ceremony of the Universiade 2019 - 20:00 local time, or 16:00 Moscow time .

IN live the show will show Federal TV channel "Match!" . The live television broadcast starts at 15:55 Moscow time.

A live broadcast will also be available on the channel "Match! Country".

You can start a live online broadcast of the event on the Internet on the Sportbox portal.

International Women's Day on March 8 is a UN observance, and the organization includes 193 states. The memorial dates announced by the General Assembly are designed to encourage UN members to show increased interest in these events. However, on this moment not all member states of the United Nations have approved the celebration women's day in their territories on the specified date.

Below is a list of countries that celebrate International Women's Day. Countries are grouped into groups: in a number of states the holiday is an official non-working day (day off) for all citizens, on March 8th only women rest, and there are states where they work on March 8th.

In which countries is the holiday March 8 a day off (for everyone):

* In Russia- March 8 is one of the most favorite holidays, when men congratulate all women without exception.

* In Ukraine- International Women's Day continues to remain an additional holiday, despite regular proposals to exclude the event from the list non-working days and replace it, for example, with Shevchenko Day, which will be celebrated on March 9.
* In Abkhazia.
* In Azerbaijan.
* In Algeria.
* In Angola.
* In Armenia.
* In Afghanistan.
* In Belarus.
* To Burkina Faso.
* In Vietnam.
* In Guinea-Bissau.
* In Georgia.
* In Zambia.
* In Kazakhstan.
* In Cambodia.
* In Kenya.
* In Kyrgyzstan.
* IN DPRK.
* In Cuba.
* In Laos.
* In Latvia.
* In Madagascar.
* In Moldova.
* In Mongolia.
* In Nepal.
* In Tajikistan- since 2009, the holiday was renamed Mother's Day.
* In Turkmenistan.
* In Uganda.
* In Uzbekistan.
* In Eritrea.
* In South Ossetia.

Countries where March 8 is a women's-only day off:

There are countries where only women are exempt from work on International Women's Day. This rule has been approved:

* In China.
* In Madagascar.

Which countries celebrate March 8, but it is a working day:

In some countries, International Women's Day is widely celebrated, but is a working day. This:

* Austria.
* Bulgaria.
* Bosnia and Herzegovina.
* Germany- in Berlin, since 2019, March 8 is a day off, in the country as a whole it is a working day.
* Denmark.
* Italy.
* Cameroon.
* Romania.
* Croatia.
* Chile.
* Switzerland.

In which countries is March 8 NOT celebrated?

* In Brazil, the majority of whose residents have not even heard of the “international” holiday of March 8th. The main event of the end of February - beginning of March for Brazilians and Brazilian women is not Women's Day at all, but the largest in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, the Brazilian Festival, also called the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. In honor of the festival, Brazilians rest for several days in a row, from Friday until noon on Catholic Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent (which for Catholics has a flexible date and begins 40 days before Catholic Easter).

* In the USA, the holiday is not an official holiday. In 1994, an attempt by activists to get the celebration approved by Congress failed.

* IN Czech Republic(Czech Republic) - most of the country's population views the holiday as a relic of the communist past and main symbol old regime.

Traditions and customs of Maslenitsa:

The essence of the Maslenitsa holiday in the Christian understanding is as follows:

Forgiveness of offenders, restoration of good relations with loved ones, sincere and friendly communication with loved ones and relatives, as well as charity- that’s what’s important this Cheese Week.

You can no longer eat on Maslenitsa meat dishes, and this is also the first step to fasting. But pancakes are baked and eaten with great pleasure. They are baked unleavened and leavened, with eggs and milk, served with caviar, sour cream, butter or honey.

In general, during Maslenitsa week you should have fun and attend festive events (skating, skiing, snow tubing, slides, horseback riding). Also, you need to devote time to your family - have fun with your family and friends: go somewhere together, the “young” should visit their parents, and the parents, in turn, should come to visit their children.

Date of Maslenitsa (Orthodox and pagan):

In church tradition Maslenitsa is celebrated for 7 days (weeks) from Monday to Sunday, before the main event. Orthodox fasting, which is why the event is also called “Maslenitsa Week”.

The timing of Maslenitsa week depends on the beginning of Lent, which marks Easter, and shifts every year in accordance with the Orthodox church calendar.

So, in 2019, Orthodox Maslenitsa takes place from March 4, 2019 to March 10, 2019, and in 2020 - from February 24, 2020 to March 1, 2020.

Regarding the pagan date of Maslenitsa, then d jealous Slavs celebrated the holiday according to the solar calendar - at the moment of the onset of astronomical spring, which occurs in . The Old Russian celebration lasted for 14 days: it began a week before the Day spring equinox, and ended a week later.

Description of Maslenitsa celebration:

The tradition of celebrating Maslenitsa with a cheerful festivities has still been preserved.

In the majority Russian cities events called "Wide Maslenitsa" . In the capital of Russia, Moscow, the central platform for festive festivities is traditionally Vasilyevsky Spusk on Red Square. They also conduct abroad "Russian Maslenitsa" to popularize Russian traditions.
It is customary, especially on the last Sunday, when workers and students can relax, to organize mass holidays as in the old days, with songs, games, farewells and the burning of an effigy of Maslenitsa. In Maslenitsa towns there are stages for performances, places for selling food (pancakes are a must), and souvenirs, and attractions for children. Masquerades with mummers and carnival processions are held.

What are the days of Maslenitsa week, what are they called (name and description):

Each day of Maslenitsa has its own name and has its own traditions. Below is the name and description for each day.

Monday - Meeting. Since the first day is a working day, in the evening father-in-law and mother-in-law come to visit daughter-in-law's parents. The first pancakes are being baked, which can be given to the poor to commemorate the dead. On Monday, a straw effigy is dressed up and displayed on a hill at the site of the festivities. In dances and games, stylized wall-to-wall fist fights are held. The “first pancake” is baked and solemnly eaten to commemorate the soul.

Tuesday - Flirting. The second day is traditionally the day of the young. Youth festivities, skiing from the mountains ("pokatushki"), matchmaking are signs of this day. It should be noted that the church prohibits weddings on Maslenitsa, as well as during Lent. Therefore, on Maslenitsa Tuesday, they woo the bride to have a wedding after Easter on Krasnaya Gorka.

Wednesday - Lakomka. On the third day the son-in-law comes to my mother-in-law for pancakes.

On Thursday - Razguly, Razgulay. On the fourth day, folk festivities become widespread. Wide Maslenitsa- this is the name of the days from Thursday to the end of the week, and the day of generous treats itself is called “Rampant Thursday”.

Friday - Mother-in-law's party. On the fifth day of Maslenitsa week mother-in-law with friends or relatives comes to visit her son-in-law for pancakes. Of course, her daughter should bake the pancakes, and her son-in-law should show hospitality. In addition to the mother-in-law, all relatives are invited to visit.

Saturday - Sister-in-law's gatherings. On the sixth day husband's sisters come to visit(You can also invite the rest of your husband’s relatives). It is considered good form not only to feed guests abundantly and tasty, but also to give gifts to sisters-in-law.

Sunday - Farewell, Forgiveness Sunday. On the last (seventh) day, before Lent, one should repent and show mercy. All relatives and friends ask each other for forgiveness. Carnival processions are held in places of public celebrations. The effigy of Maslenitsa is solemnly burned, thus turning into a beautiful Spring. As darkness falls, festive fireworks are set off.

In churches, also on Sunday, at the evening service, the rite of forgiveness is performed, when the priest asks for forgiveness from church servants and parishioners. All believers, in turn, ask for forgiveness and bow to each other. In response to a request for forgiveness they say “God will forgive.”

What happens after the celebration of Maslenitsa:

And at the end of the Maslenitsa holiday, Orthodox believers begin one of the most important fasts. We all remember the saying: " Maslenitsa is not all for the cat - there will be Lent too".

Easter. history of the holiday

post card Russian Empire(early 20th century) with a design typical of an Easter card

Easter(Greek . πάσχα , l at. Pascha, Hebrew. פסח ‎ [Pesa ḥ ] - “passing by”), also - Resurrection of Christ - the oldestChristian holiday ; main holiday liturgical year. Installed in honorresurrection of jesus christ . Currently, its date in each specific year is calculated according to lunisolar calendar what makes Easter moving holiday (dates for each church year their).

history of the holiday

Passover Jews celebrate it in honor of the Exodus from Egypt. In memory of these events in Jerusalem, it was prescribed to perform the ritual slaughter of a one-year-old male lamb, without blemish, which should be baked on fire and eaten completely, without breaking the bones, with unleavened bread (matzo) and bitter herbs in the family circle during the Passover night. After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, ritual slaughter became impossible, so Jews eat only unleavened bread on Passover. The holiday begins on the fourteenth day of the spring month Nissan(in the Jewish calendar, the first month of the biblical year, approximately corresponds to March - April of the Gregorian (modern) calendar and is celebrated for 7 days in Israel and 8 outside Israel.

During the period of early Christianity, Christians began to celebrate the first liturgies, similar in form to the Jewish Passover. The liturgies were celebrated as the Last Supper - the Passover of suffering associated with the Death on the Cross and the resurrection of Christ. Thus, Easter became the first and main Christian holiday, determining both the liturgical charter of the Church and the doctrinal side of Christianity.

Initially, the death and resurrection of Christ were celebrated weekly: Friday was the day of fasting and mourning in memory of suffering Christ, and Sunday is a day of joy. These celebrations became more solemn during the Jewish Passover - the anniversary of the death of Christ.

Already in the 2nd century, the holiday took on the character of an annual event in all Churches. The writings of early Christian writers contain information about the celebration of the annual day death on the cross and the Resurrection of Christ. From their writings it is clear that initially the suffering and death of Christ were celebrated with a special fast as “Easter of the Cross”; it coincided with the Jewish Passover, the fast continued until Sunday night. After it, the Resurrection of Christ itself was celebrated as Easter of joy or “Resurrection Easter.”

Myrrh-bearing women at the empty tomb. Ivory.
British museum. 420-430

Soon the differences in the traditions of the Local Churches became noticeable. An “Easter dispute” arose between Rome and the churches of Asia Minor. The Christians of Asia Minor strictly adhered to the custom of celebrating Easter on the 14th of Nisan. Among them, the name of the Jewish Passover changed to the name of the Christian Passover and subsequently spread. Whereas in the West, which was not influenced Judeo-Christianity, the practice has developed of celebrating Easter on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover, while calculating the latter as the full moon of the last equinox.

The question of a single day for the celebration of Easter for the entire Christian cumene was raised by Emperor Constantine the Great at a council of bishops convened in Nicaea in 325, later called the First Ecumenical Council. At the council, it was decided to coordinate the day of Easter celebration between communities, and the practice of focusing on the Jewish date that fell before the equinox was condemned. All bishops not only accepted the Creed, but also signed up to celebrate Easter for everyone at the same time. The initial definition of the First Ecumenical Council regarding Easter, that fasts and holidays should be observed simultaneously by everyone in the Church, became the basis for the church charter.It was decided to celebrate Christian Easter as it was celebrated at that time in most churches: “in Rome and Africa, throughout Italy, Egypt, Spain, Gaul, Britain, Libya, in the whole of Hellas, in the eparchies of Asia, Pontus and Cilicia,” namely - strictly after the Jewish Passover - 14 Nisan (full moon) and always on Sunday. The day of Passover was chosen to be the nearest Sunday after the first spring full moon (that is, the first full moon after the vernal equinox).

Evidence from the 4th century says that Easter on the Cross and Easter on Sunday were already united at that time both in the West and in the East. The celebration of Easter on the Cross preceded the celebration of Easter Sunday, each lasting a week before and after Easter Sunday. Only in the 5th century did the name Easter become generally accepted to designate the actual holiday of the Resurrection of Christ. Subsequently, the day of Easter began to stand out more and more clearly in the liturgical plan, for which it received the name “king of days”, “holidays of the holiday”.

In the 6th century, the Roman Church adopted the Eastern Paschal. The Eastern or Alexandrian Paschal was used throughout the Christian world until the end of the 16th century, for more than 800 years. It is built on four restrictions:

Celebrate Easter after the spring equinox;

Not to be done on the same day as the Jews;

Not just after the equinox, but after the first full moon that occurs after the equinox;

And after the full moon, no other than on the first day of the week according to the Jewish reckoning.

Enamel miniature “Resurrection of Christ”
(scapular of Andrei Bogolyubsky, c. 1170-1180s), Louvre

In 1582, in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new Paschal, called the Gregorian. Due to the change in Easter, the entire calendar also changed. As a result of the Paschal reform, Catholic Easter is often celebrated earlier than the Jewish one or on the same day and precedes the Orthodox Easter in some years by more than a month.

In 1923, the Patriarch of Constantinople Meletius IV (Metaxakis) held the so-called. " Pan-Orthodox congress" with the participation of representatives of the Greek, Romanian and Serbian Orthodox churches, at which the New Julian calendar was adopted, even more accurate than the Gregorian and coinciding with it until the year 2800.Gradually, the Constantinople, Hellas, and Romanian churches switched to the new style. Today, only the Russian, Jerusalem, Georgian and Serbian Orthodox churches, as well as Athos, fully use the Julian calendar. The Finnish Orthodox Church has completely switched to the Gregorian calendar. The rest of the Churches celebrate Easter and other moving holidays in the old style, and Christmas and other non-moving holidays in the new style.

Gospel aboutevents taking place on Easter days

According to ancient Jewish tradition, Messiah- The King of Israel must appear on Passover in Jerusalem. The people, knowing about the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, solemnly greeted Jesus as the coming King.

Maundy Thursday - Christ establishes the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the Upper Room of Zion in Jerusalem. Nowadays, the Church remembers and again celebrates the Last Supper of the Lord Jesus Christ with His disciples and apostles. At the Last Supper, Christ established the main sacrament of the Christian faith - the Eucharist (which translated from Greek means “thanksgiving”), during which all the faithful partake of the Body and Blood of Christ Himself. Without Communion, the Church teaches, there is no true Christian life; According to the faith of the Church, in this sacrament the most complete union of man with God occurs, as far as possible on earth. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) describe this day as the day of unleavened bread, that is, the Jewish Passover. Thus, at the Last Supper, the Old Testament Passover - lamb, wine and unleavened bread - is mystically associated with the New Testament - Christ, His Body and Blood.

Good Friday - according to tradition, before Easter, 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 the release of Barabbas. John emphasizes that the crucifixion occurs on the day of Easter, since the slaughter of the Paschal sacrificial lamb on the Old Testament Passover is a prototype of the New Testament Passover - the slaughter of Christ as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. Just as the bones of the Passover lamb (firstborn and without blemish) should not be broken, so Christ’s legs are not broken, unlike others executed. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, having asked Pilate to bury the body of Jesus, wrap it in a shroud soaked in incense and place it in the nearest tomb - a cave until the Sabbath rest.

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 set a guard for three days so that the disciples do not steal the body, thereby depicting the resurrection of the teacher from the dead.

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 away the stone, an earthquake occurs, and the guards are thrown into fear. The angel tells the wives that Christ has risen and will precede them to Galilee.

After 8 days (Anti-Easter, Fomina Week) Christ again appears to the disciples, among whom is Thomas, through a closed door. Jesus tells Thomas to put his fingers into the wounds to verify the reality of the resurrected body. Thomas exclaims “My Lord and my God!”

Over the next forty days Christ appears to the disciples on the Sea of Tiberias (in Galilee) while fishing, where he restores the apostleship of Peter, as well as to more than five hundred other people.

On the fortieth day after the resurrection Jesus ascends to heaven, blessing the apostles.

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

These events formed the basis of the liturgical calendar.

Titian, London National Gallery
Mary Magdalene was the first to see the resurrected Jesus, at first she mistook him for a gardener, but when she recognized him, she rushed to touch him. Christ did not allow her to do this (“Do not touch Me”), but ordered her to announce his resurrection to the apostles

Easter date calculation

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 that occurs after the vernal equinox. Both Easter - Alexandria and Gregorian - are based on this principle.

The date of Easter is determined from the relationship between the lunar and solar calendars (lunisolar calendar).

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

Circulation of the Earth around the Sun (date of vernal equinox);

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

The established day of celebration is Sunday.

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, the Orthodox and Catholic Church use different Paschals, causing the same rule to result in different dates.

Orthodox Easter is calculated according to the Alexandrian Paschal; the date of the first day of Easter (Easter Week) can fall on any of the days in the period from March 22 until April 25 in the Julian calendar (which in the 20th-21st centuries corresponds to the period from April 4 to May 8 according to the New Style). In the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches, the date of Easter is calculated according to the Gregorian Easter. 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 accordance with the observed phenomena in the sky (by this time the old Easter already gave dates for full moons and equinoxes that did not correspond to the real positions of the luminaries.

The discrepancy between the dates of Orthodox Easter and Catholic Easter is caused by the difference in the date of church full moons, and the difference between solar calendars (13 days in the 21st century). Catholic Easter in 30% of cases coincides with Orthodox Easter, 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.

Easter Sunday dates 2001-2020
year	Catholic	Orthodox
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020

Regarding Easter, all-moving holidays are celebrated in the sequence of Gospel events:

Lazarev Saturday ;

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

Holy Week - the week before Easter;

Easter - Holy Resurrection of Christ ;

Easter week (Antipascha in Orthodoxy, Octave of Easter in Catholicism) - the appearance of the risen Christ to the disciples on the 8th day of Easter and the belief of Thomas;

Ascension of the Lord - the fortieth day after Easter;

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

The temple is already closedready and ready for service,. Now in our minds the temple is the Life-Giving Tomb of the Savior. And we ourselves go to him, like the myrrh-bearing women once did.

Ceremonial ringing

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The basis of the world is the week. The number six indicates the created world, and the number seven reminds us that the created world is covered with blessing. Here is the key to understanding the Sabbath celebration. On the seventh day, i.e. on Saturday, God blessed what he created, and, resting on Saturday from daily affairs, a person had to reflect on the deeds of the Creator, glorify Him for the fact that He had wonderfully arranged everything. On Saturday a person should not show any power

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Without faith in the Risen Christ there is no Christianity. That is why all opponents of our faith persistently try to shake the truth of the Resurrection.

The first objection: Christ did not die on the cross: He only fell into a deep faint, from which he later woke up in a cave, got up from His bed, rolled away a huge stone from the door of the tomb and left the cave... To this...

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LATEST COMMENTS

Everything is as it should be. The soul rests on your website: there is no verbose and empty information. It is clear that your church is loved by your parishioners. It's so cool. Apparently, you have the right abbot, since such work is being carried out. Good luck and God help you. I look forward to your updates. Igor. Kaluga

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Everything is on your case. Thank you and good luck. Voronezh

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Very interesting site!!! I remember the Temple from childhood... I was baptized in this Temple and my children too. And in 09, Father Theodore baptized my husband. I am very grateful to him... The publications are interesting and informative. I am now a frequent visitor... Magadan

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Fasting, Sunday, travel to Bethlehem. What else does the soul need? Prayer. God bless Father Fyodor you and the site staff for your concern for our souls, hearts and minds. Svetlana

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Hello! Today I saw an announcement in the church that there is a website for our Resurrection Cathedral. It’s so joyful and pleasant to visit the site, every day now I will go to the site of our temple and read soul-helping literature. God bless all those who work in the temple! Thank you very much for your care and work! Julia

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Nice design, quality articles. I liked your site. Good luck! Lipetsk

WHAT HAPPENS ON EASTER

Every year we relive events that happened 2000 years ago, events that are the basis of Christianity. For me, as for many of us, the celebration of Easter is, first of all, an experience of worship, in which the picture of the true Passion of Christ and His Resurrection is vividly conveyed.

Yes, precisely the Passion of Christ. Holy Week is inseparably connected with Easter. Without her there would have been no Resurrection of Christ. Those small days when we tried to cleave heartily to Christ during His very earthly days, when He was especially lonely, are already behind us. It was as if we were trying to fix what already happened. Then even the apostles thought about earthly things, about joining in glory and asked the Savior for permission to sit on His right and left hand.

On Monday we read about Joseph, and you Once again I understood and felt how dangerous envy is and how great chastity is. On Tuesday, Christ denounced the scribes, and with them you, because you, too, are secretly proud of knowledge and experience and consider yourself the best of the rest of the world. On Wednesday Judas asked: “What do you want to give me, and I will betray Him to you?” And at this time the harlot, not afraid of unjustified expenses, will pour a large vessel of peace onto the Body of Christ. And you will be horrified by this connection between Sacred History and money. The priceless is sold for the price of a simple slave, and a lot of money is spent impractically, out of love alone, and this pleases God. You were horrified because “the root of all evil is the love of money,” and who would dare to say that this root does not grow in his soul?

Therefore, on Thursday, when the apostles, in response to Christ’s “one of you will betray Me,” asked in fear: “Is it not I, Lord?”, you will also ask, trembling: “Is it not I?” You cannot trust yourself, and you will take communion, feeling in a special way the words: “I will not give you a kiss, like Judas.”

On Friday you cried. And at the Hours, and at the removal of the Shroud, and at the Rite of Burial. The best sermon on this day: “Cry, people! Today He died for us!”

It was quiet on Saturday. Because He is in the Tomb. But His soul at this time in hell is breaking the locks and constipations. Saturday is the day of release of souls from captivity and hell. It's Easter already, although not everyone knows about it. In the silence of the evening of Holy Saturday, the heart beats tremulously in anticipation of joy, with the confidence that it will come!

Members of the Sanhedrin asked Pilate for permission to place a guard at the Tomb, explaining this by fearing that Christ’s disciples would not steal His Body. In fact, it was a secret fear that a miracle would happen; it was an attempt by weak human forces to hinder Divine providence and omnipotence.

And now the dark Palestinian night is falling. Everything is covered in sleep, everything is covered with the cover of the night’s mysterious silence and tranquility. The walls of Jerusalem are white in the distance. Jerusalem sleeps. The elders and high priests rest peacefully. It's approaching midnight. The guard is dozing at the sealed coffin. Silence and darkness.

The entrance to the cave is still closed by a huge stone, which several people can hardly roll away. Angels stand invisibly at the body of Christ, like warriors at the throne of the King. And, like the last breath of funeral songs, the canon of Great Saturday sounds, “By the Wave of the Sea.”

And it is dark in the temple, so that we feel that this is night, when there is no deceptive light, when everything is immersed in darkness, everything, it would seem, corresponds to the darkness that reigns on earth. This has been repeated every year for thousands of years, and we go to the temple while Acts is still being read.

And in the middle is the same coffin with the dead Sufferer. And the same sad funeral songs are heard quietly. No one tells us or explains anything: there is no propaganda, no big words, no consolation. But we are not waiting for human words and evidence; they still haven’t proven anything to anyone. We believe and expect that Christ will rise again!

This is exactly that moment in the service when everyone in the church is silent, when they don’t read or sing, when we are all waiting for something very, very important to happen.

And suddenly the heavenly light shone over the tomb brighter than the flashes of lightning or the pillar of fire that led the Israelites in the desert. It was shining just after midnight. The miracle that He proclaimed in prophecies and parables to his disciples happened. The witnesses of the Resurrection were people far from the Old Testament religion, who did not expect a miracle at the Cave of the Sepulcher at all - Roman soldiers.

The guards fell to the ground in horror, and then, waking up, went to the city to look for the high priests to tell about the miracle that had happened. The high priests resorted to a universal remedy - a bribe. They entered into a secret agreement with the soldiers: the soldiers had to say that the body was stolen by the disciples of Jesus Christ, and the high priests, coming to Pilate with gifts on the occasion of the past holiday, gave money in excess of the required amount for the forgiveness of the soldiers.

A miracle has happened, but we don’t know it yet. But suddenly, from behind the closed Royal Doors, a quiet singing is heard, as if from afar: Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior, the Angels are singing in heaven, and grant us on earth with a pure heart to glorify Thee.

The singing grows and becomes stronger, the Royal Doors open, a lantern and a cross appear, banners and icons sway, and the clergy come out in shining robes, like celestial beings.

The procession moves through the temple towards the exit.

And so we leave the temple with candles in our hands. How weak, how intermittent this light is! And how little of him there is in this world plunged into darkness!

Unforgettable, trembling moments. The religious procession leaves the temple, hundreds of candles light up in the hands of lines of people and, under a light drizzle, goes around the temple. Perhaps this is the most wonderful of religious processions.

The temple is already decorated and ready for service, but everyone needs to get out of it. And the doors must be closed. Now in our minds the temple is the Life-Giving Tomb of the Savior. And we ourselves go to him, like the myrrh-bearing women once did.

Solemn ringing fills the spring air. The luminous procession rushed towards the Sun of Truth - the Risen Christ, it goes around the temple and stops at the door. Everything is silent. We stand in front of closed doors in the same way as once upon a time, a long time ago, women came to the tomb and asked themselves: Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? - for this stone was very large.

After all, the apostles and myrrh-bearing women did not yet know about the guard guarding the cave, they did not yet know about the miracle that had happened. Then, like us now, they went to the Tomb of Christ to pour myrrh mixed with their tears on His body.

And above us today is still the same stone - the stone of unbelief, the stone of a world that believes in nothing, a world in which only force and fear triumph.

Anyone who experienced this moment of silence, doubt and lack of faith here, at this closed door, in front of this eternal stone, knows what I am talking about.

A stone is rolled down, the door is closed, and the wind is trying to extinguish the weak flame of the candles... What can we do against this global blackness, global emptiness, we are a small group of people, not recognized by anyone, at whose faith the world laughs and mocks?

A little more and now the most important thing will happen, and we will survive the sudden underground shock that shakes the hill. A huge stone falls off with a roar. Shining like lightning, an Angel appears before the guards. The coffin is empty. But we don’t know this yet...

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord, who had descended from heaven, came and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it. Mary Magdalene, approaching the Tomb, saw a huge stone rolled away from the cave. Entering the Tomb, she met an Angel sitting at the Tomb as a sign that the Heavenly Messenger was expecting her. The appearance of the Angel was like the flash of lightning and the flame of fire. The coffin was filled with an unearthly light. The angel said to Mary Magdalene and the other myrrh-bearing women: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? Christ is risen!"

Two words! No explanation, no evidence. This voice only reports and proclaims: Christ is risen! And a miracle happens, the same miracle, always the same. A joyful cry is heard in response: He is risen indeed! And the soul accepts, the heart accepts these two words as something deepest and most authentic in us. This night and this silence recede, and the door opens, and we enter into the rejoicing of Easter, and we learn undoubtedly and irrefutably that once again, before our eyes, victory has been accomplished. Victory over evil, victory over darkness, over hatred, over fear, victory over death. Where is your sting, death? Where the hell is your victory? Christ is risen, and life lives... And just as the myrrh-bearing women hurried, as if on wings, to Jerusalem to announce to the apostles about the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, so we now shout to the whole world: Christ is Risen!

Deception, self-deception, fiction, legend, psychosis? But can deception and psychosis last for two thousand years? Is a person really so insignificant and weak that the same two words can triumph in him again and again over this entire avalanche of explanations and denunciations that has been directed at him and poured on him for centuries?

We cannot prove or explain anything - we cannot and do not want to. But if there is proof on earth, then here it is - Easter night, Easter joy, Easter light.

Now, at midnight, after the twelfth strike of the bell, when the primate in a loud voice, barely allowing his soul and voice to escape from his chest, says: “Glory to the Holy and Consubstantial and Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity,” we will enter the temple and fill its bright silence jubilation. Through the doors of Christ's open and empty tomb we enter the kingdom of light and its joy. The Tsar himself, remaining invisible to earthly vision for the time being, says to those entering: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of Thy Lord.”

When the temple is consecrated, it should already be clear that it is the earthly heaven. The bishop, carrying holy relics in his hands, approaches the closed gates of the church on the day of consecration, saying: “Rise up, eternal doors, and the King of glory will enter!” The servants through the closed gates ask: “Who is this King of glory?”, to which they hear the saint’s answer: “The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Ps. 23:7-10).

Then the doors open, and the saint goes inside to transform the earthly structure into the dwelling of the One Whom heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain, through prayer, and the anointing of chrism, and subsequent worship. But this happens once in a lifetime. Easter makes me happy human soul annually, giving entry into the temple after procession foresee future entry into Heaven itself.

This Sunday night you you'll understand the meaning life. Yes, yes, no more, no less. Life has a meaning and a name. The Name of Life is Jesus Christ. He is alive, He is near, and if you love Him, then the words end.

Only then will you need to hide this stunning joy at the bottom of your bottomless soul, as the main treasure, and build your life in accordance with the experience gained. You have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Now don’t let Sundays pass without prayer in church, fulfill the commandments, pray sincerely, notice His traces on the dusty paths of everyday life.

And truly Divine verbs sound, brought from Heaven itself, from the Throne of God, revealing to us the great mystery of God’s existence, speaking about who was the Son of God, Risen on this Holy Night: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. It was in the beginning with God. Everything came into being through Him, and without Him nothing began to be that began to be (Jn 1, 1-3). And these words sound throughout the entire Universe, throughout different languages peace...

This is the fulcrum. Don't miss the chance. Who cried his soul out Holy Week and filled with strength and singing on Svetlaya, he smiles with a warm smile when asked about the meaning of life, and his eyes sparkle at this time.

That night the soul looked around and saw that the night was brighter than the day, because there were many souls around just as joyful as her.

"Christ is Risen!" - “Truly he is risen!” The temple sparkles, everything is flooded with light. Now everything is filled with light, heaven and earth and the underworld... Let us purify our senses and see... Christ shining.

Everything must be forgotten: both division and enmity. It is the day of Resurrection, and let us be enlightened by triumph, and let us embrace each other, saying: brethren, we will forgive all those who hate us through the Resurrection, and thus we will cry out: Christ is risen from the dead...

And every day after the service you need to go out into the street, raising crosses and banners high, so that with victorious singing, under the ringing of bells, you need to stir up the spring air with the Easter canon of John of Damascus and sprinkle holy water on the shining faces of the parishioners.