Christ is Risen!

Fr Augustine is away at meetings and we will therefore not be able to celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 17th of April.

Our next Liturgy will take place on Thursday 19th at 10.00 am. There will be tea and coffee afterwards.

We look forward to seeing you!

Meantime, we wanted to share with you some information about this special time – things are not at an end just because we have passed Pascha and Bright Week. Fr George Dragas writes:

Since ancient times, the 50-day period from Pascha to Pentecost has been called Pentecost because what began with the Lord breathing the Holy Spirit on His Disciples was consummated with the full descent of the Spirit upon the Disciples and the whole Church. Thus, the Church was fully born and began to grow.

During this period, all fasting and kneeling is prohibited as a tangible confession of the Resurrection of Christ. It is only on the actual day of Pentecost that kneeling is resumed, and is connected with a special kneeling ceremony (akolouthia gonyklesias), which consists of prayers for the gift of the Holy Spirit, hence the name, “Kneeling Day” (tes gonatistes) for Pentecost.

Later on, another week was added to these 50 days in order to celebrate the post-feast (metheorta) of the Feast of Pentecost. Thus, today the period of movable Feasts after Pascha spans eight weeks, to include the Sunday of All Saints (Agion Panton), and is divided into three parts:

1. The 40 post-festal days of Pascha,
2. The Feast of the Ascension, together with its post-festal period, and
3. The Feast of Pentecost together with its own post-festal period.

The hymns of this period are contained in the special Pentecostal book, the Pentecostarion.

While we do not say the “Heavenly King, Comforter” part of the Trisagion prayers, as we wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, we DO get to keep singing “Christ is Risen” – every day is like Sunday, when we do not kneel or weep. 

 

Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and to those in the tomb, He has granted Life!

 

May we all partake of that life and the joy of the Resurrection, in spite of all the snares laid around us in daily life.