Holy Trinity celebrates Greek Easter

The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church celebrated a two-hour Service of the Lamentations on Friday night where a series of hymns was sung before a representative tomb of Christ, reflecting the death and burial during the Easter observance.

According to Fr. Constantine Newman, some of the most moving verses of these hymns put a dialogue into the mouths of Jesus and His mother, as she mourns his death and receives the promise of the Resurrection.

Then near the end of the service, the whole congregation processed around the outside of the church, following the tomb, re-enacting the burial procession of Christ. At the end of the procession, at the doors of the church, the tomb was lifted high, and all the faithful re-entered the church, passing under the tomb, reminding them that they have passed from death to life through the death and resurrection of Christ.

At the end of the service the parishioners received flowers from the tomb from Fr.Newman, which they took home as a blessing for themselves and their families.

The celebrations of Holy Week reached the culmination at the midnight service of Pascha Saturday night. In a dark church, the priest brought a lighted candle and gradually the whole church is filled with light as the flame of that one candle is passed from candle to candle. The celebration continues with Morning Prayer and the Divine Liturgy of Pascha, and ended with a reception to break the fast with traditional Greek Easter Soup (Mageritsa) and lamb.

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