By Five weeks after some Christians celebrated Easter, the congregation of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Homestead marked the resurrection of Christ.
Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar, and Pascha, as they call Easter, can often be several weeks after Western Christians celebrate Easter.
On Saturday evening, April 30, the Rev. Michael Zak led his congregation in a Resurrection Matins service that precedes the Pascha Sunday Divine Liturgy. “It’s a wonderful sight,” Father Zak says about seeing his congregation process outside the church to announce to all that Christ has risen.
The candlelight procession is symbolic of the women who anointed Christ’s body with ointments and fragrance. About 100 people, some who stayed inside due to the weather, sang hymns and prayed on the steps of the church as bells rung continuously. “If Christ didn’t rise, our preaching, teaching and worship would be meaningless,” Father Zak says quoting the apostle Paul. Pascha means “the passover of Christ from death to life.”