Celebrating Orthodox Easter in Cleveland

For many Clevelanders, Easter Day is still a few weeks away. The Eastern Orthodox community in greater Cleveland, comprised of Serbians, Russians, Macedonians, Albanians, Greeks, and other nationalities, will celebrate Easter Sunday on April 27, 2008.

Approximately 29 Eastern Orthodox churches currently serve Greater Cleveland and Lorain County, including the oldest: St. Theodosius in Tremont founded in 1896.

Easter, or Pascha as it is called in the Orthodox tradition, became a different date than that for the rest of Christianity in the 16th century, when Roman Catholics moved to what we know today as the Gregorian Calendar. For both sects, the date of Easter was (and still is) determined by the date of the vernal equinox, specifically the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. Orthodox Christians insisted that Easter follow the Julian Calendar's March 21 vernal equinox, specified by the Council of Nicea in the year 325. Eastern Orthodoxy's Pascha celebration will never fall in March. It's always celebrated on the same day as the rest of Christianity, one week or five weeks away, depending on the full moon.

Orthodox Traditions
Aside from a raid on post-holiday candy sales and usually much more temperate weather, much is different in the way Easter is celebrated by Cleveland's Orthodox Christians aside from the date.

It begins with a 40-day fast prior to the holiday. For 40 full days family members eat only natural foods like nuts, berries, fruits, grains and legumes. No meat, dairy or anything made with animal byproducts is allowed. This is a tribute to Christ's time in the wilderness without food or human companionship. On Holy Thursday before Easter, we decorate all our eggs in deep red dye, symbolizing the blood of Jesus Christ as well as the color of life. At that time, in the Greek tradition, anyway, the women bake tsoureki, a sweet bread specific to Easter. As with Christmas bread (vasilopita), tsoureki can have a special coin placed inside. The person who finds that coin while cutting the bread is said to have good luck throughout the coming year.

Most Pascha liturgical observances begin on Holy Thursday with mourning. In some areas, it is customary for women to spend Holy Thursday entirely in church, emulating a traditional mourning experience.

On Holy Friday, for the Matins service, the Epitaphio, most often a large cloth icon of Christ, is laid in the bier, or symbolic tomb of Christ. The bier is decorated with flowers by the congregation. At midnight, the faithful carry the bier either to a nearby cemetary, or around the perimeter of the church, outdoors, to symbolize the laying of Christ in his tomb.

On Saturday night is the 'Megalo Savvato,' the service of the Holy Resurrection. Each member holds a candle, lit from a larger candle symbolizing the eternal flame of Christ (The Holy Sepulchre). Candles are lit one by one from the priest's candle and hymns are sung.

Easter Sunday
On Easter Sunday, Christ's resurrection is commemorated and the 40-day fast is broken. In Greek tradition, lamb, tsoureki, and the boiled eggs are served. Children play "chick": a game where one holds their red egg firmly in the palm and uses it to try and crack another's red egg. The egg that cracks is "won" from its original owner.

Some families also attach a hard-boiled, hollowed egg white to a string and pole, dangling it over the table as each guest tries to hit the egg with their forehead or catch it in his or her mouth. The person who catches the egg gets to drink wine from it. This is a Balkan tradition for many nationalities.

For more on Eastern Orthodox Pascha and specifics on church services held around Greater Cleveland for the upcoming Holy Week, visit http://orthodoxcleveland.us/.

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