Orthodox Easter

The liturgy of the Eastern Rite emphasizes the fast on Holy Saturday and the Vigil, in which there is a great emphasis on the light and on the scriptural readings; the rites of Christian Initiation with the blessing of the water and baptism are not so frequent and they are carried out in January, on the feast of the Theophany, or the Lord's Baptism, on our feast of Epiphany. An important rite, leit motiv of the Byzantine Easter, takes place on Holy Saturday in the doorway of the Church, where the celebrant sings, "Christ is risen from the dead, by death He conquered death, and to those in the graves He granted life." At the same time, the cross touches the doors of the Church, which begin to open. The bells toll, the candles in everyone's hands shine their light, while the Paschal Canon of Saint John Damascene is sung. It is a work that corresponds to the Latin Exsultet, attributed to Saint Ambrose.
An interesting observation: the rite of opening the doors with the touching of the cross, sign of Christ opening the doors of the underworld, was also present in the ancient rite, before the Holy Week reform of Pius XII. Ecumenism ante litteram, as it could be reinserted into the Latin Rite, prior to entering the church with the Paschal Candle. This would be a significant act, in resonance with the particular attention that Benedict XVI has given to the reestablishing of the liturgical tradition, and it would also be appreciated by the Orthodox as a concrete sign of "drawing nearer" as Christians. It could also, perhaps, facilitate the task presented in Vatican II, in trying to find a common date for the celebration of Easter "with our brethren who are separated from the communion with the Apostolic See"

News by Agenzia FIDES

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