ΚΑΛΩΣ ΗΛΘΑΤΕ! Kalos ilthate! Welcome!
Welcome to the Global Greek World - a world of Greek-Somethings which stretches from Auckland to Zanzibar, from Aruba to Zimbabwe.
Wherever you are in the world, this is YOUR world!
Yesterday was Good Friday for all the Orthodox world, a solemn, mournful and moving day for us all marking the
Death of Christ.
The church services tell us the story of the Crucifixion, the death of Christ, and how Joseph of Arimathea secured the
body of Christ from Pontius Pilate, His removal from the cross, and His burial.
During the
service, the Body of Christ is removed from the cross, wrapped in a
white cloth (shroud) and brought into the sanctuary. Following the
reading, the priest carries the icon of the Epitafio through the church
and places it in the Sephulchre (the kouvouklion), which has been
decorated with the most beautiful of the spring flowers.
In the photos below, you can see our photos from some of these majestic and beautifully decorated Epitaphios in churches around Greece. Despite the economic crisis, people donate the money to buy the flowers for the Epitaphio and the ladies and young women take great pride in making their church Epitaphio the most beautiful.
In the video below, the funeral procession, Perifora tou Epitaphiou, takes place.
Followed by members of the congregation holding lit candles, parishioners and in the case of the Cathedral Epitaphio, soldiers, carry the decorated Epitaphio from each church to the main square of Sparta, where the people congregate and chant Ai Geneai Pasai...
a moving, haunting hymn, a moving and unique experience ...
The Holy Week Rituals and traditions are beautiful and unique - something everyone around the world should experience at least once in
their lifetime.
Today is Holy Wednesday (Megali Tetarti) and Greek people all over the world are preparing for the Orthodox Easter and all it entails! (Most of us had a break for the Western Easter holiday and we are now getting ready for our second Easter in a week. This was always, and still is, a bonus for those of us who live(d) outside Greece - it also meant we could buy up Easter goodies - chocolate eggs, rabbits and Hot Cross Buns, at discounted prices).
Greek Holy Week effectively started last Saturday with the Resurrection of Lazarus, followed by the Palm Sunday services. For a very good description of the Holy Week Services click here
The celebration of Easter in Greece is the most significant and symbolic of all the religious festivals and, because it is springtime in Greece, the whole country is ablaze with the beautiful colours of the season. Easter is traditionally a time when most people go to their villages or islands, to take part in these very traditional celebrations with their extended families and enjoy the peace and serenity of the countryside, dressed for the occasion in its magnificent spring clothes!
For those who remain in Athens or the big cities, the sights and sounds of Holy Week are pretty unique and a must to experience at least once in your lifetime. As you walk down the streets and go past the many churches, you can hear the bells toll mournfully or the melodious chanting of the hauntingly beautiful Holy Week hymns; you can see people going in to light a candle, to pray or just to sit and listen. If you are lucky and happen to be in Syntagma Square on Good Friday, you can watch the Epitaphio procession of all the churches in the near vicinity come together in the Square. A truly unique and magnificent sight!
For those of us who aren't fortunate enough to celebrate Easter in Greece, Easter wherever in the world we are is steeped in ritual and tradition and is very much part of our Greek heritage. Each Community's Church becomes the focal point of the community and the Holy Week services attract even those people who are not regular church-goers. Our homes are spruced up and readied for the family celebrations and the big feast after a period of fasting for Lent.
On Holy Wednesday we would put on our best and go to Church in the afternoon to be anointed with Holy Myrrh or Holy Unction. This was always interesting to us as children since we weren't quite sure what to do with the oil on our hands - we knew we shouldn't just wipe it off!
On Holy Thursday, we used to go for Holy Communion in the morning and in the evening everyone would go back for the Dodeka Evangelia service, waiting for the moment when the lights were dimmed and the Priest would come out bearing the cross of the Crucifixion and chanting the hymn of the Crucifixion
'Today He is Crucified...Σήμερα κρεμάται επί ξύλου'
Decorating the Epitaphio
under the watchful eye of Father Elias Economou
Evangelismos Tis Theotokou
Wellington New Zealand
Good Friday - 1959
On Good Friday it was time to take flowers to church and help decorate the Epitaphio before going back home to get ready for the Apokathilosi Service, where as children we loved to crawl under the Epitaphio, and then the Egkomia, some of us taking our places next to the Epitaphio as Myroforoi, holding baskets filled with sweet-smelling rose petals which we would later scatter over 'the Body of Christ' lying at rest.
As we grew older we could join the church choir and take part in the service, singing the beautifully worded verses of the Egkomia or the Lamentations. The young men of the Community were the altar boys and carried the crosses and banners (Ksapteryga) for the procession.
Church Choir - Good Friday
Evangelismos Greek Orthodox cathedral
Wellington, New Zealand
Evangelismos Tis Theotokou Father Elias Economou officiating
Wellington New Zealand
Good Friday - 1959
Evangelismos Tis Theotokou
Wellington New Zealand
Good Friday - 1991
Almost everyone attends the Good Friday (Epitaphio) Service, holding a candle and solemnly following the Epitaphio Procession as it is carried around the Church grounds or around the neighbourhood.
Ο Γλυκύ μου Έαρ The most beautiful of the Good Friday lamentations
The Midnight Resurrection (Anastasi) Service is also a must and everyone clambers to be the first to light his or her candle from the Fos, or the light from the Holy Sepulchre, at the stroke of Midnight as the Priest chants Defte Lavete Fos, enjoying the fireworks as we gather outside the Church for the Xristos Anesti!
On Easter Sunday (Kyriaki tou Pascha) we roast our lamb either in the oven or on the traditional spit and spend much of the day eating and drinking trying to see who will win in the traditional Tsougrisma of the Eggs! ( we have yet to find a good translation for this one...so we have left it in Grenglish).
Apart from the spiritual fulfillment and sense of renewal, once the services are over it is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and be with family, to exchange kisses (always a good excuse if we rather liked someone but were too shy to tell them straight out) and wish each other 'Xristos Anesti' (Christ is Risen) and 'Alithos Anesti'! (Truly, He is Risen).
Listen to celebrated Global Greek Irene Papas sing her own unique version of Xristos Anesti (from the magnificent album 'ODES' in collaboration with Vangelis Papathanasiou )
It is interesting to note that many of our Greek communities around the world make the Anastasi and Easter Day celebrations a Community event so that all members can come, bringing their family and friends, both Greek and non-Greek, to join in the festivities.
These are special memories to hold on to and cherish - the traditional bonds of Church and Family which are timeless and hold strong in the Greek Orthodox Church and especially at these times of economic strife.
The ongoing
economic crisis in Greece means that most people have cut down on their
excessive spending of the past to the essentials so that our traditions are not lost. Those who can have donated goods and time to wonderful individual
voluntary initiatives such as Boroume, Oloi Mazi Boroume whilst the Church of Greece and other organisations have stepped in to help
the needy, the unemployed and the homeless so that their families don't
go without, especially at Easter.
To
all our Global Greek friends around the world who are in the process of
dyeing Eggs, baking Koulourakia and Tsourekia, planning for the
Mageiritsa and generally making preparations for this year's Holy
Week/Megali Evdomada, we would like to congratulate you for keeping our
wonderful traditions going and ensuring that the spiritual meaning and
message of the Resurrection and Easter is handed down from generation to
generation...
To each and everyone of you wherever you may be we wish you and your families
Decorating the Epitafio at Evangelismos Tis Theotokou, Good Friday 1959, Wellington New Zealand
Father Elias G Economou
GOOD FRIDAY - I APOKATHILOSI
Usually in mid-afternoon in churches abroad, but in the late morning in Greece, Great Vespers is chanted. During this service, we hear the story of the Crucifixion, but with attention paid to the death of Christ, the work of Joseph of Arimathea to secure the body of Christ from Pilate, His removal from the cross, and His burial.
During the service, the Body of Christ is removed from the cross, wrapped in a white cloth (shroud) and brought into the sanctuary. Following the reading, the priest carries the icon of the Epitafio through the church and places it in the Sephulcher (the kouvouklion), which has been decorated with flowers.
GOOD FRIDAY EVENING -TA EGKOMIA- THE LAMENTATIONS
On Holy Friday evening, we sing the Orthros of Holy Saturday, consisting of psalms, hymns and readings, dealing with the death of Christ. During the Orthros, the congregation will join in chanting the Lamentations, ta Egkomia, hymns of praise to the Lord and relating His ultimate triumph over death.
During this service the icon of the Epitafio is carried in procession around the church while the priests, choirs and congregation sing the most beautiful hymns of Holy Week,
I Zoi en Tafo - Η Ζωή εν Τάφω
Aksion Esti - Αξιον Εστί
Ai Geneai ai Pasai - Αι γένεαι Πάσαι...
In Greece, and in most communities abroad, the entire flower-bedecked Epitafio, symbolising the Tomb, is carried in a procession around the neighbourhood of the church, or within the church if the weather is not good.
Evangelismos Tis Theotokou, Wellington New Zealand
Good Friday 1959 Father Elias G Economou officiating
In some towns around Greece and in Athens centre, all the processions gather in one central point, usually the main plateia or square, and the service continues there with all the faithful gathered together.
It is an awesome sight indeed and the aroma of the beautiful spring flowers which adorn the Epitafio pervades the atmosphere.
Decorating the Epitafio is one of the beloved rituals of young and old alike, and is generally carried out after the early morning Orthro service in our communities abroad.
In Greece, because the Apokathilosi service takes place immediately after the morning vespers, the Epitafio is decorated straight after the Dodeka Evaggelia and usually finishes early in the morning. We lasted until 2 am ...
All of Good Friday people file come to pay their respects, filing past the Epitafio, crossing themselves and bowing their head in homage to the body of Christ in the Sepulcher right up to the time of the perifora (procession).
The coloured photos in the post are from the decoration of the Epitafio last night and from today's services in our small church, Profitis Elias, an eksoklisi in the northern suburbs of Athens... The black and white ones from the Holy Week 1959 at the first Evangelismos Church in Wellington, New Zealand, under the guidance of Father Elias Economou. Καλή Ανάσταση! Kali Anastasi!
