1. Great
Saturday
On that day, full of services and worries, I just had
no time to take photos. But I could not but take my camera and try to save
several beautiful moments as a remembrance of that Holy Saturday.
2. In the
Church
We were telling about the symbolism of the Paschal
food.
…Once Mary Magdalene visited Roman Emperor Tiberius
and told him, the persecutor of Christians, that Christ had been risen from the
dead. The emperor took an egg that was lying before him and exclaimed, “It is
impossible for Christ to resurrect just like it is impossible for this egg turn
into red!” The egg in his hand immediately became red.
Since ancient times, faithful people colored eggs and gave
them each other.
And here is a Paschal kulich. Earlier pagans cooked in
the beginning of spring a sweet flavorful bread that symbolized the joy of
awakening from winter and darkness to summer and warm.
However, Christians reconsidered that tradition. They
began to bake tasty bread for Pascha as a symbol of paschal joy and festivity.
We know that Pascha is the beginning of a new era, the sign of a new life’s
beginning. The same is with the Paschal bread: kulich is a foretype of the
bread of our future beatitude.
Cheese Pascha in the shape of a pyramid is the symbol of
Christ’s Church. What is cheese? It is milk that have changed. Who is a Christian?
It is a person transfigured by the Holy Spirit. A cheese Pascha means all of
us, changed by the Holy Spirit and gathered into the Body of Christ – the Church.
3.
Painted eggs
Our loyal parishioners, who come every year to consecrate
their Paschal food, bring their gracefully painted eggs.
4. What a
Beauty!
5. Prayer
This woman is just praying before the icon for something
what is important to her…
6.
Preparing for Consecration
Children are not dormant, while their parents are
placing their dishes so that a priest can consecrate them.
7.
Children
Those children were eating the peels from the kulich
(which is of quite a strange shape), while their mom got distracted.
8.
Consecration
Our priests were consecrating paschal foods until the late
at night. Then we had an hour’s rest… And then the feast of light and joy
began: Christ is risen!
Source: https://azbyka.ru/parkhomenko/foto/prochee/podgotovka-k-pashe/1/image/fotor6197/
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