May 5, 2002

Happy Orthodox Easter

[East Jerusalem, Palestine] Happy Easter again! Easter is celebrated twice here. We had an earlier observation (Procession to Gethsemane, Way of the Cross, Easter Sunday) at the end of March, but the Orthodox Christian church celebrated this Sunday.

On Friday I went to the Ethiopian Orthodox procession. They met on the roof of part of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The procession wound around the roof. Before the procession, the Ethiopians paid penance by doing a series of bows and kneeling. It reminded me a bit of Muslim prayer. You could also ask the priest to tap you lightly with an olive branch. This was to symbolize punishment for your wrongs. The women sat together wearing a lightweight white covering. Men wore more western styled clothing. The people sat on the floor against the wall until the procession started.

Ethiopian Women Processing

The Procession Wound Around the Roof

Ethiopian Orthodox Banner

Chanting and Drumming

Saturday I attended the "Holy Fire" service in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This was an incredibly popular event in the city. Three priests (from different Christian groups) enter the chapel in the center of the church (pictured below). After some praying, God is supposed to light a candle inside the chapel. The fire from this candle is then passed out a tiny window and spread to all the people in the church. Then various candles are delivered to different areas of the community and even to the surrounding villages and other countries of the world!

The mood of the packed church was like the mood at a football game. People were anxious -- anticipating the miracle lighting of the candle. There were some sports-like cheers and maybe some drum beating. Many people stayed in the church overnight to get a good seat for the event. Some people waited hours and hours and were not allowed to enter the church. Since I was staying at St. Georges' Guesthouse, they put my name on a list, and I joined the Armenian Orthodox procession into the church. I got to watch the event from the balcony above the packed floor.

There was a cheer like a touchdown score and a mad scramble for the fire when it was passed out of the window. A few guys ran through open paths to carry the fire to the important church leaders. It was wild to see cheering like that in a High-Church activity. People were pushing and fighting to get to the fire. And most people carried 33 slim candles in a bundle. The church was soon hot and lit in flames everywhere. Packed church and everyone had a big fire in their hand. People have died in this ceremonial exercise, and I certainly see the potential for such problems. I was glad that I was in the balcony where it wasn't quite as packed, and that the church is largely stone. The patriarch, who reminded me a lot of Santa, was lifted into his chair and carried by running men through the church. I couldn't be certain, but the expression on his face looked less like ecstasy and more like fear to me. After hours of waiting, the service was over in a few minutes.

In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher before the service.

Fire Spreading through the church

And today was Easter Sunday for the Orthodox churches. A few Protestant churches, including Alex Awad's, decided to celebrate it today with the Eastern churches. (His explanation was included with his Bethlehem update on my mailing list.) So I joined the service at the Garden Tomb this morning. I thought Alex gave a great message. He started by talking about peace. In a time of much violence and unrest in the area, we need to accept God's peace. Alex then told us to receive the Holy Spirit. We can't comfort other people or be comforted ourselves without the Holy Spirit. He said we should open our hearts and ask every day to receive the spirit. Finally Alex reminded us that we are commissioned to go and share the message with our neighbors in this part of the world. As the Father sent Jesus, we are to share the message to the world. We shared communion and then everyone was invited to have breakfast together.

Alex Awad sharing the Easter morning message