Truly Celebrating Pascha

GOCPriestMark · Post by **GOCPriestMark** » Sun 13 January 2008 12:06 am

Here is a canon from the Sixth Ecumenical Council which, at least for me, points out how far we have strayed away from the true worship of God:

CANON LXVI
The faithful are required to spend the time in a state of leisure without fail in the holy churches from the holy days of resurrected Christ our God to New The Lord’s Day in psalms and hymns, (Pascha to Thomas The Lord’s Day) and in spiritual songs called odes, while being gladdened in Christ and celebrating, and paying close attention to the reading of the divine Scriptures, and delighting themselves to their heart’s content in the Holy Mysteries. For thus we shall be jointly resurrected and exalted with Christ. Therefore during the days in question let no horse races or other popular spectacle be held at all.
Interpretation
Inasmuch as all of New Week is reckoned as a single day devoted to the name of the Lord, therefore does the present Canon decree that all Christians during this week ought to remain in the churches, taking cheer and celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, paying attention to the words of the divine Scriptures and partaking of the divine Mysteries. For in this sort of way we shall be resurrected and exalted jointly together with Christ. Hence on these days horse racing must not be indulged in, nor must any other popular spectacle, disorderly game, that is to say, or dances, or wrestling matches, and any other such amusement. See also Apostolic Canon IX and Canon XXIV of this 6th Ecumenical Synod.

Helen · Post by **Helen** » Sun 13 January 2008 9:25 pm

I think this can Canon can still be adhered to today. Perhaps not to the same degree as was possible for people in past centuries, but in the measure of what is possible for us today. For example we may not all be able to take a week off work for Holy Week, but we can attend as many services as we can that week and read spiritual literature and devote more time to prayer at home. And certainly, we can all abstain from superfluous entertainment during Holy Week.

GOCPriestMark · Post by **GOCPriestMark** » Sun 13 January 2008 10:37 pm

Yes, but this is not referring to Holy Week. (Though of course it should also be attended similarly.) It is talking about the joy of Bright Week, after Pascha. During Holy Week we can follow along with the last earthly days of our Lord, but during Bright Week, once our bellies are filled, don't we just sort of wander off and go do something else?

What I saw in this, which is often missing in our day, is the shear joy of being in the Church for a whole week and not wanting to leave, not getting enough of God's good things.
We hunger and thirst and know how to do physical food, but what about spiritual food, the kind which the soul feeds on?
We can eat non-fasting food for days on end, (12 in a row right now), but we seem to be so quickly filled with spiritual food and don't seem to be able to take it in for much of a length of time.

But then again, I suppose if everyone were able to do this there would have been no need of a canon to direct us.

Helen · Post by **Helen** » Mon 14 January 2008 8:49 pm

Sorry Father Mark, I actually did mean Bright Week. I've been picked up on making that mistake before. But were I'm from we don't call the week before Pascha 'Holy Week' but 'Passion Week'.

What I saw in this, which is often missing in our day, is the shear joy of being in the Church for a whole week and not wanting to leave, not getting enough of God's good things.
We hunger and thirst and know how to do physical food, but what about spiritual food, the kind which the soul feeds on?
We can eat non-fasting food for days on end, (12 in a row right now), but we seem to be so quickly filled with spiritual food and don't seem to be able to take it in for much of a length of time.

Right there with you on this one.

But then again, I suppose if everyone were able to do this there would have been no need of a canon to direct us.

Again, I think we are all able to try in the measure that has been given us and avoid the superfluous. After all Pascha is a spiritual celebration and should be celebrated in a spiritual way.We have to make the effort to organize our priorities if we want to be right with God.