Thanks to the Paschalia scheduled for years ahead, believers can easily determine the exact date of the celebration of the main Orthodox celebration - the Bright Resurrection of Christ. So, in 2019, Easter of Christ falls on April 28. Therefore, in all Orthodox churches on the night of April 27-28, a solemn service will begin.
The liturgical charter of the Orthodox Church defines only a few special holidays, the service for which is performed at night. The Easter of Christ is the main celebration of the Church, the divine service on this day is the most splendid. With all its composition, it encourages a person to feel the joy of an amazing event - the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
The beginning of the service on Easter night
The Easter service begins on the late evening of Holy Saturday. This usually happens at 23:00 or half an hour before Sunday. At this moment, a tomb is installed in the center of the temple, on which the shroud rests. The Shroud is a special shrine - a plate decorated with patterned threads, depicting the position of the Savior in the tomb. It is in front of this shroud that the midnight service is performed. The priest in the center of the church reads a canon from the service of Great Saturday, which is called "the lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos." All the troparia of the canon reflect the great sorrow of the Mother of God over the crucifixion of her son and God, but at the same time the texts reflect the great saving feat of Christ, who trampled death and broke the bonds of hell. At the end of the reading of the canon, the shroud is brought into the altar by the priest, and the midnight office is drawing to a close.
Religious procession and Easter Matins service
At the end of the midnight office, all believers expect the arrival of 12 o'clock at night and, accordingly, the Resurrection of Christ. The Easter celebration itself begins with the singing of the clergymen in the altar of the stichera, which narrates about the exultation of the angels who saw the resurrection of Christ. After singing the stichera three times, the choir picks up the chant and all the believers make an exodus from the church to the procession, during which the chanting continues. The liturgical text indicates that pilgrims should receive and praise the risen Christ with a "pure heart."
After the believers walk around the temple, everyone stops at the entrance to the church. The doors are closed, after which the clergy, one by one with the choir, begin to sing the troparion of Easter "Christ is risen from the dead." After the troparion is performed with verses, the doors open and the believers enter the church - the light Easter Matins begins, the main text of which is the Easter canon.
The Easter Canon is sung in a particularly solemn way. At the same time, the singing is accompanied by incense and cries of the priest to the people: "Christ is Risen!" All believers answer that Christ has truly risen. At the end of the canon, the choir sings the exapostilary of Easter and solemn Easter stichera, during which the christianity begins in the altar and among the believers in the central part of the church.
At the end of Matins, the choir sings the Easter Hours - a short divine service that tells the story of the resurrection of Christ.
Easter liturgy
The main divine service in the Orthodox Church is the Divine Liturgy. On the day of Easter, it is most solemn. The peculiarities of the service include reading the Gospel in different languages as a sign that the Resurrection of Christ has become the most important event for all peoples and nationalities.
At each Divine Liturgy, the main sacrament of the Church is celebrated - the Eucharist. All believers who have properly prepared for the reception of the sacred object, at the end of the Liturgy, can proceed to the Holy Gifts.
At the end of the liturgy, the priest (or bishop, if the service is performed by the hierarchal rite) reads special prayers on the occasion of the end of Great Lent, after which all the festive food brought by the pilgrims to the temple is consecrated.
