ROMANIA, 2014, HOLY EASTER 2014, Religion, Paintings, Sheet of 8 +
label, MNH (**)
HOLY EASTER
2014.
Christian Easter Feast represents the holy festival
celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The written
testimonials of the Bible concerning the sacred event are resumed
in the Christian Creed through the words: “And arose again on
the third day according to the Scriptures”. The third day
following the putting of the body into the grave was on a Sunday;
thus, Christians are always celebrating Easter on a
Sunday.
The name of Easter (“Pasti”) comes from the
Hebrew word “Pesah” which means Passover. During the
life of Jesus and before, Jews had been celebrating Easter for more
than one thousand five hundred years in order to commemorate the
liberation from the Egyptian slavery, after crossing the Red
Sea.
The victory over death through the Lord’s
Resurrection changed the meaning of this holiday for the Christian
people. Ever since that moment, it related to the holy event of
Resurrection and its consequences, namely our passage from death to
life.
The date of Easter was established at the First Council of
Nicaea, in 325, as the first Sunday after the full moon, following
the spring equinox occurs and after the Jewish Easter.
Christian Easter is different from the old Jewish Easter,
representing the Day of Christ’s Resurrection, which took
place after the Jewish Easter holiday.
Our holy Church has taken into account in establishing the
date of Easter that the Feast of the Resurrection should always
start on a Sunday, lasting for three days, which reflects the
importance of this event for the life of the Church.
Christian Easter holiday never starts before the spring
equinox, more precisely the 3rd of April (according to the New
Style calendar), being celebrated only after this day.
Likewise, the calculation of the date, together with
astronomical observations have led to a strict rule: Easter can be
celebrated on the 4th of April at the earliest, and on the 8th of
May at the latest (according to the New Style calendar).
The Feast of Easter is the foundation on which
Christianity was built, Christ’s Resurrection being its
milestone.
The liturgical service which characterizes the Easter
Feast surpasses the brilliance and significances which define all
the other services of the church year. The priests’ garments
are bright, churches are fully-lit and all the curtains and
liturgical coverings are white.
To this is added the extra light from the candles carried
by the faithful attending the religious service, lit of the torch
carried by the priest before the holy altar at the beginning of the
service of Easter night.
The beautiful Paschal troparion: “Christ is risen
from the dead, /Trampling down death by death, / And upon those in
the tombs / Bestowing life!” is complemented with the
Christian greeting uttered by the priest at various times during
the Easter services: “Christ is Risen!”, a moment when,
in a soulful communion, everyone present at the liturgy responds in
unison: “Truly, He is risen!”.
This feeling of joy is also accentuated by all the other
songs and readings from the three days of celebrating the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Antidoron (or sacramental bread) distributed to the
faithful on the Easter day is called “Pascha”. The same
signification is assigned to the Easter bagel. The Holy Communion
in the form of the bread is blessed by the priests during the
service in the night of the Resurrection and symbolizes the
certainty of the resurrection of the dead, based on the
Lord’s Resurrection. In addition to these, the Easter feast
is also marked by all the other church services and popular
traditions associated with Christ’s Resurrection, a period of
celebration which continues, after the three specific days of the
holiday, on the Holy Week and all along the 40-day period, ending
with the Feast of the Ascension.
The postage stamp of the issue Holy Easter 2014,
introduced into circulation by Romfilatelia, illustrates the scene
of Christ’s Resurrection.
With the Holy Easter Holiday approaching, Romfilatelia
team wishes you serene thoughts, peace in your hearts and hope of a
better future.
Christ is Risen!
