ORTHODOX EASTER SERV

ORTHODOX EASTER SERVICE

In the Orthodox church, which never changed over to the Gregorian calendar but follows the Julian calendar, Easter falls one week after “Latin” Easter.  With the help of George, a Greek Orthodox consultant working at the office, we found out that the Easter Mass would be held at seven o’clock on Easter Sunday morning, and we made the effort to get there on time.  We arrived only a few minutes late because, when we got down to the street, the hired Clio would not start (again) which meant that we had to go back and change cars, all of which takes time and consumed precious minutes.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus, which comes under the Patriarchate of Antioch, is a large building inside a walled precinct about a mile down Straight Street from Bab Sharki and almost on the limit of the Christian quarter of Damascus.  We had been there before but everything was closed and workmen were labouring furiously.  This time, however, the church doors were wide open and singing was to be heard from the street.  The church was already full to capacity and more and more people kept arriving as the service progressed.  There is plenty of room for late arrivals in a mass which lasts for three hours!

With standing-room only, we positioned ourselves at the back of the centre aisle so as to have a good view of all that was going on. On our left was a small counter where the pass-keepers issued candles to the various people who requested them as they came in and then went to one of the candle stands on either side of the door to place the smaller candles there.  There were also larger candles with a cardboard protection around it to catch the wax which many people held in their hands thoughout the service.

The layout of the church is fairly standard in that it has a centre aisle and two side aisles.  At the front on the left side looking from the back stood a mixed choir and on the right a male choir of young men dressed in black who I understood to be studying for the priesthood.  The main difference between this church and a catholic church is that where the altar rail would be in traditional (i.e. pre-Vatican II) catholic churches, in the Greek Orthodox church there is a partition, the iconostasis, bearing icons in the centre of which there is an arch and through the arch the altar, or the centre part of it, is visible.  A great deal of the early part of the liturgy is carried out before the arch and during the very first part the principle celebrant sits on a chair raised up on a dais.  As the mass progresses and more of the liturgy takes place at the altar behind the iconostasis, this chair is then removed.  There are no statues in the church, their place being taken by icons painted in the Byzantine style like the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour which is perhaps the only (or at least the most widely known) example of this type of a art currently used in the Catholic church.

In general terms the mass is essentially the same, except that the order of service is slightly altered: for instance, the creed is recited just before the consecration and the sermon takes place right before communion.  However, in the essentials the differences are minimal though the orthodox service is much more elaborate.  There is abundant use of incense too. Before the offertory all the priests, except the principal celebrant, deacons and altar boys process right around the church carrying the bread and wine which is to be consecrated.  At this point the splendour of the vestments made of magnificent damask brocade  was very much in evidence.  I particularly liked one set which were a deep pink and gold.  Quite magnificent!  Another difference is that the bread is real bread and none of those wafers.  Each roll is cut up into quarters and, when communion time comes, each person or family is given a quarter which they then divide up among their children.  When the time came, we were given our quarter too.  It is rather sweet bread and quite delicious.


As this was a Greek Orthodox church, I was interested to see that, apart from the Kyrie Eleison and couple of other items at the start of the mass, all the prayers were sung or recited in Arabic, the Greek “Theos” giving way to the Arabic “Allah”.  Of course, this “Greek” population has been here for centuries, so it is natural that their vulgate language should be Arabic.  On the other hand, the atmosphere was decidedly European in that the people’s clothing is modern and the women wear knee-length skirts and do not cover their heads as the Arab women do.  People here still dress up to go to church and the children, who behave exceptionally well particularly in view of the length of the service, were in their best. This year’s fashion for little boys seems to be navy blue trousers and waistcoats and bow ties.  They thoroughly enjoyed themselves lighting candles.  One or two of the older male members of the congregation wore keffiyehs on their heads (one took his off when he came into the church) but this was undoubtedly the exception.  Many of the people were blond or fair-headed in the manner of the Classical as opposed to modern Greeks and the children’s names were certainly Greek - Alexei, Giorgios and so forth.  George is a common name here and the Patriarchate is dedicated to St. George so there are many icons depicting this saint fighting the dragon.  

However, the most outstanding  feature of the Orthodox mass is the music.  For the three hours that the service lasted, there was not one single moment of silence, and the whole liturgy is sung except for the recitation of the creed, the declaration of the faith and the sermon which are spoken.  Everything else - EVERYTHING - is sung or chanted, either by one or both choirs with or without the participation of the congregation.  Quite magnificent.  All the music is unaccompanied and a particular feature is a constant bass drone similar to the drone on a bagpipes. For the music alone it is well worth coming to this church because, apart from anything else, you come away feeling edified by the sheer beauty of the sounds and the colours and the grace of the movements of the celebrants.  

April 11th 1998