Mel Gibson's The Passion on TV for Russian Orthodox Easter
Moscow (AsiaNews) Russian viewers will be able to watch Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ on Rossiya TV on April 30, eve of Orthodox Easter.
For Orthodox Christians, Easter is, to use the expression of St Gregory Nazianzen, "the feast of feasts". Preparations for the celebration begin in fact seven weeks before the solemnity and lasts till Pentecost (Whitsunday).
The date is set according to the Julian calendar which is 13 day behind the Gregorian calendar and comes after a strict Lentin addition to meat, milk products and eggs are off limits.
During Holy Week (called Great Week), the faithful pray and fast till Easter Sunday. Each day of this week is called 'great'.
Palm Sunday commemorates the resurrection of Lazarus as a token of that of Jesus Christ; Great Monday remembers Joseph the Jew who was betrayed by his brothers; Great Tuesday commemorates the expulsion of the Pharisees from the Temple and the prophecy that it would be destroyed; on Great Wednesday Jesus is coated in balsam by the woman sinner in the home of Simon the leper; on the morning of Great Thursday, Judas's betrayal and the washing of feet are commemorated, whilst in the evening the Eucharistic mystery takes place and the Passion begins.
Friday is a day of mourning: the Gospel stories about the passion and the death of the Lord are read and a long procession in which the icon of the dead Christ makes its way till into the church where it is placed at the foot of the altar for the faithful's adoration.
On Saturday, when Jesus is buried, the service begins early in the morning and continues till the end of the day.
On Easter Sunday, which this year falls on May 1, the service begins either at Midnight or 3 am in great solemnity, its songs and prayers almost all written by saints from the early centuries of the Church.
Throughout the seven-day period, eggs and doves, typical Easter food, are blessed in the churches.
On Palm Sunday last week, a special internet project was inaugurated. According to tradition, in ancient Russia anyone could ring church bells; however, during Soviet times the tradition was lost and today only a small number of people know how to do it.
For six days till Easter Sunday, bell ringers in Archangelsk (northern Russia) have decided to renew with this tradition. They have made available on a website all the necessary information on this ancient art: techniques, scores and chat forum for interaction with real bell ringers. (MA)
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