It is a great blessing in the lives of each of us to celebration the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. During this period we reflect on and understand many things. We feel the extreme love of the God-Man, who was sacrificed on the cross for our sins and conquered death once and for all.
The Great and Holy Week services, culminating with the Lord’s Resurrection, were celebrated magnificently in Durrës. The Cathedral Church of “the Apostle Paul & St. Asti” was decorated with palm and laurel branches, and hosted many believers on Palm Sunday. The Divine Liturgy was led by the Bishop of Apollonia, His Grace Nicholas. After the Divine Liturgy the faithful took blessed laurel leaves to keep in their home, renewing in this way their oath to our King and claiming that we live in His Kingdom.
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evening the Service of the Bridegroom was conducted. The Icon of the Bridegroom, with a crown of thorns on his head, decorated with roses, was placed in the middle of the church; all the people present were invited to pray and meditate even for a few moments.
On Great Wednesday, in which we remember that the Lord’s feet were anointed with myrrh by the sinful woman, the mystery of the Holy Oil (Euchelia) was conducted. With hope, the believers were anointed with Holy Oil for the healing of the body and soul.
The Bishop of Apollonia, His Grace Nicholas, on Holy Thursday evening said in his sermon, “Many people, before and after Christ were crucified, but the crucifixion of Christ has two particular distinctions. What are they? The first is that Christ was crucified through his own will. The second is that this was the crucifixion of an innocent person. The Lord Jesus Christ was the only sinless one. So the sinless person was crucified by his own will. Christ paid for our salvation with His blood, with His will. He is ready to forgive us everything. During these days we remember with gratitude what He has done for us”. The moments of this service were extremely moving, especially when Christ was put on the Cross in the middle of the church. The believers holding flowers in their hands prayed to the crucified Lord. Some of the faithful remained in church praying until daylight.
During the early morning of Friday, the faithful women and the youth of the church decorated with colorful flowers the Epitaph. After the service of the Hours the descent of Christ from the Cross and His burial took place, believers began to go under Epitaphs with hope and faith; thus they continued throughout the day. The ringing of the mourning bells accompanied the hours of the day called Holy Friday. In the afternoon, in the service which was led by His Grace, Bishop Nicholas of Apollonia, the Lamentations of the Lord were sung by the clergy, the choir and the believers. The Litany of the Epitaph was accompanied by the sounds of the music of the Lamentations. After the procession, the clergy and faithful returned to the church to finish the service and to take the flowers of the Epitaph.
On Holy Saturday evening the Service of the Resurrection and the Divine Liturgy was conducted, which lasted until the early hours of the morning. So after a week of passions, anguishes and specific experiences the most hopeful moment in the history of the mankind arrived. Finally death was conquered. When the priests sang the hymn, “Come receive the light from the light that never ends …” the believers ran to receive the Holy Flame, and brought it to their homes for blessings and prosperity. At the time of the announcement of the Good News of Christ’s resurrection, on the podium in front of the church, the bells and the fireworks announced that “Christ is Risen”. All the believers together sang the triumphal hymn, “Christ is raised from the dead …” After the Divine Liturgy the clergy shared the blessed bread and the symbol of Easter, the red egg.
The participation of the faithful and the presence of many young people has made an impression during these days. And during this time, not only Orthodox believers come to Church, but also believers of other religions.
On Sunday morning from 10:00 to 13:00 the annual reception for the local and religious authorities of the city, for the different donors, representatives of political parties, non-governmental organizations and associations took place. The Mayor of Durrës Mr. Vangjush Dako, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Eduard Halimi, the Director of the National Post, Mr. Arqile Goreja, the County Council Chairman, the Mayor, Deputies of the city etc. came to offer their best wishes to our Church.
In honor of the Feast of Easter food packages were shared with 80 poor families prepared with funds collected from the faithful. The youth and children of the catechism program offered a significant contribution, serving the sanctuary, psaltery, in the store of the church and maintaining silence in the church.
Prepared by Theano Kostoli
