This is the most splendid day, the first day of the week!
Korca – a city with traditions as old and venerable as itself. Again this year the city welcomed with solemnity the great feast of the Savior’s Resurrection after a period of fasting and intensive spiritual preparation.
Beginning with Palm Sunday and onwards, every corner of the city was touched by this atmosphere. The entire Holy Week was accompanied by church services. The week began with the Bridegroom Sevice, celebrated by the Metropolitan of Korca, His Grace Joani, who called upon the believers to try and truly experience the spirit of this week.
Wednesday evening the Mystery of Holy Unction was celebrated – according to a tradition which already has its place in this city – only in the old Cathedral of the Lifegiving Source. This mystery was also celebrated by the Metropolitan of Korca, His Grace Joan, who spoke for “Pax Ecclesiae”, the peace that the Church places with the Christians through this Mystery. Being that man is a psychosomatic entity, his participation in this Mystery is a contact of all his being with the divine power which invisibly affects everyone and in a visible form the effect is realized through the annointing. The power of the Holy Spirit, which acts mystically, actualizes in man an inner peace, reconciles completely this entity divided by sin, and placates the deformity of the human being, a deformity which is reflected in everybody’s relationship with everything. The restoration of the reconciliation with the Lord is specifically the restoration of peace in our being with everyone and everything, which the Church realizes in a visable form through the annointing. This Mystery is fixed by the Church on this day of Holy Week to give everyone the possibility to experience as deeply as possible the Resurrection of the Lord, for the clearer and more peaceful a man is, the greater and more powerful will his experience be. On this day thousands and thousands of people participated and were anointed at the end with Holy Oil. A mournful atmosphere continued into Thursday where the church services were celebrated in all churches of the city and where hundreds and hundreds of believers prayed before Jesus Christ, hung on the Cross.
Meanwhile Friday reached its culmination in the afternoon when the churches had the service of the Taking down the Lord Jesus from the Cross. The bells began to ring mournfully. Every part of the city took on a mournful look, because according to the tradition the people go and venerate the Epitaphion in all the churches of the city. The bells continued their lament all day, and at 6:45 the five decorated Epitaphions gathered before the Resurrection Cathedral with the thousands of people who were part of this procession. This great procession begins and ends by completing a circle in the central bulevards of the city. The procession now by tradition is accompanied by the city band which majestically plays the third stanza of the Lamentations. In the front of the procession, preceded by the church banners, ***eksapteret***, and crosses, the Metropolitan of Korca His Grace Joani stood accompanied by all the clerics and following them came the Epitaphions and the long stream of people. Most touching was the thousands of people following this procession and singing “All generations offer a hymn to your burial O my Christ.” Everyone now had the possibility to be a Nikodemus or a Joseph of Arimithia by taking part in this event. The feast reached its culmination on Sunday. The Resurrectional Service began in all churches at 11 p.m. Thousands of believers filled the churches and churchyards awaiting the triumphal news, the message of the resurrection. The call “Come and receive the light from the unwaning light…”, set a river of candles on fire.
A moment that transcended the usual. For some years now not only the citizens of Korca have taken part in this event but hundreds and hundreds of people coming fom all over Albania, as well as from other countries like Greece and Macedonia to experience this majestic moment. While reading the Paschal Message, His Grace Joan stressed “the joy that this feast gives everyone, because the Lord with His Resurrection defeated the enemy common to all mankind, and conquered death. This is the main message of the feastday, which whether we want it to or not affects all of us, because death was abolished and because the triumph of Christ over death is the triumph of everyone over the common enemy, death.”
This message wasn’t late. The hands of the clock showed midnight and the news of the Resurrection was heard: “Christ is Risen!” and as one, the thousands of people affirmed “Truly He is Risen!”. The sounds of the bells now brought the message of hope, joy and victory. Later the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection was lead by the Metropolitan of Korca, His Grace Joan, who invited all believers to draw near and to “take the Light from the unwaning Light,” to “Taste and see that the Lord is Good,” and to approach and eat of the feast for “the calf is a fatted one; let no one go away hungry,” and so to rejoice one and all that “Christ is Risen from the dead by death trampling down upon death”. While truly experiencing what we chant, we all said “It is the Day of Resurrection! O people, let us glory in splendor!” “This is the most magnificent and Holy Day, the first of Sabbaths, the Queen and Sovereign” “And in such a way the Church sings on the Day of Pascha, in the day of the Resurrection of the Lord. This day announces that the power of darkness, sin, and death are defeated and light, joy, and life have taken their place.
This is the most magnificent day because in it we proclaim the Resurrection of the Lord and the resurrection of everyone and everything. This constitues the Church’s message, the fulfillment of every man and the garuanty of our salvation.
This is the most magnificent day, because the Resurrection of the Lord made possible the miracle of the Church; returned sanctification to people, hope to the hopeless and life to the lifeless.
The day of Pascha is this day, because it gives hope, removes fear, enlightens the spirit, adds joy in our life, and doesn’t allow us to drown in the sea of bitterness. It witnesses to us that the Lord defeated the evil and His Resurrection gives us all security, hope, joy, and above all, life; a life from His Life. Therefore on this holy day I would like to encourage everyone that we truly make part of our life the main message of the most splendid Day: “Christ is Risen”- said His Grace Joan.
Also during the Divine Liturgy His Grace Joan called upon all people, young and old, boys and girls, men and women, to try to hold on with insatiable joy to the light of Pascha, and to live with the joy that flows from the Resurrection of the Lord.
Again on Sunday at 10 a.m. in the Church of the Lifegiving Source the Agape Service was held. Later at the end of the service His Grace Joan and all the clergy clothed in shining attire went out on the balcony of the residence of the Holy Metropoli of Korca to proclaim once more the Resurrection of the Lord and congratulate the many believers gathered in the square. This is a ritual according to city tradition called “Dhefteri Anastasi”= “The Second Resurrection”. Later at 11:30 am in the Holy Metropoli of Korca a reception for visitors began. People from different groups in the city came to give their Paschal greetings, including politicians, representitives of the government and other religious communities as well as hundreds of believers.
The message “Christ is Risen” closed this great victorious day while simultaneously openning the holy season of Pascha.
Mihal Sonellari – Korçë
Translated by Kristiana Muça and Georgia Gilman
