Do's and don'ts for Easter. Rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ
Records found: 19
Hello, father! I am asking you a question that, I think, many have already asked more than once: 1. Is it possible to eat blessed Easter cake and eggs on an empty stomach? Is it possible to throw away egg shells and crumbs from blessed Easter cakes and eggs in regular trash? Forgive me, I just want to sort this out once and for all. God bless you!
Alexei
Alexey, you can eat blessed Easter cakes and eggs at any time; you don’t have to do it on an empty stomach. Residues from these products can be disposed of in regular trash.
Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)
Bless me, father. I have a question. My colleague at work is a Muslim. When I said that I was going to the Epiphany service and to get holy water, she asked me to bring her some water too. I asked her: “What are you going to do with her?” She says: "Drink." I tell her that this is not mineral water to drink just like that. You must drink such water with faith and cross yourself. After all, she won’t do this. She said: "So what. God is one." Of course, I brought her water. But it torments me that I dared to prove something to her. Maybe I should have just given her water without getting into a discussion? Or should I not have given water at all? Please enlighten me.
Love
Hello, Love. You did everything right. And on Easter treat her with Easter cake. Just remember that all conversations in such cases should be friendly. And if it doesn’t work out, then remain silent.
Priest Alexander Beloslyudov
Hello, father! Please tell me what to do if the blessed Easter cake has become moldy?
Elena
Elena, usually in such cases they bury the Easter cake in the ground, in a place that is not trampled on (where people do not walk), or you can throw this Easter cake into the river.
Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)
CHRIST IS RISEN! I don't know if I did the right thing. My neighbor asked me to take her Easter cakes to be blessed; she didn’t want to stand, she said, I can’t stand it, my legs hurt. He drinks often. And I told her that it was better to do it myself, and that what I would consecrate to her was like a poultice for a dead person, only to calm the conscience, and not to save her. I would, of course, if she were really weak and sick. And then I thought, maybe I shouldn’t have refused, what do you think?
Svetlana
Svetlana, if you had not refused, you would have done a very good deed, and this is very useful and good for the soul. Do not give up on good deeds, they ennoble the soul. And over time, your neighbor, perhaps, will gather her strength and go to the service herself, but at the moment you could make sure that she, too, was not deprived of grace on the holiday.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Hello, father! Please tell me when can I bake Easter on Thursday? I heard that you can’t bake on Good Friday, but you can on Thursday and Saturday. Is it so? Please tell me. Thank you.
Natalia
Natalia, all of Holy Week is preparing us for the Great Feast of Easter. We prepare not only spiritually, but also physically. You can bake Easter cakes from Monday of Holy Week. After all, for example, in monasteries and in production there are large volumes of baked goods, and in two or three days they will not have time to provide everyone who wants it. At home - yes, they start baking on Thursday, because the volumes are small, and therefore there is no need to bake earlier, and eggs are also painted closer to Easter, starting on Thursday. Don’t focus too much on this, start baking at your convenience, possibly on Good Monday.
Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)
Hello! Please advise me: since last Easter I have shells from blessed eggs at home, crumbs from Easter cakes and the molds they were baked in. As far as I know, I can’t throw them away, and I don’t know what to do, can you tell me? Thank you in advance,
Christina
Christina, we always burn or bury consecrated objects or things that have become unusable. If you have a dacha, then in the dacha you can burn it all in the stove or bury it under a tree. Also, spoiled consecrated foods can be thrown into the river.
Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)
Hello! How should you celebrate Easter if your dad died 5 months ago? Is it possible to bake Easter and dye eggs? How and when to go to the cemetery? Thank you.
Elena
Hello, Elena! You can and should celebrate the Resurrection of Christ by baking Easter cakes and painting eggs. After all, Easter is a Festival of holidays for both the living and the dead. And you can pray for dad at the funeral service and go to the cemetery on Radonitsa, May 14.
Priest Vladimir Shlykov
Hello, father! My birthday is May 4th, it falls on Holy Saturday, they say I can’t celebrate it! What do i do?
Catherine
Ekaterina, why should you celebrate your birthday on Holy Saturday? This is a strict fast, when you can’t eat practically anything, only strictly fasting food. On this day in church they sing “Let all human flesh be silent,” that is, you cannot celebrate a birthday on this day. This is the day of preparation for the Great Feast of Holy Easter. We consecrate Easter cakes and eggs. The best thing is to celebrate your birthday on Easter, May 5th. Your holiday will be double, and you will not sin before God. On Easter you can eat any food, have fun, and celebrate in a restaurant.
Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)
Is it possible for an Orthodox Christian to eat sweet or tasty things, for example, order pizza or buy ice cream, or is this voluptuousness?
Anna
Hello Anna.
As you know, the most delicious food is prepared in Orthodox monasteries. Bread prepared with prayer even during Lent resembles Easter cake. So there is nothing wrong with a hungry person being refreshed with tasty, skillfully prepared food.
However, without experiencing a feeling of hunger, you should not get carried away by taste sensations, otherwise you may fall into the sin of gluttony.
God help me.
Priest Sergius Osipov
Bless me, father. I came to God in adulthood, although I was baptized as a child. I remember well my first conscious coming to church for a service, and not to light a candle or dedicate Easter cakes. I didn't last even half an hour. When I realized that I would simply faint, I left the temple. He sat, caught his breath, and went again. And... he left again. And so three times. Thank God that after that first experience I did not give up, but decided to push myself, no matter what the cost. And so, step by step, overcoming reluctance, physical discomfort, laziness, I, with God’s help, overcame this difficult period of becoming a church member. Now my teenage son is going through the same thing. I did not force or drag him to the temple. I decided that the best sermon for him would be the lifestyle that I had chosen, and not my admonitions. You can imagine my joy when he himself wanted to go to church. And here it is. I understand that he needs to go through this period, especially since he has not yet confessed or received communion. He says he's not ready yet. I don’t rush or insist, I’m afraid to destroy this sprout that has sprouted in his soul. I gave him all the necessary literature, I help with advice and pray for him. But then, in my case, and with him now, my question remained unanswered. Why do new converts experience such discomfort during the period of churching, why does a healthy, physically strong guy who plays sports, after fifteen minutes of being at the service, leave the church, because he is simply in a semi-fainting state, that this is the work of the enemy or the influence of the grace of God, which (how says in prayer before reading the Gospel) scorches, cleanses, sanctifies the whole person? And how can we help him not to fall away during this period, not to give up on everything, but to endure and go through this path? God bless you.
Oleg
Oleg, unfortunately, after our era of Soviet godlessness, the fact that our compatriots faint in church has become a sad norm. This is in its purest form a demonic influence, or better yet, “retribution” for our turning to God. Tell him that it’s not scary, don’t be afraid. And let him fight - after all, he is a fighter, like any man. The demon will not stand this fight and will run away.
One of my friends also experienced similar temptations and constantly left the temple. But then one day he set himself up like this: “Why am I just going to run around like this? Let it be what will be, but I will not leave my place in the temple!” And so he stood and prayed. Yes, the demon did not leave him, and he experienced an attack of faintness, and even almost fainted, but did not leave his place, and - this was the last time, he won.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Hello! Please tell me what to do with the shells of blessed eggs and the paper that covered the Easter cake?
Nina
In rural areas, you can simply burn the shells and paper. And in city churches there are special boxes for this. It is better for you to check with your church what is customary to do with shells, paper, and candle stubs specifically at your parish.
Archpriest Andrey Efanov
Hello, God's servant Anastasia writes to you, I turn 24 this month. I myself am from Ukraine, but I have been living in Spain for 12 years. I am writing to you because I no longer know who to turn to and from whom to get practical advice or just kind words. Last year I visited the Intercession Monastery in Moscow for the first time and visited the holy relics of the Blessed Matronushka. I knew about her before; as a child, my grandmother gave me a brochure about her life and the great power of her prayer. When I entered the monastery with my godmother, she told me that if you sincerely pray to Matronushka, she helps in many ways. At that time, my mother was severely depressed and was being treated with pills. I thought that it was probably worth asking for my mother and for my family in general, for my loved ones. But I also had a personal request to Matronushka, I really liked one guy. His name is Maxim, he himself is a pediatrician from Moscow, but he visits Spain, his mother, sister and our mutual friends live here. So, through mutual friends, I met him. In general, I asked Matronushka to pray for us, so that everything would work out for him and me. This was in April. We corresponded with him a lot on the Internet, and in August he finally arrived. We spent a lot of time together, I was in seventh heaven. Soon he finally told me that he liked me, and everything worked out for us, although we only stayed together for a week, then he left for Moscow. I thanked Matronushka very much for hearing me and helping me with all my requests; my mother also no longer complained about her health. Months passed, we communicated with Maxim via the Internet, called back and kept in touch in every possible way. But already in December I felt that he did not miss me, did not write the same way as I did to him. We never told each other that we loved. But I already felt it in my heart. I always asked him about his family and friends, he told me about his problems. I became very close to him. And when I felt this coldness from him, I thought that he would come and everything would fall into place. Because communication on the Internet is, of course, not at all the same as in real life. At the end of January, our communication completely disappeared; I knew practically nothing about him. I even tried to attract his attention by inventing various problems for myself so that he would listen to me and worry about me. In February, on Valentine's Day, I, of course, wrote him a congratulatory letter, but he did not answer me. Of course, I was offended, and then he told me that we needed to meet. He was already in Spain, and we met, I already felt at that moment that things were heading towards separation. He told me that he wanted to clarify our relationship and expressed everything, he said that the distance torments him and he doesn’t like it. But I understood that, probably, someone had appeared with him, and I asked him about it. He answered me honestly and admitted that he had another girlfriend. At that moment, when we were talking, everything was like a fog for me, I probably didn’t even understand that it was real. It seemed to me that this was all a dream and that I was about to wake up. In this state, incomprehensible to me, I even told him that all this was logical, that we had no feelings. I guess I just wanted the breakup to be easy for him, so that he wouldn’t think I was in love. At the end of our meeting we even laughed and talked about the next meeting. In general, from this conversation I also learned that he was seriously ill. Suffers from epilepsy. I felt terribly sorry for him. In my life I have already seen all the horrors of this disease. When I came home, when I realized that all this really happened to me, that I was no longer with him, I felt so bad in my soul as I had never felt before. I didn’t even have anyone to talk to at that time, because my parents were traveling. In the morning I talked to my loved ones and told about everything. My aunt even told me that it was probably God who took me away from such a person, such a sick person. At that moment I even thought that she was right. But after a while, I realized that I, as a believer, could never think like that, and I realized that I loved him even with such a serious illness. I sincerely began to pray for him, for his family and his healing. On Forgiveness Sunday, he wrote to me and asked for forgiveness for everything he had done to me. I forgave him. But all the pain still didn’t go away, I suffered a lot. Then I thought that God was probably punishing me in this way for something, and I began to prepare for Easter. I have read many articles about communion and confession. I wanted to confess and take communion, to repent for all my sins. I kept a fast and tried to remember all my sins and not hide anything from the Lord. On Easter I went to our Orthodox Church of the Archangel Michael, here in Spain. Before the service, I prayed for all my loved ones, lit candles for everyone who asked and for whomever I wanted. I prayed at the icon of Matronushka. Afterwards I confessed before the service. She stood through the entire service and blessed the Easter cakes. In fact, I felt better after visiting the temple, we even started communicating with him again, but all the grief for him did not go away. And for a month now I continue to pray to God for him, I pray for him and for his entire family, even for his current girlfriend. I ask the Lord and the saints for help, I ask for his healing and return to me, if this is the Will of God. I say prayers every day and every night. When memories start to depress me, I say prayers, but nothing helps me. I understand that I love him very much, that my love is sincere and real. Despite all my pain, not once during all this time did I wish him harm or even call him a bad word. Many months have passed, but this mental pain and loss does not let me go. There is still hope in my heart that I can be with him. Now I’m already asking God to help me forget about him, to send me another person. I read the girl’s prayers for marriage every day. I understand that it’s bad to write to you about this, but I’m already being visited by thoughts of death. It just seems to me that this is the only way I can get rid of these mental torments. I just can't live like this anymore. I have exams to enter the University very soon, and I can’t even concentrate on anything. I read a lot of books and literature, including the lives of saints, in order to somehow make my existence easier, so as not to think about it. I cry every day, and I don’t even know how to stop and calm down. Anywhere I feel such sadness that I simply burst into hysterics. Because of this, my health also deteriorated; I lost a lot of weight and, due to a lack of vitamins, my teeth began to deteriorate. They said it was all due to severe stress. Please tell me, maybe I'm doing something wrong? Maybe I’m praying wrong, or asking God too much? Maybe I'm boring him with my requests? I no longer know what to think about... I know that God does not do everything so quickly, that he does not help right away, and you need to be constant in your prayers. But I no longer have the strength. What should I do? How to ask correctly? Should I hope and believe that things will still work out well with him? I want to go to St. Petersburg this summer, I read that Saint Xenia also helps in such cases. Help me as much as you can, I beg you. Thank you.
Anastasia
It’s difficult to say, dear Anastasia, why everything turned out this way. The reasons may be different, but you need to forget your lover. The Lord will certainly help you, unless you interfere with Him with constant thoughts about what has not come true. You are young and have not yet experienced many difficulties in life, and the first adversities have crippled you. Strive to visit the temple more often, remember that the Lord cares about you and that all difficulties will soon pass. You are already an adult and still learning. Isn't it time to work and benefit people? This, of course, does not exclude further training, but still it is time not only to receive, but also to give. It is useful to visit the relics of Blessed Xenia, but you should not abandon your daily prayers. God help you!
Archpriest Andrey Efanov
Christ is Risen! The Bible is translated differently everywhere, so sometimes it happens that I don’t know how to understand it. At Easter, when I went to bless the Easter cake, they handed out postcards with the image of Christ, and on the reverse side were the commandments of God. I read the second commandment as if for the first time, and a stupor sets in. Further, I found it from N. Serbsky: “The second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol or any image; do not worship them or serve them. This means: do not deify the creation, do not honor it as the Creator. If you have climbed a high mountain and met the Lord God there, why do you look back at the shallow swampy growth at the foot of the mountain? If a person wanted to see the king and after much effort achieved a meeting with him, will he at this meeting look around and look at the king’s servants and lackeys to the right and left? He can behave this way only in two cases: either he cannot stand the presence of the king and seeks support from those around him; or he sees that the king is unable to help him, and is looking for a stronger patron." I read a lot of explanations about icons, but they are all florid, unconvincing. Not a single one sounded like this: "yes, yes, no, no." From some Since then, it has become important for me to fall to the crucifix in church, and hug His legs, to be alone for a while. And now what should I do? I’m afraid to pray to icons, so as not to belittle God, not to offend.
Tatiana
Truly Christ is risen! It is precisely in order not to fall into the sin of idolatry that the Church distinguishes between “worship,” which only God is worthy of, and “veneration,” which can extend to images of God. What is the difference? Now, when you stand in front of the Crucifixion, you prayerfully turn not to the wood and paints, but to the One who is depicted with paints on the tree. In this way you worship Christ Himself and honor His image. Paganism, against which this commandment is directed, gives divine honors to the image itself, which is a false manifestation of religiosity, and therefore a sin.
Deacon Ilia Kokin
Hello! Please tell me why the priest didn’t sprinkle me with holy water when we went to church to bless Easter cakes and eggs before Easter? He sprinkled our Easter cakes, sprinkled my son, but not me.
Anna
During Holy and Bright Weeks, priests serve at maximum efficiency, and the priest could simply, out of fatigue, forget to sprinkle you with holy water. There is nothing terrible about this, because you came to consecrate the Easter meal, which was done. It is important to sanctify your soul through prayer, confession, and communion, and you can sprinkle holy water on yourself.
Archpriest Andrey Efanov
Catholic colleagues treated me to Easter cake and eggs at work on Holy Monday. They already have a holiday, but we have Lent. I didn’t eat it, then I fed it to the pigeons. What if they were sanctified? In the evening at home I read how to one person who did not eat, when everyone was at the meal, and he was served separately, the elder said that it would be better for him if he ate meat. On the one hand, I couldn’t eat, on the other hand, for some reason I was restless in my soul. What was the right thing to do in order to avoid blasphemy, not to violate the will of God, not to offend a person?
Olga
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There is no need to offend a person by refusing to share a fast meal with him, even if you are currently fasting. On the other hand, it’s hard for me to believe that a Catholic believer would be offended if he were told: “You know, we’re still in Holy Week and strict fasting.” What kind of grievances can there be here? It seems to me that it would be better to politely refuse than to take food that you do not intend to eat. It’s one thing to have a monastery where, contrary to the general rules, you take upon yourself your own post, but it’s a completely different thing when you, even if you are among people of other faiths, hold a post established by the Church.
Priest Alexander Gumerov
Hello! Tell me, please, where can I put the shells from blessed eggs and crumbs from Easter cake?
Elena
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In an untrodden place - that is, in a clean place, closed from walking on top of it - for example, throw it into a river or bury it in the ground in a forest or somewhere in nature.
Deacon Ilia Kokin
Hello! They say that if someone in the family died shortly before Easter, then you cannot bake Easter cakes and paint eggs for Easter? Is it true? Thank you in advance!
Olga
Of course this is not true! Easter is the celebration of the triumph of victory over death, realized in Christ, thanks to His Bright Resurrection. And, as the Holy Scripture says, “God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living” (Mark 12:27). Therefore, the opinion that you give is a pagan superstition, and not Christianity. Christians, I repeat, celebrate victory over death on Easter, regardless of whether any of their loved ones have died at this time or not.
The bright holiday of EASTER is approaching. Several times, by the will of God, I had the opportunity to celebrate Easter in Ukraine (the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate). There, the order of the Easter service is approximately as follows: on Saturday, Easter eggs and Easter cakes are not blessed in the church. At night, on Saturday, usually at 11 p.m., the all-night vigil service begins. All-night services on Easter night end in different churches at different times, but usually at 3-4 in the morning. And at the end of the all-night vigil, the priests bless the Easter and everything that was brought from home. After the all-night vigil, early in the morning, everyone who spent that night (and morning!) in the church rushes to their families with candles and blessed food. This is how the sacred Easter night passes in Ukraine, during which the people stay awake and rejoice in churches until the morning, and at dawn (about 5 am), returning home, joyfully greet each other with Easter: “Christ is Risen”! Father, please answer the QUESTION: why in all Moscow churches (and the Moscow region) at about 2 am the all-night service ends, the DOORS CLOSED, everything calms down until 9 am?! After all, this is wrong... How is it even possible to close churches until the morning and sleep on Easter?! I note that the “standard answer”: “because there are a lot of people” is not correct. There are also a lot of people in Kyiv, but the churches are open all night and all morning. Thank you.
Michael
Moscow churches also have different practices. Usually, they try to end the service by 2 o'clock so that people can get home by metro. In our church, parishioners are offered tea and pies, and those who wish remain in the church for a long time, and already at 7 am the early Liturgy is celebrated, then at 9.30 am the late Liturgy. So in Moscow it happens differently and very often depends on the wishes of the parishioners of a particular church.
1. Why worship and pray to icons, when the Lord himself forbade all worship of the works of human hands, “for it is written: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and serve Him alone.” (Matthew 4:10) 2. Brothers, if you are brothers, what are you teaching here, what is the Forerunner? Why do you distort the Word of the Living God? There is only one Bible, John was the Baptist because he baptized Jesus Christ, and he was also the son of Zechariah. Question: why Forerunner? And where in the Bible does it say that Elizabeth's rejoicing is a prayer? (Luke 1:42) But Luke 1:46-55 looks more like prayer. And in general, Jesus commanded to pray like this - Matthew 6:9-13. Why are you leading people away from God? God - He is alive and is not in icons. Jesus is always there for each of us, and He always loves us. Why have I never heard this in an Orthodox church, that Jesus Christ died in my place, redeemed me, saved me, loves me and gave me eternal life. You called yourself Orthodox Christians, so have this right to glorify Christ, so that your glorification may be pleasing to the Lord! You know so much, and you probably know what the Lord did with those who worshiped idols, why are you bringing the wrath of God upon yourself and people? And why do you have to bake Easter eggs and paint eggs for Easter? For some reason, nothing is written about this in the Bible. So if the Lord did not command to do this, why do it? And why doesn’t anyone warn that later celebrating with beer and vodka will obviously lead to nothing good? And in general, the Lord said that drunkards will not inherit the Kingdom of God. I wonder if anyone will answer me??? God bless you! 3. Honestly, it would be better if you just printed the Bible.
Inna
Dear Inna (apparently, all three questions were asked by the same person), I am more than sure that your questions did not arise on your own - you read the Bible from beginning to end, then went to an Orthodox church and began to be surprised at the inconsistency of one to the other - no. Most likely you belong to one of the so-called. “evangelical” churches, where these “inconsistencies” were pointed out to you, i.e. You are the bearer of a certain tradition, and this in itself excludes objectivity of judgment. Any Christian tradition presupposes a certain method of interpreting the Bible, so why should we give preference to the interpretations of some modern American preacher and neglect the interpretations of the disciples of the holy apostles (Saint Polycarp of Smyrna or Ignatius the God-Bearer)? Now, in order: 1. The Orthodox do not “worship” icons, but “honor” them, worshiping the Prototype through an image. An icon is not an idol, because An idol is a depiction of a false deity, while an icon depicts the True God. This turned out to be possible due to the fact that God became a man, so the Old Testament commandment is no longer applicable here. An icon is a space for a person’s gracious meeting with God and the saints; this meeting is evidenced by the personal prayer experience of Orthodox people and by numerous miracles performed by icons. 2. The word “Forerunner” is Church Slavonic, and in Church Slavonic “current” also means “procession”, i.e. The Forerunner is the predecessor of the Savior, because it is said about him: “And you, little child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will come before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways” (Luke 1:76). 3. A passage from the Gospel of Luke (1:46-55) is indeed used in Orthodox worship - at Matins, but the words spoken by Elizabeth (Luke 1:42) were spoken by a person in a state of grace-filled delight, so they were included in one of the most famous prayers addressed to the Mother of God - “Virgin Mother of God”. 4. The custom of preparing Easter cakes and painting eggs is not obligatory for believers; this is not a Sacrament. This is just a folk tradition, consecrated by the Church, and it is a great pity for those people who consider themselves Orthodox only because they appear in church once a year to bless Easter cakes. 5. The text of the Bible is posted on our website (thanks for the advice). 6. Now regarding the love of Christ and Orthodox preaching. The fact that you have not heard about this in an Orthodox church only testifies to the fact that you rarely appear there - this is truly the central point of our faith. Moreover, a true disciple of Christ is distinguished by the fact that he not only speaks about love, but first of all does deeds of love: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, [so] let you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). The Lord has vouchsafed me to meet people in the Church who radiate this love of Christ. I don’t know if you can say the same about your community, but, frankly speaking, the tone of your letters is quite bilious, which devalues your argument. God help you.
Easter is one of the most beloved holidays for Russians, second in popularity only to New Year. On Bright Sunday, almost everyone breaks their fast, makes Christ and eats Easter cakes - regardless of how strictly a person observed all the Orthodox canons preceding this day, and whether he observed them at all. According to Secretary of the Kursk Diocesan Administration Father Oleg Chebanov, the reason for such popular love lies in the fact that “there are things that we understand with our minds, and there are those that we reach with our hearts.” “It is no coincidence that Easter is called the Feast of Feasts and the Celebration of Celebrations. In spirit we always strive upward - towards God, therefore in the soul any person feels that Easter is the most important holiday, evidence of the victory of life over death,” the priest noted.
True, opinions on how to properly celebrate this holiday differ greatly. Some, for example, argue that you should never go to the cemetery on this day, while others, despite all these conversations, go there every year. Some people believe that only those who have fasted can break their fast on Easter morning. Others, without fasting, nevertheless organize real feasts. So what can and cannot be done on Easter? Father Oleg Chebanov spoke about this.
Is it necessary to visit a cemetery on Easter?
Here it is necessary to turn to history. For almost a millennium, our country has lived in complete harmony between Church and state, and the Church has always had special meaning for an Orthodox person. After the October Revolution, these ties, unfortunately, were destroyed. They tried to cover the church with asphalt; at Christmas and Easter, entire police cordons were set up to prevent people from getting into the church. But the fact is that any Orthodox Christian, praying for health, also prays for the repose of the dead. Since ancient times, there has been a tradition in Rus': when coming to a cemetery, where there was always a cemetery church, a person turned to the priest, who came to the grave and served a litiya.
But in the Soviet years, people went to the cemetery on Easter Sunday, knowing full well that if they were forbidden to go to church and perform divine services there, then no one could forbid them to go to the cemetery. Therefore, a huge number of people went to the cemetery on this day. This tradition is wrong, although it is not worth condemning the people who follow it. You just need to remember that the Easter holiday represents the triumph of life over death, so throughout Easter week you need to rejoice and not mourn. In churches these days there are no funeral services or memorial services at all. This period, in its emotional mood, corresponds to life and joy about life, rather than sadness about the death of a loved one.
Moreover, Saturdays of the second, third and fourth weeks of fasting are the so-called parental Saturdays, when the dead are remembered. If a person lives according to church rules, he knows all these things, and therefore does everything correctly - on Parental Saturday he remembers the dead, on Easter he rejoices in life.
Is it necessary to bring food to the cemetery - eggs, Easter cake, etc.?
This is completely unnecessary. We still remember the deceased with prayer, and the place of remembrance should not be a cemetery, but a home where relatives and friends of the deceased gather. Going to the cemetery and holding various riotous funeral feasts there is a pagan tradition and it has been preserved mainly in villages; in the city there is practically no such thing anymore. Moreover, after an egg or Easter cake is crumbled on the grave, it becomes a haven for flocks of ravens, often dogs. This is completely useless.
Should everyone break their fast on Easter?
After all, the one who broke his fast must break his fast. In a spiritual sense, what is fasting? This is the preparation of the soul to experience the passion of Christ and preparation for the meeting of the risen Christ. How do we prepare to welcome some precious guest? We try to put things in order in the house, prepare a magnificent, festive meal, put ourselves in order, but it turns out that if I didn’t make a fast and didn’t keep a fast, then a great, precious guest comes to me, and I have a dirty rag under the threshold, the remains of food where - in the kitchen, the bed is not made. And then what is the point of meeting this guest and how to break the fast if we did not observe this fast. As a family tradition, breaking the fast of those who do not observe fasting takes place, but in a spiritual sense this is pure profanation. Without fasting, there is no point in breaking your fast.
How and at what time should you break your fast?
You can break your fast on Sunday only after the end of the festive service. It usually ends at 3 - 4 am. But Easter is an unusual day, so getting up at 7 o’clock in the morning is not at all necessary. When all family members wake up and put themselves in order, you can sit down to the festive table. And it’s not scary if this happens, for example, at 11 o’clock in the morning.
As for how this should be done, the Church does not prescribe a clear sequence of actions.
What foods can be blessed in church on Easter?
In general, whatever we started during Lent, we should break our fast. Therefore, in the church you can illuminate “thickened milk”, that is, cottage cheese, cheese, meat products, lard, eggs. Sometimes parishioners bring salt for lighting - but the Bible says nothing about this. And of course, the obligatory product is Easter cake.
Should Easter cake be prepared according to some special recipe?
Kulich is a festive Easter bread; it should be more solemn, magnificent, and expensive compared to the bread that we usually eat. However, the recipe can be very different - as they say, it’s not for everyone. At the same time, you should not get too hung up on the recipe: food should not distract from the most important thing - prayer.
Does an Easter egg have to be red?
The tradition of red Easter eggs is associated with the legend of Mary Magdalene. According to legend, when Mary came to Emperor Tiberius and announced the Resurrection of Christ, the emperor said that it was as impossible as a chicken egg being red. And after these words, the chicken egg he was holding turned red.
Of course, red should predominate to a greater extent, because on the one hand, it is the color of celebration (even the priests’ vestments during the Easter service are red), and on the other, it is the color of the martyrdom of Christ. However, today people have a huge choice - you can paint an egg almost any color you want. The Church does not forbid this.
Another issue is the various stickers that are now also offered as decorations for Easter eggs. If they depict, for example, a chicken, flowers, even the letters “ХВ”, this is allowed, but if the face of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or other saints is depicted, this is no longer acceptable. After all, after we peel the egg, these stickers with faces, along with the shell, will go into the trash bin.
Should you not throw away the leftovers of blessed Easter food?
It’s better, of course, not to do this - after all, drops of holy water get on the food. You can, for example, collect leftover food - shells, sausage skins, etc. - and bury them somewhere at the end of the week.
On Easter, everyone must greet each other with the phrase “Christ is Risen!” and exchange eggs?
Christening is a ritual in the church Easter service and congratulations of believers to each other on the Easter holiday, in which one says “Christ is Risen” and the other answers “Truly He is Risen.” According to church tradition, the custom of such a greeting dates back to the apostles, who, when meeting, told each other the good news.
Congratulations on Easter were by no means limited to the birth of Christ in church. The words “Christ is Risen!” and answering them with kisses and mutual gifts of colored eggs was the usual greeting to every guest during the entire Easter week. However, you should only kiss people of the same sex.
There is a tradition of smashing Easter eggs against each other. Isn't this blasphemy?
No. In order to eat an egg, it must be broken in any case. So break, eat and rejoice in the resurrection of the Savior! The Church does not forbid this.
Central Federal District, Kursk (Kursk region)
Why you can’t go to a cemetery on Easter, the priest’s answer to this important question causes amazement among many believers. Oddly enough, many do not even know that on Easter, from the point of view of the Orthodox religion, going to the cemetery is completely wrong.
This is even considered a great sin, because the bright holiday, the first in a series of forty holiday days, must be spent among your family and in the circle of close relatives who are still alive. Easter is, first of all, a holiday of the living. What not to do in
Where did the ban come from?
It must be said that the tradition of going to the cemetery on Easter appeared among believers in Soviet times. Back then, as you know, religion was banned, traditions were not passed on from generation to generation, and often there was simply no one to turn to for advice on what and when to do right. Consequently, during this period, people who believed in God tried to at least somehow preserve traditions: as best they could.
In order to somehow celebrate Easter, people sought to visit the cemetery on this day so that they could calmly share their joy with their already deceased relatives. At least they definitely won’t hand over to the KGB and write a complaint. But now, when religion is again held in high esteem and every person who reaches out to God has the opportunity to find out about everything, ask questions, and observe the rituals correctly, we must remember that Easter is a bright holiday, it is a holiday of living people.
Easter Day celebrates the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and on this day it is necessary
think only about something good, be happy. Rejoice that Jesus Christ has risen and thereby proven that there is no death, there is only a transition to eternal life, to the Kingdom of God. Easter is precisely a holiday of life, but not of death. Over the next few weeks there will be a special day set aside for this when you need to go to the cemetery with the good news. But this is not done on Easter itself.
When to go to the cemetery in honor of Easter
Why you can’t go to the cemetery on Easter, we’ve already received the priest’s answer. Now let’s look at exactly what day is specially set aside in the church calendar to go to Easter with the good news of the Resurrection of Christ. Here we are talking about Tuesday, the second Tuesday after the holiday. That is, not on Easter week, but immediately after it. This is a big memorial day during the Orthodox year, it even has its own special name - Radonitsa or Radunitsa. In some countries, this day is an official holiday. Options, .
We must also understand that for us the people who lie in the cemetery are dead, but for Christ every soul, regardless of whether the body lives or not, is alive. So, in principle, there is no big difference for the Lord with what a person wants to be Christed: with a living relative or a dead one.
About church canons
It should be noted regarding why you can’t go to the cemetery on Easter, the priest’s answer is that there are, of course, no strict prohibitions here according to church canons. If a person wants to think about deceased people and remember them on Easter, then no one will forbid this. But here you should remember that, if possible, it is better to postpone the remembrance until a special day set aside for this.
In some sources today you can find information that the custom of going to the cemetery on Easter appeared long before the October Revolution. In Tsarist Russia, many ancestors lived in rural areas; the roads there were bad. The temple, as a rule, was built next to the cemetery. So, in order to avoid going far to the same place twice, many immediately after the Easter service went to the graves of their ancestors to lay a colored egg there and congratulate their deceased relatives on the holiday of Easter. Many believe that the tradition of visiting the cemetery on Easter developed in this way.
Still, if you read modern church literature or talk to a priest, it will be noted that you should not go to the cemetery on Easter itself. This holiday is not a day of sorrow; one should rejoice and have fun on Easter. Moreover, now, after a long Lent, this can finally be done. It is worth remembering that already on the second Tuesday after Easter, there will be Radonitsa day. It is on this day that you need to go to the cemetery to inform your deceased relatives, friends and loved ones that Christ has risen from the dead. Great way.
Why you can’t go to the cemetery on Easter, the priest’s answer suggests that it is best to postpone this trip until a special memorial day. I would like to remind you that, according to the Orthodox tradition, there is no need to bring food to the cemetery: dead people, whose only soul is alive, do not need human food. However, you can take a painted egg with you to the cemetery as a symbol of Easter and eternal life after death.
Easter is the most important holiday of the Christian church, because the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basis of all Christianity. The Apostle Paul said: “If Christ were not resurrected, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain.” This holiday is celebrated by all Christians - Orthodox, Catholics, and Protestants.
The days before Easter, starting with Lazarus Saturday (Saturday before Palm Sunday) are special. It is better to finish everyday chores - cleaning, cooking Easter cakes and others - before Thursday, and spend the remaining days in the temple, and not in the pre-holiday bustle. It is prayer that will give understanding of this holiday.
This year the Annunciation falls on Holy Saturday (April 7). When this holiday is celebrated during Lent, it is permitted to eat fish. But Holy Saturday is the day when Christians observe the strictest fast, so this year you cannot eat fish for the Annunciation.
What needs to be sanctified
The blessing of food on Easter is permission to eat food after Lent. It does not give food supernatural powers. Products that need to be blessed on Easter: meat, cheese, cottage cheese and eggs are mentioned in two prayers read at the consecration of Easter food. These prayers say nothing about bread, salt, vegetables and other foods. And it would be illogical to consecrate them, since there is no ban on eating them during Lent.
Why are eggs painted?
The main attributes of Easter are colored eggs and Easter cakes. Easter cakes and cottage cheese symbolize the tomb of Christ, from which life shone. And the eggs, which symbolize life, are connected with a story from church tradition: Mary Magdalene reached Rome preaching about Christ and was received by Emperor Tiberius. Mary brought him a chicken egg and said, “Christ is Risen.” Tiberius replied: “I would rather believe that a chicken egg turns red before my eyes than believe your words.” And then the egg in Mary Magdalene’s hand turned red. In memory of this miracle, which confirmed the events of the Resurrection, Christians paint eggs.
Nowadays people paint eggs different colors. More appropriate, of course, is red, but other colors are also allowed. By the way, there is no need to peel eggs during consecration: God’s grace is omnipresent and can pass through the shell.
What cannot be sanctified
It is inappropriate to bless money in church, because this will not increase wealth. There is no need to put crosses and icons in the food basket. You should not bless honey, apples and water on Easter, because the church has separate days for this.
Is it worth going to the cemetery on Easter?
Easter joy must be brought to the dead when Bright Week ends - on Radonitsa. It is inappropriate to visit the departed on Easter, since these days should be spent in church and praying. You should not bring colored eggs and Easter cakes to the dead; feasts in the cemetery are a relic of paganism. The last funeral services before Easter are performed on Maundy Thursday. Throughout Holy Week (until Sunday after Easter), no funeral services are held. But it is possible and necessary to submit notes for the repose of the deceased, because it would be dishonest not to pray for them these days. Notes can be submitted throughout Holy Week, except for Good Friday, when the liturgy is not held.