On Easter Sunday the atmosphere of the Church switches gears, and instead of a focusing on death and sorrow, the Church is alive and resplendent with joy. Jesus is risen!
The week following Easter Sunday is called “Bright Week,” and refers to the light that Jesus has brought into the world.
In biblical terms, Jesus rose on the “eighth day,” which symbolically represents the new creation and the promise of Heaven. Eastern Christians reflect on this promise of future joy by referring to “Bright Week” as “one continuous day.”
This week is also called by some “White Week,” and refers to an ancient practice where the newly baptized would wear their baptismal gowns during the entire week.
If there is a “theme” for Easter, it certainly is the “light of Christ,” and everything in the Church highlights Jesus’ bright light, scattering the darkness of sin and death.
In the Byzantine Catholic church, the entire week of Easter or Pascha is given extraordinary significance. Pascha, being the Feast of Feasts is the greatest spiritual and historical event on the church liturgical calendar. In our Byzantine Catholic church, we continue to express the salutations and hymns of the resurrection (Christ is Risen!) from Pascha to Christ’s Ascension.
The magnitude of Christ’s Resurrection is intertwined in the liturgical celebrations to such a degree that there can be no doubt in the minds of the faithful that what has transpired has changed the world and humanity forever. Everything is brought into the fullness of the light shining in the world. The Gospel of St. John (Chapter 1) on the Feast of Pascha (Easter Sunday) proclaims of Christ — it is “through him all things came into being, and apart from him nothing came to be. Whatever came to be in him, found life, life for the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, a darkness that did not overcome it.” (John 1: 3-5).
In the liturgical services during this festal period, everything points heavenly and unites all creation in praise and glory to God. Pascha is celebrated as a solemn feast for three days and liturgically observed the whole week. During this week, the doors of the iconostasis or icon screen including the Royal Doors remain open. This symbolizes visually that Christ’s resurrection opened heaven for all of us. We sing the Paschal troparion of “Christ is risen…” with the opening of each liturgy, during and closing. And in the final blessing, the priest continues to bless us three times with the hand cross loudly and emphatically proclaiming “Christ is Risen!” to which the faithful respond enthusiastically that “Indeed He is Risen!” while making the sign of the cross.
Our joy in the resurrection should be jubilant to the highest degree throughout Bright week and in the following 39 days because this is the summit of our Christian faith. As we sing “Shine in splendor” everything in Bright week does shine in splendor in the beauty of the white altar linens, vestments, candles, flowers, and intensified church lighting. Our celebration, as in other particular feast days, also lifts the requirement to abstain or fast on the Friday of this week. And so our joy is extended.
Our hearts rejoice in the hope of eternal life with our Lord. Let us sing and rejoice!
The post-festive period of the Resurrection lasts until Ascension, the next feast day in the awesome continuation of God’s plan.
Source: stmichaelsbyzantine.com
