F R I DAY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
A17
Community D E N T A L Christians of all stripes $85 united at Easter
EXTENDED TILL MAY 31, 2014 ON POPULAR DEMAND
(VALUE $170)
FOR DOG OR CAT TEETH CLEANING & POLISHING WITH ANESTHESIA, PLUS A FULL EXAM If required, extraction, pain medication, antibiotics, or pre-anesthetic blood work is subject to an extra charge Package includes full medical examination, anesthesia, cleaning and polishing performed by a licensed veterinarian
PACIFIC SPIRIT Pat Johnson
PacifcSpiritPJ@gmail.com
In a rare occurrence, Easter this year falls on the same day for Roman Catholics and the Orthodox Christians who adhere to the Russian, Greek and other “eastern” churches. Because Roman Catholic holy days are determined by the Gregorian calendar while the Orthodox cycle is based on the Julian calendar, these sacred days rarely coincide. This decade, in fact, has been almost unparalleled. In addition to this year, Easter coincided in 2010 and 2011, a phenomenon that will not be repeated for another 800 years. Not quite as rare as the calendar coincidence, but still unusual, is the celebration that will take place this weekend in a modest church just off Commercial Drive. St. John of Shanghai is the only English-language
Orthodox church in Vancouver. Ancient traditions will unfold and ancient hymns sung, but all in the tongue most Vancouverites know. Because of the accessible language, St. John is a magnet for converts to Orthodoxy, including its priest, Father Justin Hewlett, who estimates about 90 per cent of his congregation originated in another tradition. Just as the calendars diverge and converge, so do traditions in the two oldest branches of Christianity, which broke apart 960 years ago. It may be symbolic of their respective places in Canadian society that the Orthodox parishioners of St. John of Shanghai will celebrate Pascha, Easter, in a former convent rented from the far grander St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic church across the street. For observant Christians of all stripes, Easter Sunday is the culmination of 40 intense days of spiritual
preparation and, in many cases, intermittent fasting and self-denial. From the commemoration of Jesus’s crucifixion on what the Orthodox call Great and Holy Friday through the highlight of the Christian calendar on Sunday, the dichotomy of grief and joy that defines Easter weekend may be most starkly comprehended in the sudden change from solemn darkness to jubilant illumination that parishioners at St. John of Shanghai Orthodox Church will experience at midnight on Sunday. At 11:30 Saturday night, the congregation will gather in darkness, singing solemn hymns and praying. Some will have spent the day at church, chanting the entire Psalter, all 151 Psalms.They will proceed into the spring night, bearing a shroud representing Jesus that they symbolically entombed the day before. continued on next page
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