The Blessing of Easter Baskets

On Sunday, May 5th 2013, the Greek-Catholic church of Our Lady of Damascus was literally packed with Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian and other Slav faithful accompanied by their children. Since early in the morning, they flocked the church, carrying colourful Easter baskets which they placed in front of the iconostasis….

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Easter Hymn: Christós Anésti

From Easter Sunday till the holy feast of Pentecost, churches of the Eastern rite resound with this hymn: Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι, ζωὴν χαρισάμενος! Transliteration: Christós anésti ek nekrón, thanáto thánaton patísas, ké tís en tís mnímasi, zoín charisámenos! English translation: Christ is…

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