SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church

EASTER

Definition:

In Christianity, the Easter celebration is held to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe happened three days after he was buried, having been crucified by Roman authorities just outside of Jerusalem. Easter takes place at the same time as Jewish Passover and, as such, is not a fixed date on the calendar but instead moves around. Because of its connection to Passover, Easter is also sometimes referred to as Pascha, a word that appears in both Latin and Greek but comes from the Hebrew Pesah, or Passover

Setting the Date

Before 325 CE, Christian communities celebrated Easter on a variety of different days of the week, but the Council of Nicea, called together by Emperor Constantine, issued the “Easter Rule” which standardized Easter observance to the first Sunday after the first full moon (known as th paschal moon) on or after the vernal equinox. This “full moon” is not defined in a scientific manner, however – it is an “ecclesiastical full moon” and the “ecclesiastical vernal equinox” is always on March 21st. This means that Easter always occurs on a Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th, signaling the end of the season of Lent.

Traditions

Although Easter is just one day in the liturgical calendar, in reality preparations for Easter take place throughout the 40 days of Lent and it plays a central role in the following 50 days of Pentecost (also known as the Easter season). Thus, Easter can rightly be regarded as the central day in the entire Christian calendar.

Although Easter is probably the oldest Christian celebration aside from the Sabbath, it wasn’t always the same as what people currently think of when they look at Easter services. The earliest known observances, known as Pasch, occurred between the 2nd and 4th centuries. These celebrations commemorated both Jesus’ death and his resurrection at once, whereas these two events have been split up between Good Friday and Eastern Sunday today.

Easter is treated not simply as a commemoration of events that occurred at one time in the past. Instead, Easter is regarded as a living symbol of the very nature of Christianity. During Easter, Christians believe that they symbolically pass through death and into a new life (spiritually) in Jesus Christ, just as Jesus passed through death and after three days rose from the dead.

SANCTUARY LIGHT:  The Sanctuary Light is requested to burn this week March 17 – 24 by Eleanor Kulick in memory of her husband Frank Kulick.

ST. PAUL STAINED GLASS ICON: Our thanks for the Donations of $3000 for the Stanined Glass Icon: $1000 James Bruce Fromel and $2000 In memory of James & Julia Fromel. Your generous donation is greatly appreciated.

HALUSKI AND SOUP SALE: Because of the lack of orders for the sale of Haluski and Soup this project will be cancelled.

SVIACHENE:     Our Sviachene (Easter Dinner) is being planned for Sunday,

April 29, 2012 – 2:00 PM in our Church Hall. Tickets will be

available soon. The cost is $12 for adults and $5 for children

8 to 12. Children 8 and under is free. Donations of Gift  items

for the Chinese Auction will be greatly appreciated. Save the date and please try to support your Parish Family  function – bring your family and friends.

COUNCIL MEETING: The monthly Parish Council Meeting will be held Tuesday, March 20^th at 6:30 PM in the Church Hall. Please members try to attend.

ADORATION: The sign-up sheet for the hours of Adoration on Good Friday – Holy Saturday is in the vestibule. Please try to give one hour of your time to spend at the grave of Our Lord. It is sad that some have to spend more than the hour because of the lack of participation.

TRANSFIGURATION: Next Friday’s Menu for Transfiguration of Our Lord, UCC in Nanticoke will be Soup and Potato Pancakes. Serving from 4:00 – 6:30 PM. Take-outs available.