{"id":14538,"date":"2024-05-03T15:43:42","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T19:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/?p=14538"},"modified":"2024-05-03T15:43:52","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T19:43:52","slug":"easter-an-orthodox-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/easter-an-orthodox-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter \u2014 An Orthodox Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Read an excerpt from \u201cEaster: An Orthodox Perspective\u201d below, then read the <\/em>full story<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The genius of the Orthodox Church, Balkan, Greek, Middle Eastern and Russian, lies in its ability to reveal glimpses of the divine through the drama of the liturgy, which in Greek means, \u201cwork of the people.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChristianity is a liturgical religion,\u201d wrote Georges Florovsky, a pre-eminent Orthodox theologian. \u201cWorship comes first, doctrine and discipline second.\u201d According to the saints of the church, both Catholic and Orthodox, humanity was created to know, love and serve God \u2014 literally the meaning of worship. Through the \u201cwork of the people,\u201d the church commemorates the life, death and resurrection of her founder, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand the Orthodox conception of Jesus Christ, a grasp of Orthodox Christology is imperative. He is the God-Man in Orthodox theology. \u201cThe Church,\u201d wrote Vladimir Lossky, a notable Orthodox lay theologian, \u201cwill always show in its liturgical hymns and icons the God-Man preserving his majesty even in humiliation.\u201d The icon of the crucifixion best illustrates this Christology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In traditional Catholic iconography, depictions of the crucifixion emphasize Jesus\u2019 agony and death. His body swoons from the pain of the nails piercing his hands and feet; blood pours from his side. Crowned with thorns, drops of blood flow from his brow. Below the corpse, Mary collapses; often she is depicted in the arms of the apostle John.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Byzantine-inspired icons of the crucifixion do not depict agony and death, but primarily reveal hope. \u201cThe Cross is the very image of the Redemption,\u201d said Lossky, \u201cwhich is the economy of the love of the Trinity toward fallen humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 body hangs gracefully from the cross. There is little blood, no gore. Mary and John stand below him calmly pointing toward the suffering Redeemer. The power of death, represented by a cavern beneath the cross, is vanquished by Jesus\u2019 death. Adam\u2019s skull, a symbol of fallen humanity, fills the void.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of Orthodox Christology takes place during Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and culminating with the Easter Vigil on Great (Holy) Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In anticipation of Easter on the Julian calendar Sunday, read a reflection on the tradition in the Orthodox Church, originally published in April 1991.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70071,"featured_media":14539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"class_list":["post-14538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-interest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEaster \u2014 An Orthodox Perspective | CNEWA Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/easter-an-orthodox-perspective\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Easter \u2014 An Orthodox Perspective\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In anticipation of Easter on the Julian calendar Sunday, read a reflection on the tradition in the Orthodox Church, originally published in April 1991.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CNEWA Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cnewacanada\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-03T19:43:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-03T19:43:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/diodoros_palmsunday.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1260\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael J. 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