Christ is Risen! Pascha & Mindful Living

I'm between Holy Week services and wished to convey to all of you who are observant Christians, especially the Orthodox, a blessed Holy Pascha. 

Orthodox Christians will revel in the "harrowing of hell" (which is depicted in the icon below) and the trampling down of death by the death and resurrection of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.  We have been fasting rigorously as we can, according to our respective abilities and conditions for forty days.  We have been in the period we Orthodox call Great and Holy Lent.  For most of us this has meant a vegan diet, intensive prayer, inner struggle and a intensified mindfulness to God in our day to day life, with a special focus on anticipating the Resurrection, known as Great and Holy Pascha.

This evening I will be at St. George Orthodox Cathedral reveling with my Orthodox brothers and sisters around the globe, as we revel in true celebration of the glories of the resurrection. And with all due respect to my Evangelical Christian friends, as a former Evangelical I can say that no worship service, pageant or well crafted musical comes close to touching on the joy, magnificence, beauty and holiness of a Paschal Liturgy that will resound in the halls of my parish and other Orthodox parishes around the world.

In no other Church do you find festive shouting which is emotional and intentional as we cry out, "Christ is risen!"  Then comes the response, "Indeed he is risen!"  Following the energetic, even somewhat athletic (as one of my Evangelical friends commented last year) services ends we then engage in feasting.  As we break the fast we celebrate with meat, cheese and eggs and wine!  And we enjoy the community of faith as we all focus this joy on the fact of the resurrection and that Christ has illumined the world.

The Great and Holy Lent, with it's fasting and intensive prayer services all serve to turn the minds of Christians toward God.  These practices and the structure of the calendar that guides us as a worldwide community keeps us mindful to one another and provides tools for us to train our hearts and minds to be vigilant, prayerful and intentional.  From private devotions, to giving to the poor to prescribed community feasts and constant reckoning of how to live to Christ in the moment, transforming and sanctifying time.

All persons interested in mindfulness in general would indeed find the practices of the Orthodox fasting and prayer to be of great interest, seeing a Christian expression of mindfulness, which is too often thought of as the strict domain of Buddhists and Hindus.  Earnest and devout Christians of other traditions will also find these practices of interest as they reflect not only a global agreement about certain practices such as the observances of Lent, Holy Week and Pascha, linking us to our brothers and sisters around the world, but also linking us to our ancestors in the faith, back to the Holy Apostles themselves.

Without going into detail at this moment, Christians of other traditions would find a wealth of tools for conducting their lives on a daily basis, and from moment to moment.  And I pray that more will find these sources and be edified by them.

The image (a Holy Icon) below, entitled "The Harrowing of Hades" shows Christ resurrected.  In each hand he holds the hand of Adam and Eve, pulling them from their tombs, proving Christ to be the Second Adam (and St. Mary, in Orthodoxy, as the second Eve). Under the feat of Christ you will see death defeated, and the doors of Hades thrown from their hinges.  Christ is victorious over death.

I pray that all is well with all whom visit here.  Next week, which is Bright Week, I will return to posting blogs on learning to regulate your emotions, mindfulness and all things DBT!

Blessed Holy Pascha to all!

 

Paschal Troparion sun by the Orthodox around the world in multiple languages (Borrowed from Wikipedia).

The troparion was originally composed in Koine Greek, but it is usually sung either in the local liturgical language, or in the vernacular where it is not the same. In recent years, the custom has developed of chanting the Paschal troparion in a number of different languages. A typical translation in English runs:

 

Christ is risen from the dead,

Trampling down death by death,

And upon those in the tombs

Bestowing life!

 

This translates the Greek:

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν,

θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας,

καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι,

ζωὴν χαρισάμενος!

Transliteration:

Khristos anesti ek nekron,

Thanato thanaton patisas,

Kai tis en tis mnimasi

Zo-in kharisamenos!

 

During the Paschal Vigil and the Vespers the following afternoon is not uncommon for the troparion to be performed in as many languages as the choir can manage.

Bulgarian

Христос възкръсна от мъртвите, като със смърт смъртта потъпка

и на тия, които са в гробовете, дарува живот.

 

Church Slavonic

Earlier version (currently only used by the Old Believers)

Хрїстосъ воскресе изъ мертвыхъ,

Смертїю на смерть настѹпи,

И грѡбным животъ дарова!

Transliteration:

Khristos voskrese iz mertvykh

Smertiyu na smert nastupi

I grobnym zhivot darova!

Later version from the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, currently in general use

Хрїстосъ воскресе изъ мертвыхъ,

Смертїю смерть поправъ,

И сѹщымъ во гробѣхъ

животъ даровавъ!

This language is not well-supported on many systems, so it may not appear as intended here.

Transliteration:

Khristos voskrese iz mertvykh,

Smertiyu smert poprav,

E sushchim vo grobekh

Zhivot darovav!

 

Arabic

المسيح قام من بين الأموات

 

و وطئ الموت بالموت

 

و وهب الحياة

 

للذين في القبور

 

Transliteration:

Al-Masīh qām min baīni'l-amwāt

Wa wati' al-mawt bi'l-mawt

Wa wahab al-hayāt

Lil-ladhīna fī'l-qubūr!

 

German

Christus ist auferstanden von den Toten

hat den Tod durch den Tod zertreten

und denen in den Graebern das Leben geschenkt!

 

Romanian

Hristos a înviat din morţi,

Cu moartea pre moarte călcând,

Şi celor din morminte

Viaţă dăruindu-le!

 

Latin

Christus resurrexit a mortuis,

Morte mortem calcavit,

Et entibus in sepulchris

Vitam donavit.

 

Polish

Chrystus powstał z martwych,

śmiercią podeptał śmierć

i będącym w grobach

życie dał!

Transliteration:

Khristoos povstaoo z martvykh,

Smercioo podeptaoo smierts,

E bendontsim v grobah

Zhitse daoo!

 

Ukrainian

Христос воскрес із мертвих,

смертю смерть подолав,

і тим, що в гробах,

життя дарував!

Transliteration:

Khrystos voskres iz mertvykh,

Smertiu smert podolav,

I tym shcho v hrobakh

Zhyttia daruvav!

 

Serbian

Христос васкрсе из мртвих,

смрћу смрт уништи.

и онима који су у гробовима.

живот дарова!

Transliteration:

Hrystos vaskrse iz mrtvihh,

Smertyu smrt unishti,

I onoma koyi su u grobovima,

Zhivot darova!

 

Chinese

基督已經從死裡復活，

他的死勝過死亡，

把生命賜給已埋葬在墓中的人。

Transliteration:

jidu yijing cong sili fuhuo,

ta de si shengguo siwang,

ba shengming cigei yi maizang zai muzhong de ren.

 

Japanese

ハリストス死より復活し、

死を以て死を滅ぼし、

墓に在る者に

生命を賜へり。

Transliteration:

Harisutosu shi yori fukkatsu shi,

shi wo motte shi wo horoboshi,

haka ni aru mono ni

inochi wo tamaeri.

 

Spanish

Christo ha resucitado de los muertos,

pisoteando la muerte por la muerte,

y a los que están en los sepulcros

dando la vida.

 

Georgian

ქრისტე
აღსდგა
მკვდრეთით,

სიკვდილითა
სიკვდილისა
დამთრგუნველი

და
საფლავების
შინათა

ცხოვრების
მიმნიჭებელი!