Bright Week, Pascha Week or Renewal Week ( el, Διακαινήσιμος Ἑβδομάς) is the name used by the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Rite Catholic Churches for the period of seven days beginning on

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

and continuing up to (but not including) the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday. The entire week following Easter is to be set aside by Orthodox Christians for the celebration of the Resurrection. According to the 66th

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the Council in Trullo:

"from the holy day of the Resurrection of Christ our God until New Sunday (i.e. Thomas Sunday) for a whole week the faithful in the holy churches should continually be repeating psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, rejoicing and celebrating Christ, and attending to the reading of the Divine Scriptures and delighting in the Holy Mysteries. For in this way shall we be exalted with Christ; raised up together with Him. For this reason on the aforesaid days that by no means there be any horse races or any other public spectacle".

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

taverns were closed during Bright Week, and no alcoholic beverages were sold.

Liturgical aspects

The entire week is considered to be one continuous day. The name of each day of the week is called "Bright" (''e.g.'', "Bright Monday") and the week's services are unique, varying greatly from those during the remainder of the year. The services are entirely sung, and the Paschal hymns are included with the stichera taken from the Sunday Resurrection propers in the

Octoechos Oktōēchos (here transcribed "Octoechos"; Greek: ;The feminine form exists as well, but means the book octoechos. from ὀκτώ "eight" and ἦχος "sound, mode" called echos; Slavonic: Осмогласие, ''Osmoglasie'' from о́с� ...

, rotating through the various tones. Tone 1 is used Holy Saturday and at Paschal matins on Sunday, tone 2 Sunday night and Monday, etc., skipping the least festive heavy (or grave) tone and ending with the plagial 4th (aka, Tone 8) on Friday night and Saturday. During all of Bright Week the Holy Doors on the

Iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed a ...

are kept open—the only time of the year when this occurs. The open doors represent the stone rolled away from the

Tomb of Christ The tomb of Jesus refers to any place where it is believed that Jesus was entombed or interred. Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It contains, a ...

, and the '' Epitaphios'' (Slavonic: ''Plashchanitza''), representing the burial clothes, is visible through them on the

Holy Table An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...

(altar). The doors are closed before the Ninth Hour on the eve of Thomas Sunday. However, the Afterfeast of Pascha will continue until the eve of the Ascension. During Bright Week the Paschal Verses (from Psalm 67) are sung responsorially with the

Paschal troparion The Paschal troparion or ''Christos anesti'' (Greek: Χριστός ἀνέστη) is the characteristic troparion for the celebration of Pascha (Easter) in the Byzantine Rite. Like most troparia, it is a brief stanza often used as a refrain bet ...

at the beginning of the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ...

, in place of Psalm 103 at the beginning of

vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , mea ...

and in place of the Six Psalms at the beginning of

matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated ...

. Everything in the services is sung joyfully rather than read. Thus, for example, while censing the church before the Divine Liturgy, the deacon recites a Paschal hymm in place of Psalm 50. Normally, the entire

Psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters w ...

is read during the course of a week (and twice a week during

Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast, ( Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, meaning "Great 40 Days," and "Great Fast," respectively) is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denomin ...

), but during Bright Week no

psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

at all are read. Each of the

Little Hours In Christianity, the Little Hours or minor hours are the canonical hours other than the three major hours. In the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Indian Orthodox Church, two denominations in Oriental Orthodox Christianity, these fixed prayer time ...

is replaced by a special service known as the

Paschal Hours The Paschal Hours are the form in which the Little Hours are chanted on Pascha (Easter) and throughout Bright Week in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches. Specifically, the Paschal Hours replace: *Compline *The Midnight Office ...

. In Bright Week ordinary fasting is suspended, and the entire week is fast-free, with special Paschal foods eaten every day as well as red Easter eggs blessed during the

Paschal Vigil Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are ba ...

. At the end of the

on Bright Monday through Bright Saturday there is an outdoor procession three times around the church, at which the

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

of the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

and the Artos are carried. On the last circuit, there is a reading from the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and the priest sprinkles the faithful with

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

. The Artos is a loaf of leavened bread impressed before baking with a seal of an icon of the Resurrection that is blessed during the

. This seal symbolizes the physical presence of the Resurrected Christ among the

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

. This Artos is kept in the church during Bright Week, and may be placed either in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

next to the Icon of the Resurrection, in front of the Icon of Christ on the

, or in front of the Holy Doors. Throughout the week, whenever anyone enters the church, he or she kisses the Artos, symbolically greeting the resurrected Christ. On

Bright Friday Easter Friday, or Bright Friday, is the Friday after the Christian festival of Easter. At times, this name has been confused with Good Friday,For example, the songEaster Friday" by Simone Richardson, 2006. Published by Emu Music. which falls ...

, a service in honor of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or '' Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations a ...

(Mother of God) as the "

Life-giving Spring The Mother of God of the Life-giving Spring or Life-giving Font (Greek: ''Ζωοδόχος Πηγή,'' ''Zoodochos Pigi'', Russian: ''Живоносный Источник'') is an epithet of the Holy Theotokos that originated with her revelation ...

" is included in the Paschal service. This service is not found in the Typicon, but was composed in the fourteenth century by Nikita Kallistos Xanthopoulos, in commemoration of the renewal, ''i.e.'', the consecration of the temple known as the Life-giving Spring.
"Archbishop Averky Liturgics – The Pascha of the Lord, or the Resurrection of Christ; Lenten Matins", Retrieved 2012-04-12 On Bright Saturday, after the Divine Liturgy, the priest says a prayer over the Artos and it is broken up and distributed to the faithful. Bright Week begins the liturgical season known as the

Pentecostarion The Pentecostarion ( el, Πεντηκοστάριον, ; cu, Цвѣтнаѧ Трїωдь, , literally "Flowery Triodon"; ro, Penticostar) is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches during the Paschal ...

, the period of fifty days which begins on Pascha and continues to

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...

and its Afterfeast. The date of Pascha determines liturgical cycles as well as the Epistle and Gospel readings for the subsequent year.

Paschal funeral and paraklesis

Funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...

services held during Bright Week have a special rite, consisting entirely of joyous Paschal hymns with only the litanies remaining funereal. Parakleses ( Molebens) during Pascha are likewise served according to a special rite, with the canon of Pascha.

References

External links

Holy Pascha: The Resurrection of Our Lord
Orthodox

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

and

synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and '' synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛ ...

Photos of Paschal Matins and LiturgyPhotos of Bright Friday Outdoor Procession and Blessing of WaterBright MondayBright TuesdayBright WednesdayBright ThursdayBright FridayBright SaturdayPaschal Week
from ''Handbook for Church Servers'' (Kharkov, 1900) by S. V. Bulgakov {{Easter Eastern Orthodox liturgical days Eastertide Liturgy of the Hours Byzantine Rite