SOURCE: Amarillo Globe News
By Eboni Graham
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| Sean Steffen / Amarillo Globe-NewsDavid Eckley is protopresbyter at St. John's Eastern Orthodox Church, where members began their observance of Holy Week starting Friday. |
“We have services every morning and every evening throughout that week,” said Carl Williams, parishioner and president of the parish council at St. John’s Eastern Orthodox Church. “Our Holy Week is centered around Passover; that’s why it’s different from the Western church.”
The Orthodox Church identifies its roots in the early Church, particularly as it developed within the Greek-speaking eastern side of the Roman Byzantine Empire.
“Because we’re Orthodox, we’re worldwide and we’re one of the original churches,” said David Eckley, protopresbyter (priest) of St. John’s Eastern Orthodox Church. “We are the original church in the sense that it’s from the apostles that we were formed, Pentecostal.”
In accordance with the Old Testament, the Jewish Passover happens first, then follows the observance of Holy Week, Eckley said.
“Holy Week starts with the service of Lazarus on Saturday,” he said. “Then we have Palm Sunday, the Bridegroom service, and in some instances, when you get into Holy Week toward the end, you’re going to get into stations of the cross; what we do is take him down from the cross for Holy Friday.”
In the United States, many Christians follow the Gregorian calendar established in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. However, Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar in 42 B.C.
“It’s rare that Pascha falls on the same day as everyone else,” Eckley said.
The contrast between the two calendars can be vastly different. This year, for example, the majority of Christians celebrated Easter on March 31.
“Easter got to be so removed because we have the vernal (spring) equinox, and the Jewish Passover comes after that,” Eckley said. “The subsequent to that is we wait until the first full moon, and that dates when our Easter will be.”
“It can be 20 or 50 years, we know exactly when Easter will be celebrated,” he said.
Eckley, who lives in Austin and commutes biweekly to St. John’s, said his church is like an “outpost for orthodoxy.”
“We have a number of people from different jurisdictions,” he said. “We have Egyptians, Eritreans, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Yugoslavs and Romanians that are in the congregation.”
St. John’s is the only Orthodox church in Amarillo, consisting of 45 families belonging to the parish, Eckley said.
While English is used during services, the Agape Vespers will be read in 11 languages which Laura Beck, parishioner of St. John’s Eastern Orthodox church, said is a breathtaking part of the Easter service to witness.
“Holy Week through Easter is such an amazing time because everyday you get deeper and deeper into the faith and it’s very moving,” she said.
Orthodox Christians as far away as Guymon, Okla., will travel to Amarillo for Holy Week and Pascha services at St. John’s, Eckley said.
Due to services being in the morning and evening, Beck said, they can be difficult to make sometimes, but it’s a small sacrifice for the holiest time of the year.
“When Father David makes the proclamation that Christ has risen, it’s surreal,” she said. “We hear it every year, but every time I hear it, I truly realize that he’s with us, always.”
