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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center

Holy and Glorious Pascha Celebration First Day to Seventh Day - Bright Week or New Week

Bright Week is a special time of celebration for Holy and Glorious Pascha. During Bright Week Week, the Church continues its great celebration of the Resurrection of Holy God the Son within the Holy Trinity / Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We joyously celebrate His Life-giving Resurrection.

Name

This week is called Bright Week or New Week for two reasons.

• The whole creation is renewed by Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ
• The catechumens who were baptized on Easter Sunday wore their new while robes all week.

Sayedna John Elya's Explanation

An explanation by His Excellency Bishop / Sayedna / Sayidna John Elya, BSO Eparch Emeritus of Newton (Our Lady of the Annunciation (Al Bisharah) in Roslindale, MA), Roslindale, Massachusetts, United States

The New Week, or Bright Week if you prefer, is the week that follows Pascha (Easter), commemorating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The whole week is an extension of the Day of Resurrection. The order of service in the daily Divine Office and Divine Liturgy is the same as on the day of Pascha, except for some propers of each day. "It is called the NEW WEEK for two reasons: because the whole creation is renewed by Christ, and because the catechumens baptized on Easer Sunday wore their new white robes all the week." (Byzantine Daily Worship, by Archbishop Joseph Raya and Baron Jose De Vinck)

In the tradition of our Melkite Church, as mentioned in the Byzantine Daily Worship, "from this time until the feast of Ascension, there is no fast or abstinence, even on Fridays, in accordance with the Lord's own words: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they will fast". (Matth., 9:15 and Luke, 5:34)

The New Week or Bright Week is followed by the New Sunday or the Sunday of Thomas. You may call it also the Bright Sunday.

Tone

During this week, six different tones are used. Each day has a different tone, begining with Monday and tone 1.

Trisagion Hymn is the Baptismal Hymn

English

All of you who have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia!
As many as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia!

Antom ol-ladheen bli-Maseeh i'tamadtom al-Maseeh qad labistom, Allilouia

Ossi ees Christon evaptisthiteh, Christon enedheesasthen, Allilouia

Liturgical Cycle

From Holy and Glorious Pascha to Pentecost , Sunday is the first day of the Liturical week. In the remainder of the year, Sunday is the last day of the Liturgical week.

Each Sunday and its weekdays have a different tone. The tones are in numberical success beginning with tone 1 on the Second Sunday of Holy and Glorious Pascha - Thomas Sunday or New Sunday or Bright Sunday.

Pascha Cycle

Bright Week or New Week is the week between Holy and Glorious Pascha and the Second Sunday of Holy and Glorious Pascha or First Sunday after Holy and Glorious Pascha or Sunday of Thomas or Bright Saturday or New Sunday.
Bright Week or New Week begins with the beginning of the Vespers of Bright Monday celebrated on Holy and Glorious Pascha about noon. Bright Monday is the day after Holy and Glorious Pascha.

How to determine when Pascha occurs

Date of Pascha

Pascal Greeting, Pascal Troparion, Feasting, the Doors and Curtains of the Ikonostasis are Open, Paschal Candle from the Feast of Feasts Holy and Glorious Pascha until the beginning of the Vespers of the Great Feast of the Ascension into Heaven of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ.

For the Forty Days from the Feast of Feasts Holy and Glorious Pascha (Feasts of Feasts) to the Great Feast of the Ascension, we celebrate the Holy and Glorious Resurrection of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ from the dead. By His death He has trampled upon death and given life to the world. By breaking down the gates of Hades, He has opened Heaven to all.

We greet each other by saying "Christ is risen! He is truly risen!" or "Al Masiah Qaam! Haqqan Qaam! / Al Massihu Qam! Haqqan Qam!" or "Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!".

Also, we say "Glory to His Resurrection on the Third Day! We glorify His Resurrection on the Third Day!".

Finally, we sing the Troparion of Pascha repeatedly in the Divine Liturgy ("Christ is risen from the dead and by His death He has trampled upon death, and has given life to those who are in the tombs!"),

We feast for Forty Days! We do not fast, not even on Fridays. Fasting is forbidden.

The doors and curtains of the ikonostasis remain open. This action is to symbolize how Christ's Resurrection has opened Heaven.

The Paschal Candle, the first one lit by the New Light of Pascha, burns brightly on the Holy Table.

Standing from the Feast of Feasts Holy and Glorious Pascha until the Great Feast of Pentecost

We stand! We do not kneel. Kneeling is forbidden until the beginning of the Vespers of the Great Feast of Pentecost.

These prayers ask the Lord Jesus Christ to send the Holy Spirit also upon us, to empower us to do His will in all aspects of our lives. They are called the "Kneeling Prayers" because they mark the first time we kneel after the 50-day celebration of the Resurrection.

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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is dedicated to my cousins: Bucky (Richard C. Liles), Shirley (Shirley Jean Liles Buck), and Donna (Donna Bertha Liles Campbell). Bucky fell asleep in the Lord on Dec. 12, 2000, Shirley fell asleep in the Lord on Nov. 8, 2001, and Donna fell asleep in the Lord on March 9, 2020.
O God of all spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death, overcome the devil, and given life to the world: grant, O Lord, to the souls of your servants Bucky and Shirley, who has departed from this life, that it may rest in a place of light, in a place of happiness, in a place of peace, where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing. And since You are a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind, forgive him/her every sin he/she has committed by thought, or word, or deed, for there is not a man who lives and does not sin : You alone are without sin, your righteousness is everlasting, and your word is true. You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the repose of your departed servants Bucky and Shirley. O Christ our God, and we send up glory to You, together with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ages upon ages. Amen.

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Last Updated: Wednesday, June 03, 2020, 19:25:15, CDT
The current date and time is: Tuesday, December 03, 2024, 11:43:33, CST or Tuesday, December 03, 2024, 17:43:33, GMT