Orthodox Easter in Romania

„Christ is Risen! – Indeed He is Risen!” - this is how Romanian Orthodox Christians, now celebrating Easter, will salute each other until Ascension.

Despite unfavorable weather, all orthodox churches in Romania have been magnificently lightened, on Saturday night at midnight, by thousands of candles from believers who came to celebrate the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. All christians present at midnight mass carefully took the lighted candles back home, in order to have the holy light in their homes, souls and lives, for spiritual protection.

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel stressed that the Resurrection of Christ is a feast of forgiveness, recalling that before Christ breathed his last on the Cross He prayed for His enemies, for those who sentenced Him to death and for those who crucified Him.

‘This humble, crucified love became victorious through the Resurrection. The love of the crucified and risen Christ is stronger than human sin, is stronger than the work of the devil, stronger than the power of hell, and stronger than death.’ ‘The love of the crucified and risen Christ is stronger than hatred and envy, because he was crucified out of envy and hatred,’ the Romanian Patriarch said at the Easter midnight office.

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel went on to explain why ‘we live in an increasingly hostile world, in a world where individualism and selfishness grow and love diminishes in the family, among people and among nations.’

He said that we face this world context ‘because we are moving away from Christ, the source of the humble and merciful love’.

The Patriarch came with a solution to this problem saying that ‘through repentance, prayer, good deeds and especially by partaking with the Holy Mysteries of Christ we receive love from His love, a forgiving love, a love that values our neighbor, a love that sees every man as a paschal candle.’

In Romania, many Easter traditions have been preserved. After the 40 days Lent and special religious ceremonies that culminate with the midnight service on the night before Easter, Romanians prepare traditional food, out of which the most important are the painted eggs.

Source:RRA,Basilica.ro