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Posted on November 1, 2009 in 2009 Pilgrimage to the Holy Land - 2 COMMENTS
Liturgy in the Holy Sepulcher & a Few Concluding Thoughts
by Rev Fr Chris Flesoras
We departed for the Holy Sepulcher at 10:30pm so that we could arrive in ample time for both the Orthros Service and the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. The bus made it to our normal stop outside of the Jaffa Gate of the Old City and we began our walk to the Church. What a difference a number of hours makes in the Holy City; it’s beautiful, tranquil and quiet late at night. The little walking streets of the market that are normally filled with shopkeepers who are waiting to make a deal as well as thousands of pilgrims and tourists were calm. The few of us to be found on the streets were headed to the Holy Sepulcher.
We arrived. The Church was calm, only the sound of chanting and the footsteps of pilgrims quietly echoing through her chapels and corridors. The faithful were beginning to gather in number outside of the Tomb of Christ while a few of the Brothers of the Holy Sepulcher attempted to keep order.
I had received a blessing to serve this morning, although I’ll admit that I had no idea where to go and I was a bit intimidated to think that I would be serving next to our Lord’s Life-Giving Tomb. A Deacon of the Brotherhood directed me to the Holy Altar of the main Church. When I arrived there were just a handful of us. That quickly changed. By the time we received a blessing to vest, there were two bishops, about 32 priests and three deacons (the only one I really spoke with prior to services was an Archimandrite from Sweden who serves the Parish of St. Demetrios.
At the appropriate time, we processed from the Altar of the main Church to the Holy Tomb. The Bishops were facing the Tomb, approximately where Deacon Joseph would stand at the edge of the carpet on the solea, which the priests were lined up on either side of the front of the tomb like acolytes. The laity was everywhere around us, and the Liturgy commenced.
The first deacon intoned the petitions in Greek, the second and the third deacons intoned their petitions in Slavonic; the bishops and the senior priests in their respective Greek or Slavonic tongues offered exclaimed the glorifications, and the chanters sung in Greek. The majority of us priests were basically prayerful spectators in the service, but we were front and center of the Tomb; it was a humbling honor.
After the clergy received Holy Communion from the bishops in the Tomb, the vast majority of us processed back to the main church to remove our vestments. Looking out into the Church though, once the vestments were off, I threw on my exoraso and went outside to assist one of the brothers with offering the Eucharist. It was as if many of the people were worried that the priests were going to run out as their was pushing and crowding around each of the priests who offered the Eucharist. So, to the best of my ability I held the cloth and attempted create a semblance of order around the chalice, which was far more challenging than I initially thought.
I summarize the experience of serving in the Holy Sepulcher with two words – organized chaos. It was unlike anything that I have ever experienced; both members of the clergy and the laity made their own unique contributions. In spite of all of us, the Kingdom of Heaven was opened, Christ was received, and we departed in peace, overwhelmed but essentially peaceful.
Although it would be easy to find faults with some of the personalities that we encountered, I have a newfound respect for the Brothers of the Holy Sepulcher. On a daily basis, they receive clergy and laity from around the world who wish to assist with or attend services. Regardless of liturgical practices and understandings, language barriers, or personalities, the Brothers received us into their community and incorporated us into the Body of Christ.
Without a question, attending and praying services at the Sepulcher was a great blessing. As memorable as this experience was, I look forward to returning back to the Altar and to the Parish to which I am assigned. Although we lack physical proximity to the Holy Tomb, by the Grace of God, the Liturgy is celebrated in its fullness and the Kingdom is opened to each and every one of us.
As I conclude this blog and prepare to depart the Holy Land for Cyprus, the experience has been awesome (as Fr. Demetri noted earlier this evening in another discussion the proper term would be awful, which is to be filled with awe, but it just doesn’t sound right). We walked with the Prophets. We’ve drunk water from the Well of Jacob. We’ve ascended the Mountain of Moses. We’ve waded in the Jordan. We’ve processed with Lord from His birth, through His ministry, Passion and Resurrection. We’ve gathered with the Apostles in the Upper Room. We’ve encountered fathers and mothers in the dessert who sought inner silence in caves and monasteries. And, we’ve experienced a vibrant Church and received the blessing of their presiding hierarch, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Simply, we’ve affirmed the beauty of our Orthodox Faith - it’s complete, it’s correct, it’s historical, yet alive, and salvation is accessible to each and every one of us, by the Grace of God. Glory be to the Consubstantial and Life-giving Trinity!
Nick Righos 11/01
Wonderful… and wishing you a safe trip home.
Marci Pelka 11/10
A short but heartful note of thanks to Fr. Dogias, Pres. Eliie and of course Fr. Christopher for putting together this once in a lifetime journey. There are no words, although Fr. Christopher has a pretty good blog, that can adquately describe what we saw, felt and lived through this pilgrimage.