Happy Easter Everyone

[alex330]

Early this morning my wife woke me up and informed me we were going to church for Orthodox Easter to bless our food.

The priest was savvy enough trick his wayward flock into believing the blessing of the food was at 10 am, and began mass at that time so everyone could reconnect with their faith. Apparently many Ukrainians just like to show up for the food blessings and be on their way. I was lucky enough to sit through several hours of church until he finally blessed the Easter bread, wine, and colorful eggs carried in baskets.

It was a new and interesting experience I was able to share with my wife. It made her happy she was able to share a small part of her culture with me, something many of us in the West miss out on.

[Anotherkiwi]

Early this morning my wife woke me up and informed me we were going to church for Orthodox Easter to bless our food.

The priest was savvy enough rick his wayward flock into believing the blessing of the food was at 10 am, and began mass at that time so everyone could reconnect with their faith. Apparently many Ukrainians just like to show up for the food blessings and be in their way. I was lucky enough to sit through several hours of church until he finally blessed the Easter bread, wine and colorful eggs carried in baskets.

It was a new and interesting experience I was able to share with my wife. It made her happy she was able to share a small part of her culture with me, something many of us in the West miss out on.

Nice story, but are you sure this is a "real" Orthodox church?  Every other post says that there are no seats! 

[alex330]

Nice story, but are you sure this is a "real" Orthodox church?  Every other post says that there are no seats! 

We visited the St Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox church. It was mostly Western Ukrainians. My wife switched to speaking Ukrainian from her native Russian while we attended. Many of the men and women wore vyshyvanka shirts and styled dresses.

They prayed for peace in this troubling time in Ukraine.

The Russians will mostly attend the Russian Orthodox church in Miami. Many will also attend the Greek Orthodox church in Lauderdale if more convenient.

Evidence of benches and what the church looks like on their facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/404024646325973/photos/?tab=album&album_id=862805010447932

The benches even had the kneel downs the Catholics use. My wife thought that a bit unusual. The priest also read from a different book than the priest would have read from back home she mentioned.

I am sure there are slight differences due to the variety of immigrants in a foreign country.

[mendeleyev]

Very nice.

Most churches have a midnight vigil for Easter that begins in late evening on Saturday and ends in the week hours Sunday morning. A shorter version of the liturgy is done again on Sunday morning at some churches, but not all.

This church is a part of the Kiev Patriarchate, a breakaway from the larger Russian Orthodox Church and that is perhaps why some of the liturgical forms were different. The Kiev Patriarchate is not recognized by any of the other Orthodox bodies such as the Greeks, etc. It claims less than 25% of the current population, but it is supported by the current Ukrainian government given the drive for independence from Moscow.

[mendeleyev]

Алекс, Христос Воскресе! Радуйтесь! Воистину Воскресе!

[msmobyone]

Во истину воскрес!,Mendy ..I know I'm not Alex