Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

This week SPIRITUS had the privilege of spending some time with Byzantine monks by going to Holy Resurrection Monastery in Saint Nazianz. First, we learned about the history of the Eastern Catholic Churches from Abbot Nicholas. During the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine, the Roman Empire was divided into two parts. Rome was the capital of the west and the town of Byzantium, which was later called Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) was the capital of the east. Catholics in the east, like St. John Chrysostom, developed their own liturgies that reflected the culture of the eastern empire. Eastern Catholics still participate in the Divine Liturgy today, or Eucharistic celebration. The Divine Liturgy is part of the many Eastern Rites and there are 24 Rites in the Catholic Church (23 Eastern Rites and 1 Latin Rite which we use as Roman Catholics). The Rite used at the monastery is the Byzantine Rite.

Our time at the monastery fell during the Octave of Easter, so we celebrated Easter during the Divine Liturgy. During the liturgy several times the Abbot cried out “Christ is Risen” and we replied “Indeed he is risen!” We also chanted Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” while stomping on the ground. I loved the repetition of these two phrases becauses it made me reflect on the joy of Christ’s resurrection. Through the liturgy, I developed a more profound appreciation that Christ died for me, that he conquered sin and death, and wants me to be with Him in Heaven. This form of worship helped me enter into the joy of Easter, the joy I will carry on in my last month of ministry in SPIRITUS and beyond.

The Divine Liturgy also emphasizes worshipping God with our entire bodies. We processed around the worship space and the Abbot used incense and bells around various icons of the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus, the resurrection, and another of Jesus. Before each icon I bowed and then kissed the image. During the liturgy we also touched the ground before making the sign of the cross. For communion we bent our knees, tilted our heads back, and received the Eucharist from a spoon. This experience gave me a deep appreciation for the diversity of culture found within the Catholic Church. Even though some elements of the liturgy were different, the Gospel was proclaimed and we participated in the Eucharist. I hope I’ll have another opportunity to go back to the monastery for the Divine Liturgy, but for now I’ll continue to appreciate the beauty of the Latin Rite.