The Many Various Religious and Secular Winter Festivals of Light

Technology has enabled modern humans to send information around the globe at mind-boggling speeds, and that information has the power to divide and separate mankind. Yet every culture and religion has a tradition surrounding the arrival of winter and the impending darkness — traditions that have endured despite the world's technological changes.

To ancient humans, winter was cold, dark and dangerous, and they faced the threats of hunger, exposure and roaming wild animals. The sun meant light, warmth, plant growth and survival.

During the winter, humans looked to the return of the sun each year as a celebratory event, a symbol of hope that life would return to the landscape and families would thrive again. This "birth of the sun" is celebrated as winter solstice.

The night of winter solstice is the longest of the year. After this date, the sun spends a few more minutes each day above the horizon. This year, winter solstice is Dec. 22.

Another name for the winter solstice is Yule, a pre-Christian European holiday that held many practices that remain in Christian celebrations today. The Yule season was a time for feasting, drinking, gift-giving and gatherings to fend off fears of the dark.

Other feasts of light include:

Diwali

Known as the "festival of lights," Diwali is one of the most important annual observances in India. The festival commemorates Lord Rama's return to his kingdom after completing a 14-year exile. During this celebration, people clean and decorate their homes, light thousands of lamps and give out sweets.

The name Diwali translates into "row of lamps" and involves the lighting of diyas, or small clay lamps, filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night as houses are cleaned and firecrackers are burst outside in order to drive away evil spirits.

Diwali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Surname, Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji. It is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.

Celebrations begin on the new moon night between mid-October and mid-November and continue for five days according to the luni-solar Hindu calendar. This year Diwali began on Oct. 26.

Loy Krathong

Loy Krathong is a Thai holiday celebrated on the full moon in the 12th lunar month (November) each year. "Loy" means "to float" and a "krathong" is a lotus-shaped vessel made of banana leaves and usually contains a candle, three joss-sticks and some flowers and coins. The festival starts at night when people carry their krathongs to the nearby rivers. After lighting candles and making wishes, they place the krathongs on the water and let them drift away, carrying away bad luck. It is the time to be joyful and happy as the sufferings are floated away. This year, Loy Krathong was celebrated on Nov. 11.

St. Martin's Day

Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas is a Christian feast held on Nov. 11, and it is celebrated throughout Europe as well as Latin America. The feast coincides with harvest time, the time when newly produced wine is ready for drinking, and the end of winter preparations, including the butchering of animals.

Because of this, St. Martin's Feast is much like the American Thanksgiving — a celebration of the earth's bounty, with great feasting. In many countries, Martinmas celebrations begin at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Bonfires are built, and children carry lanterns in the streets after dark, singing songs for which they are rewarded with candy.

Martin was a Roman soldier before he was baptized and became a monk. The story goes that one winter night he was returning home during a snowstorm wearing a cloak.

A beggar came to him, and Martin cut his cloak in half to share with the man to save him from dying of cold.

St. Lucia Day

Dec. 13 is known in Scandinavian countries as St. Lucia Day, and it originally coincided with the winter solstice.

While this does not hold consistent with our current Gregorian calendar, a discrepancy of eight days is from the use of the Julian calendar during the 14th century, resulting in the solstice falling on Dec. 13. The adoption of the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century shifted these dates to the current Dec. 20.

Lucia is venerated in a ceremony where a girl is elected to portray the saint (originally, the eldest daughter in a family, eventually a girl to represent the village). Wearing a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head, she walks at the head of a procession of women, each of whom holds a candle.

The women sing a song describing the light with which Lucia overcomes the darkness. A similar version occurs in churches in the United States.

On the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, Dec. 13 is celebrated as National Day. The National Festival of Lights and Renewal is held the night before the holiday in honor of St. Lucy of Sicily, the saint of light.

In this celebration, decorative lights are lit in the capital of Castries, artists create decorated lanterns for competition, and the festivities end with a fireworks display.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights celebrated for eight nights and days around the globe.

In 165 B.C., the Jewish Maccabees won a great battle over the Syrians. When the victors went to their temple, they found that the Syrians had allowed their sacred light to go out. There was only enough oil to burn their lamp for one day.

The miracle of Hanukkah is that the oil lasted eight days. Hence the menorah, a special candelabrum used for the Hanukkah ritual that holds nine candles. One candle, a "shamash," is used to light the others, while the other eight represent the eight days the oil burned. One additional candle is lit each night until all eight are lighted on the eighth night.

Hanukkah is celebrated with a series of rituals performed every day throughout the eight-day holiday, some family-based and others communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals.

Special foods fried in olive oil, including latkes (potato pancakes), are served, songs are sung, and games are played in celebration.

Since Hanukkah is based on the Hebrew calendar, it can occur any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the Gregorian calendar begins the day at midnight. This year, Hanukkah begins at sunset on Dec. 20.

Christmas

Christmas, the best-known winter holiday in the United States, is the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Prior to Christmas, there are four weeks of Advent, during which a candle is lit each Sunday. Around the world, families decorate the tree and home with bright lights, candles and stars. On Christmas Eve, many people attend candlelight services.

Christians around the world have their own ways of celebrating Christmas.

In Egypt, many Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. Before Christmas, Christian homes are decorated with lights, Christmas trees and small mangers. Advent is a 45-day fast, and the observant do not eat meat, poultry or dairy products. Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 6 and 7, when the churches are decorated with special lamps and candles. Copts also give candles to the poor.

The Philippines is the only country in Asia that is predominately Christian. The Philippine festival of light is marked by the sight of "parols," or star lanterns. Nine days before Christmas, a special Mass is celebrated in which the story of the birth of Jesus in reenacted.

Parols of all sizes can be found decorating the homes, and fireworks are heard over the next nine days. On Christmas Eve, a procession is held reenacting Mary and Joseph's search of shelter. Members of the procession carry parols to light their way.

Christians in China celebrate Christmas by lighting their houses with paper lanterns. They also have "Trees of Light," with paper chains, flowers and lanterns.

During the nine days prior to Christmas, Mexican families gather together and march with candles looking from house to house for a room at the inn, replicating Joseph and Mary's search for shelter.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is an African-American celebration starting on Dec. 26 and lasting seven days. Light is used in this celebration as a symbol of seven principles, each of which is symbolized by a black, red or green candle, held by a "kinara." Families gather together and with friends to exchange gifts. Each night a candle is lit and families talk about one of the seven principles until all the candles are lit.

These seven candles represent "mshumaa," meaning the seven principles. These principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

Chinese New Year

The main winter festival in China is the Chinese New Year, which takes place between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20, based on the Chinese lunar calendar. This is when children receive new clothing, eat fancy meals, receive new toys, and enjoy fireworks.

Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Visits to friends and family take place during this celebration. The color gold is said to bring wealth, and the color red is considered especially lucky. The New Year's Eve dinner is very large and includes fish, noodles and dumplings.
While our outside rituals and festivals might differ, the winter holds hope for peace and renewal in cultures around the world. As Edith Wharton wrote, "There are two ways to spread the light: One is to be the candle, the other is to be the mirror."

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History of the Candy Cane and Christmas

One of the most often seen symbols of Christmas is the candy cane. Not only are candy canes used as a sweet Christmastime treat but they are also used for decoration. How did this seasonal candy get its familiar shape, and when did it become part of Christmas tradition?

When the practice of using Christmas trees to celebrate Christmas became popular in Europe the people there began making decorations for their trees. Many of the decorations were food items including cookies and candy. The predecesor of our modern candy cane appeared at about this time in the seventeenth century. These were straight, white sticks of sugar candy.

Part of the Christmas celebration at the Cologne Cathedral were pagents of living creches. In about 1670 the choirmaster there had sticks of candy bent into the shape of a shepherd’s crook and passed them out to children who attended the ceremonies. This became a popular tradition, and eventually the practice of passing out the sugar canes at living creche ceremonies spread throughout Europe.

The use of candy canes on Christmas trees made its way to America by the 1800’s, however during this time they were still pure white. They are represented this way on Christmas cards made before 1900, and it is not until the early 20th century that they appear with their familiar red stripes.

Many people have given religious meaning to the shape and form of the candy cane. It is said that its shape is like the letter “J” in Jesus’ name. It is also in the shape of the shepherds’ crook, symbolic of how Jesus, like the “Good Shepherd” watches over his children like little lambs. It is a hard candy, solid like a “rock”, the foundation of the Church. The flavor of peppermint is similar to another member of the mint family, hyssop. In the Old Testament hyssop was used for purification and sacrifice, and this is said to symbolize the purity of Jesus and the sacrifice he made.

Some say the white of the candy cane represents the purity of Jesus and his virgin birth. The bold red stripe represents God’s love. The three fine stripes are said by some to represent the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Others say they represent the blood spilled at the beating Jesus received at the hands of the Roman soldiers.

From its plain early beginnings to its familiar shape and color of today, the candy cane is a symbol of Christmas and a reminder of the meaning of the holiday.

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Icons: A Lesson in Humility

The painting of Orthodox icons is an exercise in humility, says artist Lino Wong Wing-kuen, and one rooted in an artist’s spirituality. One does not earn fame for such work, nor even public recognition. The rewards are private, but no less compelling.

Wong, 43, is one of the few Chinese iconographers in the field.

“One cannot sign any signature on Orthodox icons. Unless you are a master recognized by the Church, you can only imitate predecessors, which runs contrary to an artist’s mandate to be creative.”

Calling himself an “instrument of God,” Wong says he does not feel proud to be an iconographer but thinks it is “more meaningful to be humble” after he learned about the Orthodox icon’s high status in Christianity as an object before which people worship and pray.

The Hong Kong-born artist began painting as a child, inspired to pursue the art after receiving his first sketch book as a gift from his sister on his 10th birthday.

As a student of architecture at university, he had his first contact with Italian art. Later he decided to pursue his studies in Italy to better understand Western civilization.

Wong studied at an art academy in Florence, where he was invited to paint icons by the nuns in a Church where he was housed. This invitation began his quest for faith and he was baptized in 1994.

His teachers in iconography included a Greek monk.

“I learned traditional techniques from him. After about 20 days, he told me, ‘You are not an Orthodox Christian. You can never draw a good Orthodox icon.’”

Wong said the monk’s words surprised him at the time but that he has since learned their true meaning.

“The icon is their traditional art. There is an in-born feeling to it. If you do not belong to that religion, you can hardly understand why the icons are so important to them.”

Wong says Chinese artists actually have an advantage in iconography because they pay more attention to details.

He says, nonetheless, that he has yet to be satisfied because even painting on the same theme repeatedly, he finds something different each time.

“It may be something that I could not do before but this time I could do it. I feel miraculous. It seems that God is painting together with me.”

Now an immigrant to Italy, Wong feels that he has a mission to help the Chinese better understand iconography.

He concluded an exhibition in Hong Kong late last month, where he displayed 26 icons that he painted since 2004.

“There is no specific spirituality for icons. The audience only needs to be attentive to what they see. Nothing then will obstruct them from getting close to faith.”

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North Texas draws religions from around the world

The Sikh temple on Euless Boulevard comes to life every Sunday morning. Men wearing turbans and women in colorful dress remove their shoes and wash their hands before entering the temple, which is in a former bank building. Once inside, they sit cross-legged on opposite sides of the main hall, singing hymns and praying in Panjabi, the native language of many of the members, who come from northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. After the service, plates are handed out for a communal vegetarian lunch. The temple is also open for daily prayer services, with members driving from Arlington, Fort Worth and Dallas to participate.

Rajvir Singh of Arlington said it's important for his people to have a Sikh temple nearby. About 300 people regularly attend Sunday services at the temple, called Gurdwara Sikh Sangat.

"There is a plus if you have your community with you. You share the same culture. You share the same beliefs," said Singh, a biological chemistry student at the University of Texas at
Arlington. "It's just the same as why anybody would want to get together with their culture."

The Sikhs represent a growing change in the makeup of religious groups in the suburbs, especially Northeast Tarrant County, where Baptists, Methodists and Catholics are now joined by Buddhists, Hindus, Romanian Orthodox and Baha'i.

As people move into North Texas -- seeking jobs and a better education for their children -- it's only natural for them to open houses of worship and cultural centers to meet their spiritual needs. Changes to the religious landscape are particularly noticeable in Euless and Colleyville.

"What's driving this is you're getting folks who aren't from Texas who are capitalizing on the opportunity, and of course, we bring our faith with us," said Jason E. Shelton, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at UT Arlington. "This isn't anything different than what we saw in the 1880s. This is the same story."

Euless has a Coptic Christian church on Euless Main Street, and nearby is a Greek Orthodox congregation that is building a new church featuring Byzantine architecture.

Plans are also under way to build a Buddhist and Hindu cultural and spiritual center on a 4-acre tract along Euless Boulevard to serve the Nepali community. About 9,000 of the 54,700 residents of Euless were born outside the United States, and another 1,672 were born in a U.S. territory or born abroad to American parents. Of those, 36 percent were from Latin America, 32 percent from Asia and 18 percent from Africa. according to the 2009 American Community Survey.

Students in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford (HEB) schools speak 72 languages at home, including Arabic,
Vietnamese and Urdu, the district's annual survey showed.

Neighboring Colleyville is a bit of an anomaly. There's a Romanian Orthodox Church, a mosque, a Catholic church, a synagogue, a Baha'i community, several protestant churches and more, all within the borders of this largely white, affluent city.

St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church launched 30 years ago in a small building that another Christian congregation used for services. It is unclear why the community settled there, but parish priest, The Reverend Gabriel Popa, speculates that the property was affordable for the group, mostly first-generation immigrants.

"Thirty years ago, it was a farm zone," he said.

In 2004, members bought a different piece of property and built a new church on Glade Road. The congregation has grown from 20 or 30 members to more than 300, although only a few live in Colleyville, with others driving as much as 50 miles to the church.

Colleyville is also the home of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States, which hosts the offices of a bishop and serves 28 Coptic communities in 11 states. The Coptic Christian Church was established in Egypt, and many adherents are Egyptian immigrants, officials said. Locally, the Coptic Church launched in 1985 in Colleyville at St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church. A handful of families had been renting spaces elsewhere and came together to buy 4 acres in Colleyville on John McCain Road. St. Mary Coptic opened a new 400-seat building at the same address in December.

"They wanted a place of their own," said The Reverend Samuel Bakhoum, the priest at St. Mary Coptic. "It's important to have a gathering space to socialize, for people to celebrate."

In 2004, another group from St. Mary found a church building for sale in Euless and branched off, creating St. Abanoub Coptic Orthodox Church. The St. Abanoub congregation has surpassed that of St. Mary Coptic, with about 300 families, many of whom moved to Texas to be near relatives who had already immigrated.

Several of the Colleyville faiths came together for an interfaith National Day of Prayer event marking the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The North East Tarrant Interreligious Association hosted similar National Day of Prayer events in 2009 and 2010.

"Everybody prayed from their own perspective," said Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville. "The goal was for everyone to be able to say 'amen' to everything."

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Drought and Redemption – The Lessons of Global Warming

“And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” (Isaiah 58:11)

October 2010 to October 2011 was the driest of any 12-month period on record for Texas. Scorching heat, wildfires, crops destroyed, cattle herds relocated seem to be the new norm for the Lone Star state. But we are not the only ones suffering this, Asia, Africa are also experiencing similar weather patterns, bringing millions to the brink of starvation.

Who is to blame? Some say the global warming, others argue that is a natural variation of the climate, others see in it the wrath of God against a sinful generation. Nobody really knows who’s fault it is, but we all suffer greatly from it.

I am sure, based on the testimony of the Fathers, that this is not what God intended for mankind: a world with unpredictable natural calamities that affect the livelihood of billions of people every day; a world where man cannot control his environment and has to work harder and harder everyday for an elusive piece of bread. God is love and He wants better for us.

God’s true plan for mankind was revealed from the very beginning when He put Adam and Eve in the abundant Paradise and not in a forsaken desert (Gen 2:15). All was given to Man free and with the intention of eternity. Man was crowned the King of the world and all was given in his administration to be used as support towards His union with God.

The change of the entire universe that we are witnessing today is not God’s doing, Man alone is responsible. With the fall of Man came also the fall of the entire cosmos: “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground”. (Gen 3:17-19) Man is the one that missed the target of his existence through sin, isolating himself from God, in a meaningless hope that things would get better this way.

What Man failed to understand was that he was never created to be alone, to live independently. This may be difficult to hear in an age where self determination and self worth is embedded in every grain of our beings, but this is the truth. “Personhood means otherness, difference, but not in isolation, because the full meaning of personhood is found in the communion of persons” writes the theologian John Zizioulas. Man was created in the image of God and the image of God is a Trinity of Persons, living in perfect harmony and love. God made Man so he also can participate in this, to share God’s love through Communion, not independence. This terrible illusion, this false dream of grandeur, has had devastating effects on the entire Creation.

As a consequence of this disaster we live in a fallen world, a world that has turned against Man, its formally crowned king. Droughts, hurricanes, tsunamis are part of this changed earth and we cannot blame any of this on God. He gave us free will because He wanted us to voluntarily accept His love; he gave us the possibility to choose, knowing that we can even make the wrong choice.

We shouldn’t understand this in a mechanical way however: I sin and I get sick, I do the right thing and I receive an immediate reward. It is not that simplistic. All we do however has consequences. As global warming may have an effect on the environment so our irrational cooling from God will have an influence on our climate, both physical and spiritual.

Man was not made immortal, but was given with the possibility to partake in the eternal existence of God. Only through his willful participation Man can achieve a life free of the turmoil of this fallen world. God’s initial intention was made even clearer through the incarnation of Christ. In Him all was renewed; the Adam of old was replaced by the New Adam that made the right choice for us, not isolated in a distant heaven, but by being one of us in the flesh.

Christ showed that this fallen nature is only temporary and though it is corrupted and filled with suffering and pain it is not all that is; it is not the goal, it is not the end. He showed that although we may die we can still live if we are in Communion with Him. He died and rose from the dead to show us how we can also rise from the fallenness of our nature and be not what we are now, but what God always intended us to be.

We live in a world that is not what it was supposed to be and periodically we suffer its mood swings. It is up to us to make the best out of it and work for our salvation in spite of the harshness of our environment. We are called to follow Christ and by our transformation in Him to change the entire cosmos. This time for better and for ever.

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Taoism: remedy for a world in crisis?

From environmental protection to crime prevention, Taoist priests, scholars and dignitaries on Tuesday called for building a harmonious world by using the ancient wisdom of Lao Tze, a Chinese philosopher who lived over 2,500 years ago.

During the three-day International Taoism Forum, which closed in central China's Hunan Province on Tuesday, about 500 delegates from more than 20 countries and regions, including China, the United States, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Japan, exchanged thoughts on how to integrate Lao Tze's philosophy into modern society in an effort to solve existing problems such as war, terrorism and financial crises.

A declaration issued at the closing ceremony called on people around the world to "achieve serenity of body and mind, peaceable human relationships, environmental harmony and sustainable development," as conflicts grow rife and the natural world is disturbed due to the unchecked desires of man.

A SIMPLE LIFE

The 1,800-year-old religion of Taoism originated from Lao Tze's (BC 571-471) book "Tao Te Ching," in which he postulated that everything in the universe was born from emptiness and that balance and harmony should be achieved between human beings and nature.

Taoism was all but wiped out during the chaotic Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and resumed after China's reform and opening-up to the outside world in the late 1970s. Recent statistics show that there are nearly 100,000 Taoist priests and over 5,000 Taoist religious sites on the Chinese mainland.

During the forum, religious figures and philosophical experts lashed out at the greed of modern people, saying that their behavior has led to natural degradation.

"The destruction of the natural environment -- often done today in the pursuit of wealth -- has gathered force in the past hundred years and is now like a runaway train," said Martin Palmer, secretary-general of the U.K.-based Alliance of Religions and Conservation.

"To me, the global financial crisis was caused by nothing other than the greed of Wall Street," said Liu Changle, board chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television.

Delegates also expressed concerns over moral degradation in Chinese society. Earlier this month, a two-year-old girl was ignored by 18 passersby after she was run over by two vans and left to bleed on a street in the city of Foshan in the wealthy southern province of Guangdong. The injured girl died in a hospital last Friday, sparking a nationwide debate on the country's moral standards.

"In a market economy, some people blind themselves with materialist desires and pursue nothing but profits. It is causing a moral, psychological and social crisis for China," said Professor Xu Kangsheng from the Department of Philosophy of Peking University.

"Many Chinese are occupied with pursuing fame and fortune, only to end up with an exhausted and uneasy mind," said Huang Zhijie, vice president of the Chinese Taoist Association.

Delegates called for promoting Taoist wisdom as a possible remedy, as the belief system holds that greed is the root of all hatred, killing and war.

"Taoism asks people to pursue a simple, but correct lifestyle, and to jettison excessive desires and choices," said Ge Rongjin, a philosophy professor from Renmin University

He said a return to Taoist tranquility could help people relax and calm their minds, allowing them to find the "right path."

Palmer said that to many in our contemporary world, extravagant wealth is the main goal and greed feeds on the desire to have the best of everything and to show it off to the rest of the world.

"But Taoism goes in the opposite direction. Simple living is the heart of the Taoist way of life. And it is a joyful simplicity," he said.

TAOISM GOES GLOBAL

The forum, co-sponsored by the Chinese Taoist Association and the China Religious Culture Communication Association, is a continuation of the International Forum on Tao Te Ching held in Xi'an and Hong Kong in April 2007, bringing Taoists from all over the world to discuss their beliefs.

"The philosophy Lao Tze wrote 2,500 years ago is still alive today," said Herve Louchouarn Trestard, a Mexican doctor and president of the Mexican Taoist Association.

Nevertheless, compared with Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, Taoism has yet to develop into a global religion, although modern international communities are starting to realize the practical significance of Taoism and Lao Tze's thoughts.

In 1995, the British Taoist Association was founded in London, making it the first Taoist group in Europe. In 2001, the Spanish Taoist Association was founded and the first Taoist temple in Europe, the Qing Jing Gong, was established in Barcelona in the same year.

The number of Taoist disciples in Europe and North America has been on the rise over recent years, with Taoist associations established in several countries, including the United States, France, Portugal and Italy.

Ong Seng Huat, director of the Taoist Culture Research Center in Malaysia, believes that Taoism should develop into a world religion because the Tao Te Ching and Lao Zi's thoughts had a "global perspective" from the very beginning, which has allowed Taoism to transcend countries, regions and races.

He suggested that Taoists should set up more organizations and engage themselves in more international talks and activities in order to contribute more to the international community.

"It is time for Taoism to grow. Because it can help not only people in China, but also people in the West," Trestard said.

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Kyakhta: The Russian source for all the tea in China

One of the most dramatically picturesque areas in the Russian Federation is located in the Republic of Buryatia along the northern border of Mongolia. The dry, clear air provides endless vistas of plains with sparse cover giving way to rolling hills with pine forests. The area was once dotted with Buddhist monasteries, very few of which still exist in places such as Gusinoe ozero (Goose Lake), itself a remarkable body of cerulean water nestled among the hills.

The main hub of human activity in this area is the town of Kyakhta, for centuries the main border crossing for trade between Russia and China. Located about 150 miles south by road from Buryatia’s capital Ulan-Ude, Kyakhta was originally an aglomeration of three settlements dating from the early 18th century that served to regulate trade and customs between Russia and China. Situated by the small Kyakhta River, the settlement was on the most direct caravan route between the Siberian center of Irkutsk and Beijing. In 1727, work began on the New Trinity Fort, founded by Count Savva Vladislavich-Raguzinsky and named after its Church of the Trinity. Later that year, the Russian and Chinese Empires signed treaties formalizing the border and establishing trade relations. In 1805 the settlement around the fort was designated a town named Troitskosavsk in honor of the two altar dedications of its main church (Trinity and St. Savva).

While the Trinity Fort fulfilled administrative and security functions, trade was handled by the adjacent settlement of Kyakhtinskaya Sloboda (Kyakhta Quarter), also founded in 1727. Here Russian merchants gathered to trade fur, leather, hides and cattle for a variety of Chinese goods, including silk and some porcelain, but with special emphasis on spices such as ginger and rhubarb, which were highly valued for medicinal properties. By the 1760s, Kyakhta Quarter had become the primary border point for trade with China, and the population and prosperity of both Russian settlements increased accordingly. Chinese merchants gathered across the border in a third settlement, known as Maimachin—a generic Chinese term meaning “trading center.”

By the late 18th century, the most significant import by far was tea, which for almost a century Kyakhta provided not only to the enormous Russian market, but also to much of Europe. Some of the buildings constructed to handle the tea trade still stand in various conditions, including the main Merchants’ Court, located near the Resurrection Church. Within its large rectangular courts, bales of Chinese tea were repackaged for shipment west.

During the first century of Kyakhta’s existence, all its structures were built from logs. As the 19th century progressed, however, the log churches were replaced with large masonry churches in a neoclassical style, a move that reflected the town’s increasing prosperity. The most notable of these churches was the Cathedral of the Trinity, begun in 1812 with the support of donations from local merchants and completed in 1817. A major expansion of its refectory in 1870 gave it an appearance that more closely resembled western churches, rather than the typical Russian Orthodox design. Closed during the Soviet period and converted to a museum in 1934, the cathedral was gutted by fire in 1963. Its bare walls still stand as an imposing classical ruin.

Not to be outdone by the reconstruction of the cathedral in Troitskosavsk, in the 1830s, merchants in the Kyakhta trading quarter paid for the construction of an imposing new Church of the Resurrection, built according to a design by the Moscow architect Grigory Gerasimov. With the completion of the church and the dedication of its three altars in 1838, this dusty border town could claim two of the most impressive churches in the Transbaikal region, a tribute to its commercial significance for the China tea trade. And in 1884-1888 the Cemetery Church of the Dormition was constructed to replace an adjacent log church

Perhaps the greatest charm of Kyakhta is its individual houses, which are built primarily of wood. With a minimum of maintenance, they have been relatively well preserved in the area’s dry climate. One of the few large masonry houses in the town belonged in the mid-19th century to the philanthropist Alexei Lushnikov, of a family known not only for its support of culture and philanthropy, but also for hospitality. The many guests to visit the Lushnikov house include the renowned American traveler and author George Kennan.

With the opening of Chinese ports to English ships in the mid 19th century and the subsequent building of the Suez Canal, Kyakhta’s importance to the tea trade waned. Its importance was further diminished by the town’s distance from any rail link. Nonetheless, Kyakhta retained regional importance for trade with northern China.

Like so many Siberian towns, Kyakhta suffered from the savagery of the Russian Civil War. Between 1918 and 1921, the town was fought over by numerous factions, and at the same time played a role in the establishment of Communist forces in Mongolia. As a final blow, the town was attacked in the spring of 1921 by troops led by the notorious Baron Ungern-Sternberg. Although the attack was repulsed by Soviet forces, the fighting in 1921 led to the complete destruction by fire of the once-thriving Chinese settlement of Maimachen.

In 1934, the various settlements were officially designated by the single name of Kyakhta. During the Soviet period, the town shifted roles to administrative and military garrison duties. Today, Kyakhta is a placid border crossing with a population less than 20,000. It has visions of expanding its economy through tourism, including eco-tourism to Mongolia. In this role, perhaps its greatest blessing is to have been bypassed by development, still appearing much as it did when it was the departure point for “all the tea in China.”

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Orthodox Christianity in Harbin

Orthodoxy arrived in China in 1685, more than a century earlier than the first Protestant missionaries. Intermittent border skirmishes in the Amur River area between troops of the Qing Emperor and the Czar resulted in some Russians being taken prisoner. A priest by the name of Maxim Leontiev was among the prisoners taken in 1685 to Beijing. The Russo-Chinese accord of Nerchinsk in 1690 settled disputes but some of the released prisoners decided to stay in China as naturalized citizens. The Kangxi (Kang Hsi) Emperor gave a Guandi (Kwan Ti, the god of war) temple to them as a temporary place of worship in Beijing, and the Orthodox named it the Hagia Sophia Church. An icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker was placed in the church, which was subsequently renamed the Church of the Dormition. The Emperor also gave Father Leontiev the title of an imperial official of the seventh rank.

The Russian Government and Russian Church took notice of the Kangxi Emperor’s consideration. In 1695 the Metropolitan of Tobolsk issued documentation recognising the consecration of the Hagia Sophia Church and encouraged Father Leontiev to work for the spread of Orthodoxy, and to “pray not only for the Czar, but also for the Chinese Emperor”. Czar Peter I (“the Great”) was from the beginning an enthusiastic supporter of the Orthodox Church’s work in China. When Father Leontiev died, Peter the Great obtained the Kangxi Emperor’s consent for Archimandrite Ilarion Lezhaisky to take over in Beijing. The Archimandrite arrived in Beijing in 1715 with a priest, a deacon and other staff. This was the first Spiritual Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in Beijing.

There were to be 20 tours, or delegations, of the Spiritual Mission in Beijing, from 1715 through 1956, when Archbishop Viktor returned to Russia following agreements reached between Nikita Khruschev and Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung). Throughout the period of the Czars, the Spiritual Mission worked closely with the Russian Government, often seeing a close relationship between the furtherance of Russian interests and Orthodox interests.

In the first century-and-a-half of its presence in China, the Spiritual Mission did not attract a large following. It is said that in 1860 there were not more than 200 Orthodox in Beijing, including the descendants of naturalized Russians.

In the second half of the 19th century, however, the Orthodox Church made bigger strides. The Spiritual Mission was blessed with scholarly and religious clergy. Numerous translations into Chinese of religious publications were made. By 1902 there were 32 Orthodox churches in China with close to 6,000 adherents. The church also ran schools and orphanages.

The Boxer Rebellion of 1898 - 1900, an anti-Western and anti-missionary uprising in China, saw violent attacks on Chinese converts to Christianity. The Orthodox Chinese were among those put to the sword, and in June every year we commemorate the 222 Chinese Orthodox, including Father Mitrophan, who died for their faith in 1900 during the upheavals.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917 the Orthodox Church in China lost its traditional support base and had to fend for itself. Any investments it made in the Czar’s bonds became valueless. However it became the spiritual home of large numbers of anti-Bolshevik Russians who left Russia for China, and the numbers of Orthodox in China swelled. By around 1930 there were more than 50,000 Orthodox in China, mostly Russians. Dioceses were established in Shanghai and Tianjin in addition to Harbin and Beijing.

After the October Revolution the Orthodox bishops in China came under the jurisdiction of the Synod of Russian Bishops Outside Russia, convening in Karlovci, Yugoslavia, and subsequently in Munich and New York. The surrender of the Axis powers at the end of World War II gave rise to a change in the situation in the Far East, and the Moscow Patriarchate resumed jurisdiction over the episcopate in China in the late 1940’s.

The Chinese People’s Republic was established in 1949 under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, which had close relations with the Soviet Communist Party in the 1950’s. Treaties were signed between the Chinese and Soviet governments which provided for the turning over of Russian churches to Chinese control. Archbishop Viktor, the last Russian bishop and leader of the 20th Spiritual Mission, returned to the Soviet Union in 1956, drawing to a close a variegated chapter in the history of Orthodoxy in China.

After the communists came to power in China most of the Russians left for Australia, the United States and other places. Now there are very few Russians left in China, and the numbers of the Orthodox from the old Russian-organised dioceses have dwindled drastically. There is only one functioning Orthodox church on the Mainland - the POKROV church (the church of the Protection of the Theotokos) in Harbin. The resident priest, Father Grigori Zhu, is 75. There are about 18 parishioners who attend Sunday services, most of them elderly. The youngest is 65. Yet on the great feast of Easter this year, about 400 people filled the church - many who have settled overseas, and their children, returned to the mother church in Harbin for Pascha.

Pascha is the central message of Christianity. God brings life out of death. What man or human organizations plan could never get around or defeat God’s plan. Perhaps there were people who expected, or even wanted, to see a dying Orthodox church in China. After 1997 this has totally changed.

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My Home: Harbin, Heilongjiang in the Heat

Thousands of tourists flock to Harbin in January, drawn by the fantastical statues on show in the town's international ice and snow festival. In September though, winter is still a couple of months away and there's no sign of the white fluffy stuff that has made the capital of Heilongjiang province in northeastern China famous. Well, except that is, for an ice sculpture of a dolphin on a table in busy Central Street.

It's 20 degrees Celsius today and hot looking girls along with the rapidly melting dolphin are probably wishing they could cool off in the venue they're promoting - the Ice House, located in the basement of a nearby building, apparently a precursor to the winter's "city of ice".

Elsewhere in town, local government is aggressively promoting Harbin as a summer resort, highlighting its diverse wetlands as well as its culture.

"Harbin has a rich historical heritage," says Wang Yi, the city's lady vice-mayor who is in charge of tourism development. "It is a city where the east meets west and it offers a blend of oriental and Western cultures."

Indeed, Harbin is like no other Chinese city with architecture that clearly shows Russian and European influences and has you thinking for a while that you're in eastern Europe. Central Street, the 1.4-kilometre stretch in the city's business district, is lined with buildings of Baroque and Byzantine styles.

The cobblestone pedestrian street is part of the original town built by the Russians at the turn of the 20th century when they first came to the then sleepy fishing village along the Songhua river to construct the Chinese Eastern Railway. Today, the buildings house restaurants, brand-name stores and souvenir shops that sell all things Russian like matryoshka dolls and vodka.

The Russian Orthodox Church Saint Sophia Cathedral escaped destruction during the Cultural Revolution and was used as a warehouse for a state-run department store. The church was restored in 1996 after the Chinese government designated it as a national cultural heritage site and is now a museum showcasing the multicultural architectural development of the city.

Saint Nicholas Cathedral wasn't quite so lucky: it was destroyed by the Red Guards in 1966. A rich businessman, Wang Fu Xiang, decided to build a replica of the church in Volga Manor, a resort about an hour and a half away from the city.

Volga Manor offers a Russian experience from the traditional welcome that greets guests on arrival to the 30 buildings scattered all over the compound, including a replica of the Pavlov Castle.

One of the biggest programmes in Harbin is the ongoing restoration of the Chinese Baroque Block. The project, which covers 10 zones, features the unique Baroque facade that hides the two to three storey-structures inside and a backyard resembling Beijing courtyard houses. The redevelopment is costing 1.3 billion yuan (S$262 million) and the buildings are being earmarked for arts, tourism and movie studios.

Harbin also has something to offer for nature lovers like the Binjiang Wetland, which opened in June. It covers an area of 104 square kilometres and has hundreds of rare species of birds and fish such as grey cranes and white cranes.

The guides are former farmers who used to grow rice and wheat on the land. According to the government, it will take at least three years to fully develop the wetland into a full-fledged ecological and leisure development zone.

Sun Island Park on the north shore of the Songhua river, is also worth a visit. It offers many attractions like the Squirrel Island, Deer Park, Swan Lake and Flower Park.

There is also a Russian village that offers visitors an idea on how Russians lived in Harbin. The highlights include life-sized Matryoshka dolls painted to look like leaders Vladimir Putin, Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Stalin and Lenin.

Across the river, an opera house is being built that promises to be much grander than the one in Sydney. The river is frozen during the winter months and it is here where Harbin's world-renowned ice and snow festival is held. In September, however, it's just water and sand.

At the entrance to the park is a giant structure of the sun, surrounded by nine smaller suns. According to Chinese myth, during the Chou dynasty (1027-221 BC), 10 suns would take turns appearing in the sky. Each day, they would travel with their mother, the goddess Xi He, to the lake where she would wash her children and put them to dry on the branches of an enormous mulberry tree.

From the tree, one sun would move off into the sky for a journey of one day, to reach the mount Yen-Tzu in the Far West. Then, one day, the suns decided to appear together. But the combined heat of the 10 suns made life on the Earth unbearable. Emperor Yao asked Di Jun, the father of the 10 suns, to persuade his children to appear one at a time. The suns refused not listen. Di Jun sent the archer Yi armed with a magic bow and 10 arrows to frighten the disobedient suns. Yi was able to shoot nine suns but the emperor had sent one of his couriers to steal an arrow from the archer. So one sun remains today.

"This is how the sun looks like in Chinese myth," says our guide, pointing to the giant sculpture that has three legs and a bird on top of its head.

Proof, as if it were needed, that Harbin is not all about snow. A hot sun shines there too.

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Saint Tikhon of Moscow, Enlightener of America

Saint Tikhon of Moscow (Russian: Тихон, 31 January [O.S. 19 January] 1865 – 7 April 1925), born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin (Russian: Василий Иванович Беллавин), was the 11th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) during the early years of the Soviet Union, 1917 through 1925.

From 1878 to 1883, Bellavin studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary. In 1888, at the age of 23, he graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman. He then returned to the Pskov Seminary and became an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology. In 1891, at the age of 26, he took monastic vows and was given the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. Tikhon was consecrated Bishop of Lublin on 19 October 1897. On 14 September 1898, Bishop Tikhon was made Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska. As head of the Russian Orthodox Church in America he reorganized the diocese and changed its name from "Diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska" to "Diocese of the Aleutians and North America" in 1900. While living in the United States Archbishop Tikhon was made a citizen of the United States.

He had two vicar bishops in the United States: Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) in Alaska, and St. Raphael (Hawaweeny) in Brooklyn. In June 1905, St. Tikhon gave his blessing for the establishment of St. Tikhon's Monastery in Pennsylvania. On 22 May 1901, he blessed the cornerstone for St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, and was also involved in establishing other churches in North America. On 9 November 1902, he consecrated the church of St. Nicholas in Brooklyn for the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox immigrants. Two weeks later, he consecrated St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York.

In 1907, he returned to Russia, and was appointed Bishop of Yaroslavl. He was transferred to Vilnius, Lithuania, on 22 December 1913. On 21 June 1917, he was elected the ruling bishop of Moscow by the Diocesan Congress of clergy and laity. On 15 August 1917, Archbishop Tikhon was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan of Moscow. On 5 November of the same year, after an election as one of the three candidates for the reinstated Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev announced that Metropolitan Tikhon had been selected for the position after a drawing of lots as the new Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

During the Russian Civil War the Patriarch was widely seen as anti-Bolshevik and many members of the Orthodox clergy were jailed or executed by the new regime. Tikhon openly condemned the killings of the tsar's family in 1918, and protested against violent attacks by the Bolsheviks on the Church.

During the famine in 1922 the Patriarch was accused of being a saboteur by the Communist government, for which he was imprisoned from April 1922 until June 1923 in Donskoy Monastery. Among acts incriminated to him was his public protest against nationalization of the property of the Church. This caused international resonance and was a subject of several notes to the Soviet government.

Under pressure from the authorities, Patriarch Tikhon issued several messages to the believers in which he stated in part that he was "no longer an enemy to the Soviet power". Textual analysis of these messages shows considerable similarity with a number of documents exchanged in the Politburo on the "Tikhon's Affair". Despite his declaration of loyalty, he continued to enjoy the trust of the Orthodox community in Russia. In 1923 Patriarch Tikhon was "deposed" by a Soviet-sponsored council of the so-called Living Church, which decreed that he was "henceforth a simple citizen—Vasily Bellavin." This deposition has never been recognized as an act of the Russian Orthodox Church, and is therefore considered invalid by authorities of both the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Russian Federation.

When the sewerage system under the hastily erected first Mausoleum of Lenin was damaged and a leak occurred, Tikhon remarked, "The balm accords with the relics" (Russian: По мощам и елей). The phrase was widely quoted.

In 1924 the Patriarch fell ill and was hospitalized. On 5 April 1925, he served his last Divine Liturgy, and died two days later, 25 March (O.S.)/7 April, the Feast of the Annunciation. He was buried on 12 April in the winter church of Donskoy Monastery in Moscow. From the time of his death, he was widely considered a martyr or confessor for the faith.

Patriarch Tikhon was glorified (canonized) a saint by the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in conjunction with the great glorification of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Soviet Yoke on 1 November [O.S. 19 October] 1981. He was later glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate during the Bishop's Council of 9–11 October 1989. This later canonization process is generally considered an example of the thaw in Church-Soviet relations during the Glasnost era.

St Tikhon's relics were believed lost, but on 19 February 1992 (or, according to another source, 22 February), they were discovered in a concealed place in the Donskoy Monastery and were found to be almost entirely incorrupt. The relics were placed in a reliquary and on 5 April [O.S. 23 March] 1992, fifty bishops solemnly transferred them to the Katholikon (main church) of the Donskoy Monastery in a place of honour by the soleas (close to the sanctuary).

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Akathist to the Chinese Martyr Saints of the Boxer Rebellion (+1900)

INTRODUCTION

The year 2000 marks the centennial of the martyrdom of the Chinese martyrs of the Boxer uprising. The martyrdom of some 222 souls for the Orthodox faith at the hands of Boxer nationalists one hundred years ago stood on the eve of an unprecidented century for the Orthodox Christian faith and for the world. For those of us living in the west – even those who share the Orthodox faith – the martyrdom of these holy saints might seem worlds away, in both time and place. Yet these Chinese martyrs who gave up their souls just before the modern world as we know it came into being, stand as both a beacon shedding light into the darkness of our age, and as intercessors who knew in their own sufferings the sufferings of our age.

Like Orthodox Christians today in most of the world, the martyrs of the Boxer rebellion truly found themselves outside of the culture in which they lived. To the average person living in turn-of-the-century Imperial China, paying homage to a human emperor considered divine, nothing could have been more countercultural than Christ, the Incarnate Word, the God Who had become man. Orthodoxy meant for Saints Mitrophan, Ia, John, and the others, a choice between the worship of man, and the worship of the God-man. This choice is little different for us today. While the Orthodox martyrs of China suffered for Christ, the instrument of their suffering was the political trauma of their age.

The uprising of the Boxers, asserting Chinese nationalism against any "foreign" influence, is an evil that is echoed daily on our evening news a century later. The imperialism of turn-of-the-century China has been replaced by a secular imperialism that rejects everything that is self-sacrificing – the family, the Holy Mysteries, and even life itself in the form of abortion, euthenasia, and the objectification of the Image of Christ in the human person. While the nationalistic forces who slew the Chinese martyrs believed in the value of something – however misguided – the world of the 21st century knows the value of little more than that which passing desire dictates.

The martyrdoms of 1900 ushered in a century of unparalleled violence, suffering, and death – two world wars, famines (both natural and man-made), genocide, and the unparalleled persecution and martyrdom of Orthodox Christians under Communism, Islam, fascism, and others. Truly, it is a wonderful and divine mystery that a land virtually untouched through the centuries by the Orthodox faith should come to be the first witness of the violence of the modern age against the Body of Christ.

The Orthodox martyrs of China rejected idolatry in its most basic form; yet while idols today have changed, they nevertheless remain as a challenge to our faith in Christ. In some respects, the idols of our day are more difficult to recognize, appearing as they do as “the good life” (materialism) or a multitude of secular causes (secular humanism). Let us ask the prayers of the martyrs of China, that God may grant us the discernment to live piously, and not fall prey to the idols of our age.

In the 100 years since the martyrdom of Saint Mitrophan and his companions, societies both east and west, have been significantly eroded by the growth of a values vaccuum – the nihilism of the modern age. The effects of this on our political, social, and spiritual life have been profound, and have magnified the evils that led to the sacrificial deaths of the holy Orthodox brethren in Harbin. What does this say to us today? Simply put, where the sway of evil grows, the necessity for sacrifice grows with it. Let us give thanks that the Lord provides for our need, always and everywhere, and that the grace of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ strengthens us to face each day.

Holy martyrs, pray for us!

THE CHINESE MARTYRS OF THE BOXER REBELLION (+ June 10/23, 1900)

Orthodox Christianity has often been described as the faith of the martyrs. Without doubt, the centuries have shown among the Orthodox an unparalleled degree of suffering for the sake of Christ’s Name. Yet despite the dramatic increase in Orthodox martyrdom in the last century, Orthodox believers living in the comforts of North America remain largely isolated from the suffering of the saints. Ironically, the western world has become a more potent - and indeed, more subtle - enemy of Christian Orthodoxy than any regime of the past.

Cut off from the struggles of our Christian forebears, we have too readily accepted materialism and hedonism. To be a Christian, especially an Orthodox Christian, has become a fundamentally counter cultural calling. The arrival of the year 2000 marks the centennial of the first martyrs of the last century, and the first known group of Orthodox martyrs from China - a group who knew well the meaning of standing against the social tide of their day. Some of the 222 Orthodox martyrs of June 10/23, 1900, were direct descendants of the Russian mission set up at the end of the 17 th century, after Russia lost its Albazin outpost to Chinese forces. With the recapture of Albazin, the Chinese Imperial Court looked with curiosity and tolerance upon the Russians in their territories, allowing them a surprising level of religious freedom.

A former Buddhist temple near Beijing was converted into a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, and church vestments and holy objects were sent from the Imperial Court in Russia. The Chinese and Russian governments proceeded to establish diplomatic relations, a move facilitated by the presence and work of the Albazin Chinese Orthodox. Since the Russian soldiers were viewed as a loose equivalent of the warrior class of Chinese society, they also moved easily among the Chinese aristocracy, with many marrying aristocratic Chinese women. Just as many of the first coverts at Rome were noble patrons of the Church, so too were Orthodox Christians in China to see a similar beginning.

In the years following, Orthodoxy made significant inroads among the Albazin Chinese population, becoming a kind of ethnic religion of the people 1. Emperor K’ang Chi was favorable toward these Christians, and for a time it was hoped the emperor might become a kind of Saint Constantine of the East. When the Chinese court later discovered that local Roman Catholic missionaries followed orders from western masters, however, Emperor K’ang Chi and his successors began persecutions against Christians. Because of their position at court and the Orthodox foothold among the Albazin Chinese faithful, the Orthodox were spared much of this persecution - for a time. While the growth of the Orthodox Chinese mission was modest, its faithful were solid witnesses for their faith in Christ.

Just as pagan Rome saw earlier Christian devotion to Christ as a rival to Imperial loyalty, so to did the Imperial Chinese of the late 19 th century see Christians as enemies of the Emperor. While some in China were embracing western modernist ideas, others - including the dowager Empress, nationalists, and those who practiced martial arts - sought to eliminate any challenges to tradition, including foreign influences. This movement was dubbed by foreigners the “Boxer movement”.

By June 1900, placards calling for the death of foreigners and Christians covered the walls around Beijing. Armed bands combed the streets of the city, setting fires to homes and - with Imperial blessing - killing Chinese Christians and foreigners. Among the Orthodox community of the city were Priest Mitrophan Tsi-Chung, his Matushka Tatiana, and their children Isaiah, Serge, and John. Baptized by Saint Nicholas of Japan, Saint Mitrophan was a shy and retiring priest, who avoided honors, and labored continually for the building of new churches, for the translation of spiritual books, and for the care of his flock. It was in this ministry that Saint Mitrophan met his martyrdom on June 10, 1900.

About seventy faithful had gathered in his home for consolation when the Boxers surrounded the house. While some of the faithful managed to escape, most - including Saint Mitrophan - were stabbed or burned to death. Saint Mitrophan’s holy body fell beneath the date tree in the yard of his home, his family witnesses to his suffering. His youngest son, Saint John, an eight-year-old child, was disfigured by the Boxers the same day. Although the mob cut off his ears, nose, and toes, Saint John did not seem to feel any pain, and walked steadily, declaring that it did not hurt to suffer for Christ. Saint Ia (Wang), a mission school teacher was also among the martyrs, was slashed by the Boxers and buried, half-dead. In an attempt to save her, a bystander unearthed her, carrying her to his home where the Boxers seized her again, torturing her to death, thereby crowning her with the crown of martyrdom for a second time. Saint Isaiah, 23, the elder brother of Saint John, had been martyred several days earlier. Despite repeated urging, his bride Saint Mary, 19, refused to leave and hide, declaring that she had been born near the church of the Mother of God, and would die there as well.

When the feast of the Holy Chinese Martyrs was first commemorated in 1903, the bodies of Saint Mitrophan and others were placed under the altar of the church of the All Holy Orthodox Martyrs ( built from 1901-1916). A cross was later erected on the site of their martyrdom, standing as a testimony of the first sufferings of Orthodox faithful in a century of such great suffering. The church, along with others, was destroyed by the communists in 1954; the condition and whereabouts of the relics are not known. A short history of the martyrs and an akathist in their memory have recently been written.

On the occasion of the centenary of the Holy Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion, let us as Orthodox faithful ask their prayers that we may have the courage of their witness in our own time and place, and like them to live out the call of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). __________________

Information for this article was taken from an uncredited website on the Chinese Orthodox martyrs, and the Synaxarion of the Chinese Orthodox Martyrs, produced by Apostoliki Diakonia of Athens, Greece.

AKATHIST TO THE CHINESE MARTYR SAINTS OF THE BOXER REBELLION (+1900) Commemorated June 10/23
THE ORIGINAL KONTAKION Fourth Tone

The divine Metrophanes, * the martyred shepherd, * with his great and faithful flock, * have hallowed China with their blood; * wherefore we praise them with sacred hymns, * for they were faithful to Christ even unto death. Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. KONTAKION Sixth Tone Thy holy martyrs O Lord did not see earthly glory as a treasure to be held, * but facing the torments of men and the wisdom of demons* humbled themselves for Thy sake, even unto death. * Wherefore, O Righteous Father, * as through them Thou brought the priceless pearl to an unbaptized land, * grant us Thy Spirit and great mercy for our souls. Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. Α As a new Herod the hand of the Boxers fell on the infants of the Church, writing on the doorpost of each soul the mark of the Lamb in the blood of the lambs, sealing them for the new Passover, that all might cry aloud: Rejoice, ye righteous ones, tearing down the banner of worldliness. Rejoice, ye abandoners of the kingdom that passeth away.

Rejoice, ye resistors of the legions of Hades. Rejoice, ye swords in the Hand of the Righteous God. Rejoice, ye lanterns of the Holy Spirit. Rejoice, ye who drench the demonic flame with the waters of baptism. Rejoice, ye celebrants of the new Passover. Rejoice, ye children of the new Israel. Rejoice, ye pearls of greatest price. Rejoice, ye jade diadems in the treasury of God. Rejoice, ye jewelled gates of the heavenly Jerusalem. Rejoice, ye loyal subjects of the true Celestial court. Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. Β Holy Isaiah didst foretell: A shoot shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and thereby the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. Wherefore, O Lord, do we praise Thee, for Thou hast in truth kept the fullness of Thy word, filling the earth with knowledge of Thee that we may cry: Alleluia. Γ As the new Bethlehem in the land of Manchuria, not least among the rulers of the present world, while last in obtaining the baptism of remission of sins, art first in witness to the eastern lands, for out of you came forth a flock who would lay down their lives like their Shepherd, crying: Rejoice, O heirs of the household of the blessed prince of Chan-Timur Rejoice, O blood brothers of the martyrs of K'ang Chi. Rejoice, O spiritual descendents of Beijing's prisoners for Christ. Rejoice, O new tribe of the New Israel. Rejoice, O least of all nations and last baptized. Rejoice, O great star of the eastern sky. Rejoice, O children of the land of silken majesty robed in Majesty. Rejoice, O new Damascus road, illumination of the silk roads. Rejoice, O light in the darkness which darkness cannot consume. Rejoice, O witnesses of the Light. Rejoice, O voices of the eastern wilderness. Rejoice, O voices crying, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord". Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. ∆ Our Lord Christ warned that the impious shall cast out the faithful, speaking of these things that we should not stumble; calling the faithful to the knowledge that the infidel shall think in his butchery he offers service to God. Wherefore, O Father, hearken to us in our struggle, and enlighten us with Thy Truth as we sing to Thee: Alleluia. Ε The prophets declared Thy suffering, O Christ, and Thou camest being incarnate of the Theotokos, reflecting the Image of God fully in the image of man, that we may grow to the fullness of Thy Likeness, wherefore as Thy martyrs do share in Thy sufferings, they too share in Thy Likeness that we may proclaim: Rejoice, ye whom human might couldst not pursuade. Rejoice, ye for whom the might of Christ was thy defence. Rejoice, ye who overturned the censer of idolatry. Rejoice, ye who yearned for the incense of the Heavenly Realm. Rejoice, ye who are trod underfoot by the legions of men. Rejoice, ye who lay down life for the sake of your Brother, Christ. Rejoice, ye who scatter the lots of the idols of fortune. Rejoice, ye heirs of the Heavenly Fortune. Rejoice, O ye merciful and meek of soul. Rejoice, O ye righteous and pure of heart.

Rejoice, ye who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in the heavens. Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. Ζ The Lord saith unto the scornful Jews: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And so hath the Lord done unto the temples of the bodies of His martyrs as He saith, that we might cry unto Him: Alleluia. Η Together in an unbaptized land, you built a temple to God with holy hands, but when faced with the flames of the demon's host, you chose Life in the temple not made with hands, putting to death the things of the body, putting on life according to the Spirit that we may say: Rejoice, O lambs of the eastern Zion. Rejoice, oblations of Christ's shrine in the east. Rejoice, ye who preached the Word in a new tongue. Rejoice, ye whose holy books hallowed the pagans' fire. Rejoice, ye who raised a Temple to Christ as new children of Solomon. Rejoice, ye sanctifiers of the pagan temple shrine. Rejoice, thrice-blessed children of the holy fire. Rejoice, confessors who walk in the flame of death with the Flame of Life. Rejoice, ye who repent in burning sackcloth and ashes. Rejoice, ye who are mingled with the ashes of Christ's holy temple. Rejoice, O sacrifices who scorned sacrifice to the new Baal. Rejoice, O carriers of the Holy Flame. Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. Θ The priests of Baal doth conspire against the Lord's anointed, revelling in the strength of their throng, but doused in the waters of the Redeeming God, the wood of the sacrifice dost burst forth with holy flame, scattering the wicked hosts that we might praise the Lord our God, and sing unto Him: Alleluia. Ι Teacher and shepherd, our holy father Mitrophan, alone amongst his people as a priest of the Lord, called by the enemy to exceed the fire of their hate with the fire of faith, O thou who hallowest thy name Tsz Chung, unto thee do we cry: Rejoice, ye of poor talent and little virtue whom God hath made great. Rejoice, ye disciple of Nicholas the Enlightener. Rejoice, ye witness of Christ's crowning of thy native land. Rejoice, ye witness of the crowning in glory of thy wife and sons. Rejoice, O pillar of faith amidst the blows of the faithless. Rejoice, O last-standing pillar of Christ's temple in Harbin. Rejoice, O hallowed martyr of Christ who fell beneath the date tree. Rejoice, O hallowed martyr hung faithfully on the Tree of Life. Rejoice, O lonely priest of God who sat beneath the broom tree, yet without despair. Rejoice, O Mitrophan, arise and eat the Bread of Life. Rejoice, O wind, storm, and fire that touchest not God's holy one. Rejoice, O still small voice of the Spirit of God. Rejoice, O star of the Orient. Κ In the abasement of themselves with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes, the race of Ninevites didst turn back the wrath of God; and like unto them didst the kinsmen of Esther repent, trusting not in their own righteousness, but rather in the mercies of God towards those who honour Him, therefore let us sing to Him: Alleluia. Λ Esther beheld the plotting of the unrighteous Haman, and although his wicked schemes were set to destroy the sons of Israel, the children of the Lord humbled themselves before Him, granting them deliverance from certain death. Wherefore do we praise Tatiana, the Esther of the east, who by humility of martyrdom stole Life from the hand of death, that her soul might be saved and that we might cry: Rejoice, O Li, who by meekness were exhalted. Rejoice, O Tatiana, name-bearer of her sister martyr in Christ. Rejoice, O eastern Esther, loyal friend of thy people. Rejoice, O Tatiana, loyal wife of Mitrophan, and true daughter of Christ. Rejoice, Precious mother of the flock at Harbin. Rejoice, Precious name in the prayers of the Mother of God. Rejoice, Lovingkindness written in the red of thy blood. Rejoice, Christian witness written in the stripes of thy pain. Rejoice, Blossom of strength, boast of womanhood. Rejoice, One in flesh with thy husband, one in witness with thy cross. Rejoice, O mother-martyr of thy people. Rejoice, O daughter of Christ our God. Rejoice, O star of the Orient. Μ Righteous Gideon wondered at the word of the Lord, trusting with Israel in his own hand; but lessening their strength with the judgement of the water, the Lord made greater His victory in judgement over Midian. Let us now as the servants of God place all our hopes, in the Strength beyond strength and cry: Alleluia.

As a new-born Theodore, fresh from the waters of baptism as a gift of God, standing before thine emperor, called by thy rank to sacrifice, thou disdained the incense and instead washed clean thy land with the baptism of thy blood. Unto thee O soldier of Christ do we cry: Rejoice, O brother of George, Demetrius, and Theodore. Rejoice, O soldier in the army of the righteous. Rejoice, O defender of the maiden Mother of God. Rejoice, O victor of martyrdom. Rejoice, O vanquisher of the wicked serpent of Death. Rejoice, O husbandman of the phoenix of Eternal Life. Rejoice, O son of the proud and holy father. Rejoice, O child of the Joyful and All-Holy Spirit. Rejoice, O champion of the Eternal Son. Rejoice, O pride of the land of the eastern sun. Rejoice, O Isaiah, who hath borne grief and sorrows. Rejoice, O thou who by Christ's stripes hath been healed. Rejoice, O star of the Orient. Ξ Declaring with courage her willingness to suffer all the abasement of her Saviour Christ, holy Maria was wounded thus on hand and foot, bearing the marks of Christ on her very body. So as she found true birth in baptism in the place named for the Mother of God, in a like fashion was she born unto Life by the prayers of the Theotokos, crying: Alleluia.

As the blessed Maria hurried to enter the house of her Lord, the very temple named for the Mother of her God, her heart leaped within her, and filled with the Spirit, she declared Christ with a loud cry, that we all might declare: Rejoice, thou namesake of the Mother of God. Rejoice, thou whose heart leapt at the sound of the Name of thy Lord. Rejoice, thou crysanthemum of the new Eden. Rejoice, thou lotus blossom that blossomed unto Life. Rejoice, thou who camest early to declare the Risen Lord. Rejoice, thou who will share His empty tomb at the Last Day. Rejoice, thou who seeketh Life in death. Rejoice, thou who declarest the Truth to those who would not believe. Rejoice, thou who at once denied the idols of thy people. Rejoice, thou who thrice denied liberty from Eternal Liberty. Rejoice, thou newly freeborn of an enslaved land. Rejoice, thou Maria of the eastern Egypt. Rejoice, O star of the Orient. Π The Lord bestowed His Strength to Israel through the child David, and called Israel to humility through the mouth of the shepherd of Tekoa. As it was as a babe that Our Lord vanquished the legions of Death, let us recall with awe the mystery of the Lord's mightiness in Harbin, for here too doth the Lord manifest His strength in weakness, wherefore let us be instructed by the life of John as we sing: Alleluia. Ρ The Lord called the Twelve together and declared: He who desirest to be first must be last of all. Then taking in His arms a faithful child, He called those assembled to receive one as this, for he who receiveth such receives not simply the Son, but the Father in Heaven Who sent Him. Wherefore we recall John, a child like unto this, who wast received unto the Lord with manly strength, that we who honour him should cry: Rejoice, O child of God, the least of all. Rejoice, O innocent one, first in God's sight. Rejoice, O meek one, reviled by demons as a demon. Rejoice, O small one, glorified by God as a champion of Christ. Rejoice, O lamb, dishonoured by a thousand cuts. Rejoice, O lion, honoured by thousands in the heavenly throng. Rejoice, O thirsting one, denied refreshment by thy neighbours. Rejoice, O little one, refreshed by the Water springing up unto salvation. Rejoice, O young one, youngest of the martyrs of Harbin. Rejoice, O faithful one, who by grace feelest not pain. Rejoice, O bold one, holy confessor of Christ. Rejoice, O victorious one, vanquisher of a thousand demons. Rejoice, O star of the Orient. Σ By God's grace Sarah begot many nations by Abraham, and Elizabeth and Zachariah bore the Forerunner of Christ. Let us also praise the Lord for righteous Ia and holy Paul, who begot eternal life by their martyrdom and prayers and let us sing: Alleluia. Τ Ananias and Sapphira testified their love for Mammon, wherefore they tasted the singular sting of death; but Christ was the testimony of holy Paul and righteous Ia, for he didst die with the Lord's name on his lips, and she didst suffer martyrdom a second time. So holy Peter declares to them, "How dost the Spirit of the Lord test you?"; and we the faithful do sing in solemn reply:

Rejoice, O blessed Paul, faithful martyr of Christ. Rejoice, twice-blessed Ia, faithful teacher of the flock. Rejoice, goodly servant, ever-faithful unto death. Rejoice, noble sharer in the Passion of the Lord. Rejoice, holy Paul, boast of all the Seraphim. Rejoice, righteous Ia, bright companion of the Cherubim. Rejoice, humble servant, archetype of piety. Rejoice, noble teacher, instructor in the ways of purity. Rejoice, friend of Stephen, O lamb led unto slaughter. Rejoice, friend of Catherine, outwitter of philosophers. Rejoice, holy servant of the house of sacred martyrs. Rejoice, holy bride, exemplar of steadfastness. Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. Υ Thrice-holy is the cry of the multitude, the heavenly host around the Heavenly Throne, let us in hope therefore join the angels' song, and chant the thrice-holy: Alleluia. Φ The righteous Maccabees withsood with godly strength the threats of the pagan legions, and foresaw the Holy Cross as a balance testing the righteous, weighing the righteousness of God with the boasts of the world, offering the choice to all between life and Eternal Life. Wherefore do we sing to the martyrs of the east, who wisely chose the eternal prize: Rejoice, O Kui-Kin, new Clement of Asia. Rejoice, O Hai Chuan, baptized in blood Matthew. Rejoice, Holy Sergius, blessed son of Tsz Chung. Rejoice, Holy servant of the priesthood of Christ. Rejoice, Holy Anna, friend of mothers and widows. Rejoice, Holy children, inheritors of a heavenly birthright. Rejoice, Holy nameless one, known only unto God. Rejoice, ye unburied, buried with Christ that ye may rise. Rejoice, ye defiled of pagans, washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb. Rejoice, ye suffering witnesses of numberless sufferings. Rejoice, ye blessed, who escaping death held firm in faith. Rejoice, O ye martyrs of Christ in the east. Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. Χ The holy Apostle saw a great wonder: for it was in a vision, as if in a dream. Behold, here stands a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth are passing away. Wherefore, the Lord saith He shall make all things new. Let us therefore cry unto Him: Alleluia. Ψ The Lord foresaw the tribulation of the martyrs, whom He said would be hated by all nations for His own sake, and exhorted that those who endured to the end that they would be saved. Wherefore let us preach unto all nations the gospel of the kingdom at the end of the age, that we the faithful might shout with joy with God's holy elect: Rejoice, O dawn of the final days. Rejoice, O first fruits of the great age of martyrs. Rejoice, O witnesses of Christ against idolatry. Rejoice, O confessors of the God-man in the age of godlessness. Rejoice, O citizens of the Kingdom to come. Rejoice, O strangers in a strange land. Rejoice, O confessors of Christ crucified. Rejoice, O declarers of foolishness to the Greeks. Rejoice, O advocates who are stumbling blocks to Jews. Rejoice, O outwitters of the philosophers of the east. Rejoice, O righteous company of saints. Rejoice, O blessed host of new martyrs of China.

Rejoice, O stars of the Orient. Ω The Lord saith: A little while and you will weep and mourn, yet the impious world shall rejoice. You the faithful will all be sorrowful, yet your sorrow shall be turned to rejoicing. Wherefore, O Righteous Father, let us rejoice in Thee as we cry: Alleluia. This Kontakion is said thrice, then the first Oikos is recited once again: Α As a new Herod the hand of the Boxers fell on the infants of the Church, writing on the doorpost of each soul the mark of the Lamb in the blood of the lambs, sealing them for the new Passover, that all might cry aloud: Rejoice, ye righteous ones, tearing down the banner of worldliness. Rejoice, ye abandoners of the kingdom that passeth away. Rejoice, ye resistors of the legions of Hades. Rejoice, ye swords in the Hand of the Righteous God. Rejoice, ye lanterns of the Holy Spirit. Rejoice, ye who drench the demonic flame with the waters of baptism. Rejoice, ye celebrants of the new Passover. Rejoice, ye children of the new Israel. Rejoice, ye pearls of greatest price. Rejoice, ye jade diadems in the treasury of God. Rejoice, ye jewelled gates of the heavenly Jerusalem. Rejoice, ye loyal subjects of the true Celestial court. Rejoice, O stars of the Orient.

GLOSSARY

• K'ang Chi (Kang CHEE): Notable ruler of the Manchurian Dynasty of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, K'ang Chi initially embraced Christ in the hope of being declared a Constantine of the Orient, but later turned to the persecution of the faithful. 
• Chan Timur (Chan TEE mur): Seventeenth century Chinese prince whose household embraced the Orthodox faith. 
• Tsz Chung (TZEE Chung): Chinese name of Saint Mitrophan of Harbin. 
• Li (LEE): Chinese name of Saint Tatiana of Harbin. 
• Ia (EE-ah): Chinese martyr of Harbin. 
• Kui-Kin (KWEE Kin): Chinese name of Saint Clement of Harbin. 
• Hai Chuan (HI Chew-an): Chinese name of Saint Matthew of Harbin.

FOOTNOTE


1 When popular opinion later turned against foreigners in China, non- Albazin Chinese Orthodox faithful had to pose as Albazins in order to avoid conflicts with authorities and local non-Christians alike.

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Holy and Great (Good) Friday

Good Friday (from the now obsolete senses pious, holy of the word "good"), also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover.

Based on the details of the Canonical gospels, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most probably on a Friday (John 19:42). The estimated year of Good Friday is AD 33, by two different groups, and originally as AD 34 by Isaac Newton via the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon. A third method, using a completely different astronomical approach based on a lunar Crucifixion darkness and eclipse model (consistent with Apostle Peter's reference to a "moon of blood" in Acts 2:20) points to Friday, 3 April AD 33.

According to the accounts in the Gospels, the Temple Guards, guided by Jesus' disciple Judas Iscariot, arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas received money (30 pieces of silver) (Matthew 26:14-16) for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus is brought to the house of Annas, who is the father-in-law of the high priest, Caiaphas. There he is interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled (John 18:1-24).

Conflicting testimony against Jesus is brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answers nothing. Finally the high priest adjures Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus testifies in the affirmative, "You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest condemns Jesus for blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus concurs with a sentence of death (Matthew 26:57-66). Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also denies Jesus three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had predicted.

In the morning, the whole assembly brings Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate under charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and making himself a king (Luke 23:1-2). Pilate authorizes the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law and execute sentencing; however, the Jewish leaders reply that they are not allowed by the Romans to carry out a sentence of death (John 18:31).

Pilate questions Jesus and tells the assembly that there is no basis for sentencing. Upon learning that Jesus is from Galilee, Pilate refers the case to the ruler of Galilee, King Herod, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Herod questions Jesus but receives no answer; Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate tells the assembly that neither he nor Herod have found guilt in Jesus; Pilate resolves to have Jesus whipped and released (Luke 23:3-16). Under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asks for Barabbas, who had been imprisoned for committing murder during an insurrection. Pilate asks what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demand, "Crucify him" (Mark 15:6-14). Pilate's wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarns Pilate to "have nothing to do with this righteous man" (Matthew 27:19). Pilate has Jesus flogged and then brings him out to the crowd to release him. The chief priests inform Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus be sentenced to death "because he claimed to be God's son." This possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know from where he came (John 19:1-9).

Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declares Jesus innocent and washed his own hands in water to show he has no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot (Matthew 27:24-26) and ultimately to keep his job. The sentence written is "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Jesus carries his cross to the site of execution (assisted by Simon of Cyrene), called the place of the Skull, or "Golgotha" in Hebrew and in Latin "Calvary". There he is crucified along with two criminals (John 19:17-22).

Jesus agonizes on the cross for six hours. During his last 3 hours on the cross, from noon to 3 p.m., darkness falls over the whole land. With a loud cry, Jesus gives up his spirit. There is an earthquake, tombs break open, and the curtain in the Temple is torn from top to bottom. The centurion on guard at the site of crucifixion declares, "Truly this was God's Son!" (Matthew 27:45-54)

Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and secret follower of Jesus, who had not consented to his condemnation, goes to Pilate to request the body of Jesus (Luke 23:50-52). Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus brought about a hundred pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the body of Christ (John 19:39-40). Pilate asks confirmation from the centurion whether Jesus is dead (Mark 15:44). A soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance causing blood and water to flow out (John 19:34), and the centurion informs Pilate that Jesus is dead (Mark 15:45).

Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock (Matthew 27:59-60) in a garden near the site of crucifixion. Nicodemus (John 3:1) also brought 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with Jewish burial customs (John 19:39-40). They rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb (Matthew 27:60). Then they returned home and rested, because Shabbat had begun at sunset (Luke 23:54-56). On the third day, Sunday, which is now known as Easter Sunday (or Pascha), Jesus rose from the dead.

Byzantine Christians (Eastern Christians who follow the Rite of Constantinople: Orthodox Christians and Greek-Catholics) call this day "Holy and Great Friday", or simply "Great Friday".

Because the sacrifice of Jesus through his crucifixion is commemorated on this day, the Divine Liturgy (the sacrifice of bread and wine) is never celebrated on Great Friday, except when this day coincides with the Great Feast of the Annunciation, which falls on the fixed date of March 25 (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, March 25 currently falls on April 7 of the modern Gregorian Calendar). Also on Great Friday, the clergy no longer wear the purple or red that is customary throughout Great Lent, but instead don black vestments. There is no "stripping of the altar" on Holy and Great Thursday as in the West; instead, all of the church hangings are changed to black, and will remain so until the Divine Liturgy on Great Saturday.

The faithful revisit the events of the day through public reading of specific Psalms and the Gospels, and singing hymns about Christ's death. Rich visual imagery and symbolism as well as stirring hymnody are remarkable elements of these observances.
Each hour of this day is the new suffering and the new effort of the expiatory suffering of the Savior. And the echo of this suffering is already heard in every word of our worship service - unique and incomparable both in the power of tenderness and feeling and in the depth of the boundless compassion for the suffering of the Savior. The Holy Church opens before the eyes of believers a full picture of the redeeming suffering of the Lord beginning with the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane up to the crucifixion on Golgotha. Taking us back through the past centuries in thought, the Holy Church brings us to the foot of the cross of Christ erected on Golgotha, and makes us present among the quivering spectators of all the torture of the Savior.

Holy and Great Friday is observed as a strict fast, and adult Byzantine Christians are expected to abstain from all food and drink the entire day to the extent that their health permits. "On this Holy day neither a meal is offered nor do we eat on this day of the crucifixion. If someone is unable or has become very old [or is] unable to fast, he may be given bread and water after sunset. In this way we come to the holy commandment of the Holy Apostles not to eat on Great Friday."

The Byzantine Christian observance of Holy and Great Friday, which is formally known as The Order of Holy and Saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, begins on Thursday night with the Matins of the Twelve Passion Gospels. Scattered throughout this Matins service are twelve readings from all four of the Gospels which recount the events of the Passion from the Last Supper through the Crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Some churches have a candelabrum with twelve candles on it, and after each Gospel reading one of the candles is extinguished.

The first of these twelve readings John 13:31-18:1 is the longest Gospel reading of the liturgical year, and is a concatenation from all four Gospels. Just before the sixth Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus being nailed to the cross, a large cross is carried out of the sanctuary by the priest, accompanied by incense and candles, and is placed in the center of the nave (where the congregation gathers), with a two-dimensional painted icon of the body of Christ (Greek: soma) affixed to it. As the cross is being carried, the priest or a chanter chants a special antiphon, Simeron Kremate Epi Xilo:

Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross (three times).
He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.
He who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery.
He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails.
The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear.
We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ (three times).
Show us also Thy glorious Resurrection.

During the service, all come forward to kiss the feet of Christ on the cross. After the Canon, a brief, moving hymn, The Wise Thief is chanted by singers who stand at the foot of the cross in the center of the nave. The service does not end with the First Hour, as usual, but with a special dismissal by the priest:

May Christ our true God, Who for the salvation of the world endured spitting, and scourging, and buffeting, and the Cross, and death, through the intercessions of His most pure Mother, of our holy and God-bearing fathers, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and the Lover of mankind.

The next day, in the forenoon on Friday, all gather again to pray the Royal Hours, a special expanded celebration of the Little Hours (including the First Hour, Third Hour, Sixth Hour, Ninth Hour and Typica) with the addition of scripture readings (Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel) and hymns about the Crucifixion at each of the Hours (some of the material from the previous night is repeated). This service is somewhat more festive in character, and derives its name of "Royal" from both the fact that the Hours are served with more solemnity than normal, commemorating Christ the King who humbled himself for the salvation of mankind, and also from the fact that this service was in the past attended by the Emperor and his court.

In the afternoon, around 3 pm, all gather for the Vespers of the Taking-Down from the Cross, commemorating the Deposition from the Cross. The Gospel reading is a concatenation taken from all four of the Gospels. During the service, the body of Christ (the soma) is removed from the cross, as the words in the Gospel reading mention Joseph of Arimathea, wrapped in a linen shroud, and taken to the altar in the sanctuary. Near the end of the service an epitaphios or "winding sheet" (a cloth embroidered with the image of Christ prepared for burial) is carried in procession to a low table in the nave which represents the Tomb of Christ; it is often decorated with an abundance of flowers. The epitaphios itself represents the body of Jesus wrapped in a burial shroud, and is a roughly full-size cloth icon of the body of Christ. Then the priest may deliver a homily and everyone comes forward to venerate the epitaphios. In the Slavic practice, at the end of Vespers, Compline is immediately served, featuring a special Canon of the Crucifixion of our Lord and the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos by Symeon the Logothete.

On Friday night, the Matins of Holy and Great Saturday, a unique service known as The Lamentation at the Tomb (Epitáphios Thrēnos) is celebrated. This service is also sometimes called Jerusalem Matins. Much of the service takes place around the tomb of Christ in the center of the nave. A unique feature of the service is the chanting of the Lamentations or Praises (Enkōmia), which consist of verses chanted by the clergy interspersed between the verses of Psalm 119 (which is, by far, the longest psalm in the Bible). At the end of the Great Doxology, while the Trisagion is sung, the epitaphios is taken in procession around the outside the church, and is then returned to the tomb. Some churches observe the practice of holding the epitaphios at the door, above waist level, so the faithful most bow down under it as they come back into the church, symbolizing their entering into the death and resurrection of Christ. The epitaphios will lay in the tomb until the Paschal Service early Sunday morning. In most churches, the epitaphios is never left alone, but is accompanied 24 hours a day by a reader chanting from the Book of Psalms.
The Troparion (hymn of the day) of Good Friday is:

The noble Joseph, when he had taken down Thy most pure Body from the tree, wrapped it in fine linen, and anointed it with spices, and placed it in a new tomb.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The angel came to the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb and said:
Myrrh is fitting for the dead, but Christ has shown Himself a stranger to corruption.

In many countries with a strong Christian tradition such as Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, Mexico, Venezuela, the countries of the Caribbean, Germany, Malta, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom, the day is observed as a public or federal holiday.
In many English-speaking countries, such as Singapore, most shops are closed for the day and advertising from television and radio broadcasts is withdrawn to some degree.

In Hong Kong and Macau, all businesses and government offices are closed for a public holiday. Both SAR have a notable Christian population and have observed this holiday prior to their respective handover.

In the United States Good Friday is not a government holiday at the federal level; however individual states and municipalities may observe the holiday. Good Friday is a state holiday in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky (half day), Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. State and local government offices and courts are closed, as well as some banks and postal offices in these states.

Some private businesses and certain other institutions are closed on Good Friday. The financial market and stock market is closed on Good Friday. However, the vast majority of businesses are open either full or half day on Good Friday. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government do not close for Good Friday.

In India, Good Friday is a Central or Federal Government as well as a State Government holiday. The Stock Markets and banks are closed as it is regarded as a Negotiable Instruments Holiday. Some other businesses are also closed in states where Christians are in considerable numbers viz. Assam, Goa, and Kerala. The majority of business establishments remain open all over the country. Generally, all schools and colleges are closed in India on Good Friday.

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, which is calculated differently in Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity (see Computus for details). Easter falls on the first Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon, the full moon on or after 21 March, taken to be the date of the vernal equinox. The Western calculation uses the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern calculation uses the Julian calendar, whose 21 March now corresponds to the Gregorian calendar's 3 April. The calculations for identifying the date of the full moon also differ. See Easter Dating Method (Astronomical Society of South Australia).

In Eastern Christianity, Easter can fall between March 22 and April 25 on Julian Calendar (thus between April 4 and May 8 in terms of the Gregorian calendar, during the period 1900 and 2099), so Good Friday can fall between March 20 and April 23, inclusive (or between April 2 and May 6 in terms of the Gregorian calendar).

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