VADIM GHIRDA, of the Associated Press, was in the city of Constanta, Romania, recently as the Romanian Orthodox church marked Easter…
Constanta, Romania
AP
Stretching the church calendar, Orthodox Easter arrived over a month late in a Romanian city on the shores of the Black Sea.
Wanting to give worshippers the opportunity to take part in what is considered to be the most important Christian celebration, Romanian Orthodox Archbishop Teodosie held an unprecedented Easter service Tuesday night that continued into the early hours of Wednesday.
Orthodox worshippers, a few wearing masks for protection against the COVID-19 virus, spread around an open archaeological site outside the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, which includes ruins dating as far back as the Roman Empire, hold candles during a religious service in the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, on 27th May. Romanian Orthodox Archbishop Teodosie rescheduled the Orthodox Easter service, which was to be held in mid-April, to offer worshippers an opportunity to celebrate Easter properly after the cancelling of the original 19th April service due to the national lockdown imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic. PICTURE: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda.
This year, the service was originally supposed to have been held on April 19, but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The rescheduled event, which was frowned upon by the leaders of Romania’s Orthodox Church, the country’s dominant faith, was attended by hundreds of people.
“This heals the wounds that people had during the Easter days, when they stayed far and yearned for the church and for the light of the resurrection,” Archbishop Teodosie said during the service. “We are all happy. This is how the religious service looks like in every church. Christ is risen.”
Orthodox Archbishop Teodosie prepares to distribute holy light during a religious service in the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, shortly before midnight on 26th May. PICTURE: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda.
The great majority of worshippers used masks to cover their faces, though Archbishop Teodosie and many of the service’s other celebrants did not.
Some people traveled to the service, held outside the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, from as far away as Romanian capital Bucharest, about 225 kilometres to the west.
Orthodox worshippers, a few wearing masks for protection against the COVID-19 virus, attend a religious service in the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, on 27th May. PICTURE: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda.
“I came from Bucharest after a hard day of work, hundreds of kilometers, and I don’t regret this at all,” Lidia Seceleanu said. “It’s a special moment, a spiritual moment, wonderful.”
The worshippers were spread around an open archaeological site outside the cathedral, which includes some ruins dating as far back as the Roman Empire.
Romanian Orthodox Archbishop Teodosie holds a candle as orthodox worshippers, a few wearing masks for protection against the COVID-19 virus, stand around the remains of buildings, the oldest from the sixth century BC, during a religious service in the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, on 27th May. PICTURE: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda.
While the service wasn’t banned, leaders of Romania’s Orthodox Church called Archbishop Teodosie’s decision to go ahead with it “unilateral.”
Easter commemorations were also held late Tuesday night by the Greek Orthodox churches in Greece and Cyprus, but those services were part of their regular liturgical calendars, not extraordinary events like the service in Constanta.
Orthodox worshipers, some wearing masks for protection against the COVID-19 virus, wait for a religious service in the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, late on 26th May. PICTURE: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda.
Still, the coronavirus pandemic gave them a special meaning.
“It will have a greater symbolic dimension this year, because Easter was to a certain degree muted as the faithful weren’t able to participate” in the church services, said Haris Konidaris, the spokesman for the Archdiocese of Athens.
Orthodox worshippers, wearing masks for protection against the COVID-19 virus, wait for a religious service in the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, late on 26th May. PICTURE: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda.
Some churches in Cyprus also held four-hour vigils to offer a “heightened sense of Easter.”
