Between Passion Week and Passover

Christians around the world are preparing for Easter, celebrated this year on April the 20th. On Palm Sunday, the most important religious holiday before Easter, Romanian Orthodox and Catholic believers organized processions.

Florentin Căpitănescu, 14.04.2014, 12:25

For Orthodox and Catholic Christians around the world, Passion Week has begun, which commemorates the circumstances of Jesus Christ’s suffering, crucifixion, death and burial, anticipating the Resurrection of Christ. All these moments are commemorated in Orthodox churches through special services called Matins.

On these days, believers fast and clean their homes for the great feast of the Resurrection on Saturday night. Traditionally, Passion Week, also known as Holy Week, is opened by Palm Sunday, the most important feast before Easter, which celebrates Christ’s entry into Jerusalem.

In Bucharest, on Palm Sunday, Orthodox believers, which make up the majority denomination of the country, took part in a procession, with nearly four thousand of them going from Radu Voda Monastery to the Patriarchy Cathedral, where they were welcomed by the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel.

After blessing the pilgrims, Patriarch Daniel spoke about the importance of Christian pilgrimage. He said, “pilgrimage is a public statement of faith, an expression of Christian love and a form of communion, as well as a blessing for each city where it takes place.

The Palm Sunday pilgrimage means hope, and a departure from the egotism of individual life. It is a call for association with the Christian community.” Palm Sunday processions were held in most Romanian Orthodox communities in the country and abroad.

Also in Bucharest, over two thousand Catholics took part in a procession organized by the Roman-Catholic Archbishopric of Bucharest, during which a message of Pope Francis was read. The procession started at the French church “Sacre Coeur” and ended at the St. Joseph Cathedral, where Metropolitan Archbishop Ioan Robu performed the Palm Sunday Liturgy.

This year, on April the 20th the Catholic and Orthodox Christians will celebrate Easter together, marking the fundamental experience of Christianity, namely the Resurrection of Christ after His crucifixion. Also beginning on Monday, the Jewish people, including the ones living in Romania, will celebrate Passover, an 8-day festival which commemorates the liberation of the Jews from slavery in ancient Egypt.