Eastern Orthodox Pascha Concert - 2012

St. Peter and St. Paul Orthodox Church
A Parish of the Orthodox Church in America, Diocese of the Midwest
6980 County Line Road, Burr Ridge, Illinois 60527


The Orthodox Church humbly, yet confidently professes to be the original Church of Christ, founded on the apostolic witness to our Lord, born on the Day of Pentecost, and for over 2,000 years making known to all nations the path to salvation through repentance and faith in Christ. Our parish family is dedicated to spreading the Good News throughout our local community and the world. Our members are made up of a variety of ethnic and social backgrounds, and our services are in English. We welcome all visitors, whether they are long-time Orthodox Christians, new converts, those rediscovering their faith after many years away or simply wanting to learn more about Orthodox Christianity.

If you are a first-time visitor or long-time member of the church, please take a few minutes to explore our website. You will find the parish calendar and information on our activities and events, as well as several good resources for those curious about the Orthodox Faith.


For more information or to inquire about our faith...
Please visit our website at: http://stpeterandstpaulorthodoxchurch...


What in the world is PASCHA?

Pasha is a Christian festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as described in the New Testament. Pascha is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains the days of the Pascha Triduum, including Maundy Thursday (also known as Holy Thursday), commemorating the Last Supper and its preceding foot washing, as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Pascha is followed by a fifty-day period called Eastertide or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday.

Pasha is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Pascha as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the March equinox. Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on 21 March (even though the equinox occurs, astronomically speaking, on 20 March in most years), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily the astronomically correct date. The date of Pascha therefore varies between 22 March and 25 April. Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian calendar whose 21 March corresponds, during the 21st century, to 3 April in the Gregorian calendar, in which the celebration of Pascha therefore varies between 4 April and 8 May.

Pasha is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many languages, the words for "Pascha" and "Passover" are etymologically related or homonymous. Pascha customs vary across the Christian world, but attending sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting "Christ is Risen", is the custom for Orthodox Christians.