Chapter 68: Holy Week and Pascha

Palm Sunday, May 1, 1983, McKinley, Ohio

"Where are your palm branches?" Clarissa asked when I returned home from church.

"Just how many palm trees do YOU think grew around Moscow and Saint Petersburg?"

"Probably not too many."

"Which is why I have pussy willows in my hand!"

"It's Palm Sunday, and you've already been to church Friday night, Saturday morning and night, and this morning."

"It's only just begun," I chuckled. "Tonight is the first Bridegroom Matins."

"If I wanted to see the most interesting services, which services should I go to?"

"The Twelve Gospels, which is Thursday night, and the Lamentations, which are Friday evening. And Pascha, of course."

"How long are those services?"

"The Twelve Gospels is around four hours, start to finish. Lamentations are about ninety minutes. I can show you the services in the Lenten Triodion. Pascha is about four hours, plus the party afterwards."

"Are the services the same every year?"

"Identical. My first memories of church are the Holy Week services. I haven't missed one since I was born because the forty days would have ended before Palm Sunday, 1963."

"Forty days?"

"Jesus was brought to the temple after forty days, and that's when Simeon received him and prayed over him. We emulate that, and moms and babies don't go to church for the first forty days after the baby is born. There's no prohibition on going to the church during that time, but it's a long-standing tradition not to."

"Is that when you were baptized?"

"No. I was about three months old, which is pretty common. If a newborn were to be sick, the baptism could be performed right away. Our baptisms are different from the Romans, though, because first of all, it has to be done by triple immersion; but more importantly, chrismation and receiving the Eucharist occur during the same service where the baptism is done. The Romans split it into Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation, with the Sacrament of Penance occurring before First Communion. For us, confession comes when the parents and priest agree the child is ready, but nothing else depends on it."

"So why doesn't Angie have to be baptized?"

"Because the chrism will 'fill up' anything lacking in the Roman Catholic sacrament. If she were just being received by affirmation, which is, in effect, saying the Creed without the Filioque and renouncing the Pope as the universal bishop, then the Eucharist would fill up whatever was missing in her confirmation and baptism."

"I think I've heard that Latin term before, but I don't know the details."

"The short version is that Rome, by fiat, attempted to unilaterally change the Nicene Creed without agreement from the other Patriarchs by adding 'and the son' to the phrase 'I believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father'. What's called 'Dual Procession' turns the entire concept of the Trinity upside down and takes away the uniqueness of the Father as 'source'. I could get into serious detail about the theology and the mess it makes, but I don't think it matters for you. Suffice it to say, we disagree, so she'll need to say the Creed without those three words."

"So, hypothetically speaking, what would happen if I were to become Orthodox?"

"Hypothetically speaking, it's up to the bishop!"

"Don't be an ass, Petrovich!" Clarissa laughed. "I'm not asking for a decree from Rome here!"

I chuckled, "I'm actually safer speaking for them than I am for my own bishop! In all seriousness, it would depend on what happened. Were you baptized in the name of the Trinity with water?"

"I think so. I'd have to ask my mom."

"If so, then most likely it would be a chrismation ceremony similar to the one Angie will have. But, in the end, the bishop would decide. Is this more of your thinking process?"

"I believe you agree informed decisions require as many facts as you can muster."

"I do."

"And no matter where life takes us, this is going to be important to you, right?"

"Absolutely."

"So, at a minimum, I should know enough about it to understand you, right?"

"Are you sure you shouldn't switch to law, Miss Prosecuting Attorney?" I chuckled. "But yes."

"If I ever utter the words 'I think I might want to go to law school,' you have my permission to have me committed to the nearest asylum!"

"We already live in Rickenbacker Dorm at Taft! And I'm going to be an RA!"

"So the inmates are running the asylum?"

"I'd say!"

Great and Holy Tuesday, May 3, 1983, McKinley, Ohio

"Just one more lab for the semester!" Fran declared as we left the lab.

"And then next semester, we LIVE in the lab," Sandy laughed. "I guess you guys are going to live in the patient records room at the hospital, right?"

"Yes. Mostly, we're doing statistical analysis. I guess you guys are doing actual lab work."

"If watching the machine that goes 'ping' is actual lab work!" Clarissa laughed.

I laughed, recalling the scene from The Meaning of Life, which we'd seen about a month previously.

"We're all undergrads," Jason added, "So it's no real surprise we do the grunt work."

"And the professors get all the credit!" Pete added.

"All we care about is our names being listed SOMEWHERE in the published results," Fran said. "I guess you guys already have that promise, right, Mike?"

"Yes. The medical schools and hospitals really only care that we were involved in something important. And even then, it's just one criterion they use for admission and Match selections."

"Have I said recently how happy I am that I'm going for a Master's in biochem?" Jason grinned.

"Only every time you and I talk about the future!" Fran teased.

"So, is this a done deal?" Sandy asked.

"I believe the only answer which permits me to make it back to the dorm alive is 'yes'!" Jason laughed.

"He learns quickly!" Fran said with a soft laugh, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "We'll probably get married as soon as he gets his Master's and gets a job."

"Just in time for your clinical rotations," I said, shaking my head.

"We just have to map out med schools and graduate programs and apply in the same cities."

"Any idea where?" Clarissa asked.

"Chicago and Boston are our top choices, and Columbus is our third. I guess the three of you are all trying for McKinley Medical School?"

"First choice," I said. "Second is UC in Cincinnati; third is University of Pittsburgh. But those latter two are really backups because, with our grades, good MCAT scores, and recommendations from professors here, we should get into McKinley without trouble. Matching together is going to be the big challenge. The algorithm doesn't take friendship into account, though married couples can request to Match together, and they actually Match first."

"Well, unless you three can somehow get the state to allow three-way marriages, THAT solution won't work!" Pete laughed.

"Leave it to a guy to come up with THAT solution!" Fran said, shaking her head.

I felt it was best to simply keep my mouth shut rather than give Clarissa even MORE opportunity to harass me! We arrived back at the dorm and deposited our books. It wasn't quite time for lunch, so Sandy, Clarissa, and I hung out in my room until the rest of the gang was ready to leave for the cafeteria.

After lunch, both lab groups gathered to discuss our results so that Fran and I could type up the reports on Thursday afternoon. We had just finished when Angie exited the elevator. She was greeted by everyone, and we agreed to get coffee in the Student Union. We stayed there for about an hour before Angie had to leave so she could be home in time for church, and she gave me a quick hug before she got into her car.

"She seems like she's better," Sandy observed once Angie had left.

"I think so," I said. "She's going to take Summer school courses so she can graduate on time."

"So Mrs. Loucks is back?" Sophia asked.

"Please don't say that around her," I said. "I have no idea what's going to happen. Angie and I will have to talk."

"But what happens if she simply assumes she can start praying with you, running with you, and going to church with you?"

"Well, church is a given," I replied. "I couldn't very well refuse to give her a ride to church. The other stuff? Once she's back, I'll talk to her. I just need to be careful not to hurt her."

"A tall order, especially if she simply assumes she gets to be Mrs. Loucks again," Sophia observed.

"I know. But I don't know what to do except wait and see what she says."

We headed back inside, and Clarissa and I decided to hang out together. We went to my room to listen to music and cuddled on the bed.

"What happens if she's decided she IS Mrs. Loucks and is ready to make love with you?" Clarissa asked.

"I'm in NO position to make that kind of commitment," I replied. "She'd see it as a commitment to marry her, and I am NOT considering that."

"Now? Or ever?"

"Now, certainly. I'd really need to speak with her counselor before I could even consider something like that, and we'd probably need to see a counselor together. The last thing I want to do is sign up for the kinds of problems that might arise with her in the future."

"But couldn't those things happen with anyone? I mean, some issue which caused you not to have sex?"

"Don't you think it's different if someone has already shown themselves to have difficulties in that area? And there really isn't a way to test her recovery except to take her word for it, so to speak."

"Would you marry someone you hadn't slept with first?"

I chuckled, "You mean like Tasha?"

"Yes, but if I understand the hints you've given, Tasha has made it quite clear she's going to very much enjoy marriage!"

I chuckled, "She has said that, yes. But in all seriousness, sure, of course I could. I mean, how low is it to say, 'Have sex with me so I can decide if we should get married'? And what happens if I decide it's not good enough? What do I say? 'Gee, sorry, but not good enough'?"

"That would be low even for you!" Clarissa teased.

"Oh, COME ON!" I laughed. "You know me WAY better than that."

"I do, but I love teasing you! But all kidding aside, is there one of them you would choose over the others?"

"I don't know that I can answer that question right now. I've had problems with each of them in one way or the other. Heck, so far, the only relationship with a girl I haven't had a problem with is you!"

"Sandy? Sophia? Kristin? Mindy?"

"I was more referring to someone I was potentially going to spend my life with, one way or the other."

"Speaking of that, when are you going to talk to Jocelyn's mom?"

"When I go home for Memorial Day. Jocelyn won't be home until Saturday, so when I leave here after our last final, I'll go straight to her place before going home. I don't have to pack up my stuff, either. I can move it to my RA room on the 2nd floor when I come back from West Monroe."

"I'm going to miss you during the Summer, Petrovich."

"And I'm going to miss you, too, Lissa."

Great and Holy Thursday, May 5, 1983, McKinley, Ohio

"Will you explain what's going to happen?" Clarissa asked as we drove toward church on Thursday evening.

"Well, you'll have to leave before the virgin sacrifices, but otherwise, it's a normal service."

Clarissa laughed, "And just how are these virgins 'sacrificed'?"

I chuckled, "Wouldn't YOU like to know!"

"Be serious!"

"Sorry. It's an extended Matins service, so it'll start with the Trisagion prayers, which you've heard me say, then eight Psalms with prayers and hymns interspersed, then the Ektenia, which are the prayers to which we respond with «Господи, помилуй» (gospodi, pomiluy), «Kýrie, eléison» or 'Lord, have mercy', then a sequence of twelve readings from the Gospels. It contains all the passion accounts, and there are prayers and hymns which are interspersed. Don't freak out, though, as the first reading is the longest, and they get shorter."

"Freak out?"

"A couple of years ago, back at Holy Transfiguration, we had some visitors for this service, and when they had heard the first reading, which is John 13:31 — 18:1, and I lit the first of twelve candles, they gasped, then walked out."

"Wow! Really?"

"If all the readings were as long as the first, the service would be about six hours instead of just shy of four!"

"Have I told you that you're nuts, Petrovich?"

"Repeatedly! But you love me, so what does that say about you?"

"That I need my head examined! Is there communion?"

"No. We had a Vesperal Divine Liturgy this morning to celebrate the Last Supper. Tonight, we'll reënact the Crucifixion, complete with a cross and an icon of the crucified Christ."

"Want to explain how you get 'three days and three nights' from Friday to Sunday?"

I chuckled, "If I were a Protestant literalist, that might be a problem; I'm not. The Creed says Jesus was 'was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, in fulfillment of the Scriptures.' That's true — Friday is day one, Saturday is day two, and Sunday is day three.

"Now, if you want to push the 'three days and three nights' thing, there are several ways to explain it, but most of them are semantic games. The one that doesn't require hand-waving is that it's the period which was considered enough time to make sure the person was actually dead. Sort of like having a wake and not burying the person until you made darn sure they were really dead. That phrase is then understood as, in effect, long enough to be sure.

"You can, in a way, compare it to the use of 'forty' in the Scriptures, which is a way of saying 'a long time, but nobody knows how long'. Some people try to read that literally, but they shouldn't — forty days, forty years, and so on simply mean 'a long time' either in weeks or years, depending. Ultimately, these kinds of supposed contradictions only arise if you try to read poetry as if it were literally true in every single word. Father Herman taught us what I think is a very good way to explain it in a few words — the Bible is the Word of God, NOT the words of God."

"You know what's scary?"

"What?"

"What otherwise seems to be nonsense makes sense when you explain it!"

"I've told you time and again, Western Christianity made a mess of the theology and that, in context, it all makes sense. The proper context is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church."

"Catholic?"

"The word «katholikos» means 'according to the whole', and the other four ancient patriarchates have a far better claim to that word than Rome! We took the appellation 'Orthodox' to signify we were doing it right, so to speak. You know 'ortho' means 'straight' or 'right', and 'dox' means 'worship' or 'glory'. So the Greek Orthodox Catholic Church is the one which worships properly and is according to the whole, or 'universal', truth. And that's where we have issues with the Pope; he claims to be the universal bishop, but that's impossible, as each bishop is the leader of his own diocese and equal to every other bishop."

"I thought you guys had a Metropolitan or a Patriarch who was in charge."

"Think of them as Chairman of the Board — they get to hold the gavel at the meeting, but they have no special powers beyond that. Rome DID have the right to hear appeals from the other Patriarchates, but expanded that claim to universal authority instead of being 'first among equals'."

"How did you learn all of this stuff?"

"Sunday school and homilies for the last twenty years!"

"So what do I do during the service?"

"Same as everyone else — stand and pray. You can stand close to me, just stay to the left, close to the wall. There are benches you can sit on if your feet start to hurt, which they will."

"But not yours?"

"I've been standing in church since I could stand; I'm used to it."

Just over four hours later, we were back in my car, driving back to campus.

"What did you think?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean, the service was totally cool, and at times, it felt like it lasted forever, but I liked the fact that it seemed like there was always something happening."

"Still want to come to Lamentations tomorrow?"

"I think so."

Great and Holy Friday, May 6, 1983, McKinley, Ohio

"Ready for breakfast?" Clark asked on Friday morning as I came back from my shower after my run.

"No," I replied. "I'm leaving for church in a few minutes. Remember, I'm not eating today."

"Nothing at all?"

"Correct. Starting last night before the service until Sunday morning after the Paschal service."

"How can you do that?"

"Mind over matter," I replied. "I'll drink juice to make sure I don't let my blood sugar drop too low, and water, but that's all."

"White Boy, you're crazy! And no nookie all week? That's taking things WAY too far!"

"Yeah, but you're still going to come to church tomorrow!"

He laughed, "The one black guy in the entire place?"

"Nah, Larry and Carter will be there, too," I grinned. "But there are two black families at Saint Michael. Remember what I told you about our bishops marching with Doctor King? Those two families found the Orthodox Church in the 60s and are still members. Now, I need to get out of here, or I'll be late."

I left and headed down to the parking lot for the drive to church. I'd spend all day there, as the services were spread through the day, then use the hour between Vespers and Lamentations to come back to campus to get Clarissa, then take her back to campus while I returned to church for the all-night vigil where we read the entire Psalter. I'd sleep on Saturday after my ordination and most of Sunday after Agape Vespers, but otherwise, I'd be awake and in church.

When I arrived at church, Father Nicholas took me aside.

"His Grace will be here at 7:00am and would like to spend thirty minutes talking and praying with you before your ordination."

"I planned to stay all night with the teens and college kids for the All-Night Vigil, so I'll be here."

"Make sure you get some sleep tomorrow afternoon, Reader Michael."

I nodded, "Already planned! I did my shopping for my Pascha basket yesterday, and it's mostly assembled, and I finished all my homework. I also took a quiz yesterday for Father Jacobs' Latin class."

"I'm happy your professors have been coöperative; they aren't always."

"Actually, Father Jacobs offered his help if I encountered any trouble."

"He's a good man. What did Clarissa think of the service last night?"

"She was a bit overwhelmed. She asked which were the most interesting services, so I suggested last night plus Lamentations. She and a bunch of friends will be at church tomorrow, as we discussed. She'll be at Pascha, as will Sophia."

"Good. Your new vestments are hanging in the vestry — three sets to match mine and Deacon Grigory's."

"Three? Really?"

"Gold, White, and Purple."

"Wow. I didn't expect that!"

"We were only going to order gold, but someone offered to cover the cost of the other two sets."

"Whoever it was, please thank them on my behalf."

"I actually don't know. That went through Deacon Grigory, as all donations do. After all, that IS the Deacon's responsibility."