TRADICIJA TRADITION USKRS IZMEĐU ISTOKA I ZAPADA EASTER BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
Većinu ljudi zbunjuje tih 13 dana, koji zapravo predstavljaju razliku između julijanskog i gregorijanskog kalendara. Zbunjenost nije manja kada se dogodi, kao ove godine, da obe crkve proslavljaju Uskrs istog dana. Ima li razlike između pravoslavnog i katoličkog Uskrsa?
Most people are confused by those 13 days, which actually represent the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The confusion is no less when, like this year, all churches celebrate Easter on the same day. Are there any differences between Easters?
Tekst / Words: Tamara Ognjević, istoričarka umetnosti / art historian Fotografije / Photography: iStock U skrs je onaj trenutak ka- da se ostvaruje najzna- čajnije Hristovo obeća- nje – pobeda nad smrću i uspostavljanje novog zaveta iz- među Boga i verujućih, zaveta ko- ji garantuje večni život. U tom kon- tekstu, posebno za pravoslavce, ali i predstavnike Istočne katoličke cr- kve (Libanci, Rumuni, Italoalbanci, deo Ukrajinaca…) Uskrs predstav- lja praznik nad praznicima, vreme kada se krunišu i venčavaju kralje- vi, krštavaju prestolonaslednici, ali i obični smrtnici, obnavljaju stari i uspostavljaju novi savezi. To je vre- me kada je sa stanovišta hrišćan- ske crkve najpoželjnije i preminu- ti, budući da je od uskršnje nedelje, pa u narednih sedam dana, u vreme Svetle sedmice, nebo otvoreno i svi oni koji tada napuste ovaj svet idu direktno u raj. Vaskrs, Uskrs ili Pasha, kako je od davnina nazivan ovaj praznik po uzoru na jevrejski Pesah, praznik koji obeležava onaj čuveni, često filmova- ni izlazak Jevreja iz faraonskog Egip- ta, počinje Velikim postom. Upravo
E aster is the moment when Christ’s most important promise is realised – victory over death and the es- tablishment of a new covenant be- tween God and believers, a covenant that guarantees eternal life. In this context, es- pecially for Orthodox Christians, but also representatives of so-called Eastern Catho- lic Churches (Lebanese, Romanians, Ita- lo-Albanians, part of Ukrainians etc.), East- er represents the holiday of the holidays, a time when royals are crowned and wed, when heirs to the throne are baptised, but also ordinary mortals, and when old alli- ances are renewed and new ones estab- lished. This is also the time when, from the standpoint of the Christian Church, it is most desirable to die, given that dur- ing Easter Sunday and the following sev- en days, in the time of the so-called Bright Week/Renewal Week, the doors of Heaven are open and all those who leave this world during that time go directly to Heaven. Easter Exodus or Pascha, as this holi- day has long been called – based on the model of the Jewish holiday of Passover, is the holiday that marks the famous event, often depicted in film, of the Jews leav- ing Pharaonic Egypt, and which marks the
start of the great fasting period of Lent. It is precisely this process, which involves not only abstaining from food of animal ori- gin, but also, above all, from ugly thoughts and deeds, that acts as a kind of prepara- tion for the receiving of Easter commun- ion, and with it all that Easter symbolises. For Catholics and Protestants this fast begins on so-called Ash Wednesday, the day named after the symbolic ashes sprin- kled over the faithful by the priest, and lasts for 40 days, not counting Sundays. Ortho- dox believers start their fast on Pure Mon- day, named after the old tradition of clean- ing the home and the household bathing on the eve of the Great Lent, which also lasts 40 days, counting Sundays. Unlike Catholics and Protestants, Or- thodox Christians celebrate Lazarus Satur- day or Willow day on the Saturday preced- ing the Great Sabbath, and all Christians celebrate the next day, Palm Sunday, repre- senting Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem. While Orthodox believers remain silent during Holy Week, or the week of Christ’s demise, undergoing strict fasting on water, and of- ten on Good Friday practising complete fasting, or at least avoiding red colour- ed foods, which symbolise the blood of
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