Eastern Orthodox Christians to celebrate their Easter services virtually on Sunday
Miami’s Orthodox Christians will celebrate their Easter on Sunday watching their services live-streamed from churches, forgoing the elaborate in-person services that normally take place.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, with more than 200 million followers worldwide, usually celebrates Easter after Roman Catholics do as it follows a different calendar.
“The pandemic of the novel coronavirus has changed our daily life and our church life,” said His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians around the world. “The churches are closed to our faithful.”
Orthodox churchgoers this year will attend services virtually. They will be forced to forgo the fragrant incense, the ageless Byzantine chants and the faces of brothers and sisters at midnight, backlit by candles — centuries-old traditions in the Orthodox Church.
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Roman Catholics and Protestants held Easter services last Sunday. Since 1582, Roman Catholics have followed the Gregorian calendar named after Pope Gregory XIII.
Orthodox Christians have followed the Julian calendar since 325, or for nearly 1,700 years. The calendar runs about 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar and requires that Easter services be held on the Sunday following Jewish Passover.
Miami’s Orthodox community includes ethnic Greek, Lebanese, Russian, Serbian and Coptic Christians, whose origin traces back to Egypt.
“We must acknowledge and accept that these [COVID-19] measures do not affect our faith,” Bartholomew said. “The entire life of the Church is Pascha.”
Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Coral Way in Miami will stream Holy Week services at http://www.stsophiamiami.org.
St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Kendall will also live-stream its services at http://www.standrewfl.com/
