On the night of April 15-16, a festive Easter service was held in the Army Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection. Priest John Zupko, in co-operation with the deacon Dionysius Sakovich, performed the vesper, a procession, the Holy Matins, and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. On this holy night, a large number of worshipers gathered to share Easter joy with each other, most of whom received communion. In his sermon Fr. John noted that the long-awaited event had happened. The Lord revealed himself and the fire of grace came down to confirm God’s mercy to us. I wished that the victory of Christ never faded in our hearts and daily filled our lives with a fullness of joy and meaning.

Easter chants were performed by choir singers under the baton of mother Lyudmila Tsupko. “For our parish of St. George the Victorious this is the first Easter that we meet in this magnificent Starocherkassk Army Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection, as well as, for our young choir, this is the first Easter, which we accompany with our singing. We are very grateful to God for this opportunity and our senior priest, Fr. Valery Voloshchuk for such trust in us. We have been preparing hard for this day to glorify the Risen Savior with one voice and one heart ”! The Lord showed us his mercy and the divine service passed in the same breath, the heart overwhelms with joy. It gives strength for further work for the benefit of the Church! ”- commented the choir’s regent.

We also managed to talk right after the Easter service with the choir singers. Here are their impressions.

Olga Shevchuk, the head of the church bell-ringing school of St. George the Victorious, accompanied the procession by a bell-ringing: “An indelible impression for me is the first Easter greeting – Christ is Risen!, which the priest proclaims while standing still in the closed doors of the church. And you understand that the most important words of this night and this life are here!”

Mother Anna Molchanova: “Easter is the most important holiday in the life of every believer, whom we look forward to for a year. And the fact is very important for me that for the first time I was able to participate in the Easter service as a chorister on the feast day of this wonderful temple. The feeling of great joy overwhelms you, as was sung in the service: “This day, create the Lord, rejoice in it!” This is a great day on which all people who have fasted and not fasted receive their Easter joy. “

Zharkov Macarius: “I was touched by this Easter, special service, the words of chants that can not be forgotten, penetrate deeply into the soul of every person. “Word for Easter” of St. John Chrysostom is heard every time with a special feeling. Festive joy inspires, gives strength to fulfill duties and live! ”These extraordinary experiences inspired Macarius and he shared with us a newly formed poem:

The earth grieves and the sky is terrified
Having beheld the Creator crucified.
Sinless, He took the sins of the world
To bring people from death to life.

His most pure body was buried,
But his spirit descended into hell to liberate
People languishing in the depths of darkness
Under the power of the worldly Satan.

Christ is Risen! And hell is overthrown.
The devil is wounded by one, who stretch hands on the cross.
The dead rose and the sky triumphs.
The whole world rejoices and life dwells!

After the Easter service, the priesthood, together with the choir, went out to consecrate the Easter cakes, where the chorus also told the believers about the resurrected Christ with the chanting “Christ is Risen from the dead, defeats the death by death and giving life to the people in tombs”.

In these bright days, we will try to share the joy of the Risen Savior with everyone who is ready to hear our triumphant greeting:

CHRIST IS RISEN!
TRULY, HE IS RISEN!