The Holy Week of Serbian Orthodoxes in Hungary and Bishop Lukijan’s Easter Message
Resurrection in a close circle.
According to the traditions of the Catholic Church and the Gregorian calendar, we celebrated the Resurrection of Christ on April 12, last week. That day, the Orthodox were still celebrating Palm Sunday, commemorating Christ’s entry to Jerusalem. In this short reportage we wish to introduce how the Holy Week took place in Hungary for Serbian Orthodoxes. Although the faithful had only limited or no access to visit, the ceremonies were held throughout the country, still maintaining the long-preserved traditions. At the end of our report, there’s an excerpt from the circular letter of Lukijan, Bishop of Buda and Temesvár (Timișoara).
This short report starts a series on ethnic and religious minorities in Hungary.
Palm Sunday in Százhalombatta (Бата).
Holy Thursday in Budapest (Будимпешта).
Good Friday in the Monastery of Grábóc (манастир Грабовац).
Procession on Good Friday in Hercegszántó (Сантово).
Procession on Good Friday in Budakalász (Калаз).
The tomb of Christ in Lórév (Ловра).
Bishop Lukijan in Szentendre (Сентандреја), on Holy Saturday.
From the Easter message of Bishop Lukijan to the Diocese of Buda, its priests, monastic members and all believers:
Dear fathers! Don’t be sad, that you’re serving alone – but offer your prayers even stronger to our Resurrected Lord, and pray even more persistently for the faithful who were unable to attend the liturgy and for being together with them as soon as possible. And You, dear Believers, who can’t come to our greatest festivity, don’t be sad – but do sing the troparion of Resurrection: Christ is risen from the dead… And pray just as you would do at church with your priests and those faithful, who were able to attend. Open your windows to hear the bells tolling, and tell your loved ones: Christ is risen indeed!
[…]
Let’s renew our life on the Feast of Life. Let’s change ourselves to become real parents, sons, daughters, partners and let’s rebuild the broken bridges between ourselves. Let’s put the real values onto their respective places, before it’s too late. Let’s ask ourselves, as the Lord did – Who is my brother? This presumes renouncement, temptation, inner suffering; but we know that resurrection is possible only through these hardships. We know that the Lord, who is Love, loves us, our dear families, our brothers and sisters, our friends, and that this love can transform the world.
Right now we all feel, that how much we need God, but also how much we need each other as well. Even more than ever before man needs another, because we can overwhelm life’s hardships only together, loving each other, in loyalty to God. And we will see, just as we return to God, that He as All-mighty Doctor will put an end to our troubles.
And we can not be the same what we were before, we have to become better, much-much better and more persistent in our faith, lest we would be striked by something even worse.
Greeting the victory over misfortunes CHRIST IS RISEN!
In your prayers with and beside you, my pastors and believers, your Bishop of Buda and Temesvár
+Lukijan
Photos: Српска православна Епархија будимска (Budai Szerb Ortodox Egyházmegye) FB-page
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