Burns is a PCA Minister serving as pastor of the Nicosia Community Church, an independent, multi-denominational congregation in Cyprus. He regularly shares interesting stories of the culture on this beautiful Mediterranean Island.

Easter is a special holiday on Cyprus – not only for its religious significance, but also for the fact that it coincides with Cyprus Independence Day. Essentially the country has been on holiday since Wednesday afternoon and will remain on holiday until Tuesday morning when people return to work.

Church services started in earnest with Maundy Thursday and of course we had our own. A small service at our apartment – about 18 people from the congregation. We had a simple supper of lentil soup and bread, and then we read John 13, and used then had 12 people read from the Living Last Supper – reflecting on the question: “Is it I Lord?”

The n/xt day we held our Good Friday prayer service. The Orthodox Churches begin theirs at 6:30PM, and they last about 2 hours, culminating in a procession with the epitaphion (a large cloth, embroidered and often richly adorned, used to cover the altar). Cindy spent some time today touring various churches to see the epitaphion – each church decorates its Holy Sepulcher with flowers given by the congregation.

The church bells ring several times on Saturday…starting early in the morning with the Holy Saturday mass. And it was interesting watching churches collect waste wood for their bonfires.

As we left a restaurant on Saturday, a friend waved to the owner and said “Kalo Pascha” (Happy Easter) and the reply was “Christos Anesthi” (Christ is risen). No self-conscious shyness about it…for all and many to hear…and oft repeated throughout the day.

Holy Saturday ends with a midnight celebration of the Divine Liturgy, which signifies the Resurrection and the end of the Lenten fast. This is followed by a bonfire commemorating Judas’ eternal punishment in hell for betraying Christ.

At about 12:20AM Sunday morning…just after midnight…the Orthodox Churches finished their Easter Vigil services and the fireworks have started throughout the city. For at least 15-minutes the church bells peel throughout the city…we can hear them coming from different churches as we stand in different locations on our balcony. The bonfires that symbolize Judas’ eternal punishment are lit, and we can see the reflection of several of these from nearby churches. Then people go home, eat lentil soup and bread…and finally go to bed. They will awaken in the morning to and begin a long family-based celebration…that usually involves BBQ’ing large amounts of lamb, pork, and other foods to celebrate the end of the Lenten Fast

On a humorous note, the paper usually reports an increase in cases of gastroenteritis as the number of people that end their fast begin eating regular food. According to many in my congregation…emergency rooms will begin seeing an increase in patients by late afternoon.

Awoke Easter morning to the remains of the previous night’s bonfires. There was a pall of black smoke rising from the ashes of the bonfire at each neighborhood church, as well as the cathedrals. And it was very quiet – no bells – people were still sleeping.

Easter weekend is another of those occasions where family is hugely important – several members of my congregation have returned to outlying villages to spend the holiday with their family. It is a long weekend, as Monday will also be a day of celebration.

Easter eggs even have a religious significance here: they are died deep red to signify the shedding of Christ’s blood and their opening is seen as a reminder of the resurrection.

It will be very sad if Cyprus falls prey to Europe’s secularism. It is interesting to see a country shut down to celebrate it’s faith – even knowing that Tuesday it will be back to normal until the next big Pentecost Sunday and Monday (Kataklysmos Day).

To each and all of you Kalo Pascha kai Christos Anesthi!

“T”