An Update on Easter in Tremithousa - 26th April 2007

Great Friday or Good Friday (Μεγάλη Παρασκευή)

First you need to know a bit about the construction of a Greek Orthodox church.
They follow a cruciform (cross-shaped) plan and are oriented west to east with a raised altar at the eastern end. The altar is separated and obscured from the main body of the church by a screen called an iconostasis that is decorated with large brightly painted icons. There is a door in the centre of the screen called the Beautiful Gate through which only the priest may pass. During Lent the icons on the screen are hidden behind black material.

The iconostasis with the Beautiful Gate in the centre
This picture shows an iconostasis from the small church outside the monastery at Stavrovouni.

The Easter Friday (here it is called Great Friday) service is long. Very long. 19:30 - 22:00. The priest is dressed in black vestments and can just be seen through the door in the iconostasis. The entire service is in the form of chants with the disembodied voice of the priest singing behind the screen and acolytes chanting their responses.
The congregation is divided with the women on one side and men on the other. Although the women outnumber the men by a large majority. The women and young girls are all dressed in black. Everyone is dressed in their Easter best outfits. I feel like I have stumbled into a Goths convention or a mismatched outing of group of dark haired dark eyed houris and the opening scene from Macbeth.
The service has a familiar feel. It is like a 45 year time warp for Catholicism where you sit through an entire service in a language that you do not understand. At least here you get to stand instead of groveling on your knees. All during the service there is a constant barrage of fireworks set off by the young men and boys who are guarding the bonfire which is about 20 meters from the church door.
In the centre of the church is what appears to be a funeral bier with a white shroud laid on it. The bier is crowned with 12 candles. During the service young girls are invited to come forward to throw flowers over this bier. When the service is over the candles are taken down. The entire congregation comes forward to kiss the shroud on the bier. They then have their hand sprinkled with water in a ritual cleansing before receiving a single bloom from the priest. This being Cyprus of course the men come first and the women after.
The bier is then lifted and carried aloft around part of the village accompanied by singing and chanting all the way. IThe procession stops at regular intervals to allow the ex-pats to gawp from their windows.
When it arrives back at the church there is one lap of honour around the church before the final event. The 12 candles are broken up and thrown to the congregation. It is believed to bring good fortune if you firstly manage to get hold of a piece of candle and secondly manage to keep it at home or in your car for an entire year. As in all things Cypriot it is not what you know but who you know. Otto, who assists at the church, has saved me a piece of candle and I do not have to scramble and fight for it.

Great Saturday or Easter Saturday (Μεγάλο Σάββατο)

This is altogether a jollier occasion. The service starts in Otto's coffee shop with a couple of warmers to fortify us for the coming night. The church service starts at 23:00 and goes on till 00:30.

Everyone brings their own candle except for heathens and ne'er-do-wells such as myself who take a candle from a box by the church door. People have been making and decorating these candles over the previous weeks especially for this occasion. They are beautifully wound around with ribbons and flowers and with little wind protectors near the wick.
Except for the ones in the box which look like a stick. Holding one of these is like wearing National Health Service glasses. (A stigma that I believe is similar to Welfare coupons in the US)
Today the priest is in white vestments and the black covers have been removed from the iconostasis. Once again the service is accompanied by a gathering crescendo of fireworks on the doorstep. Last year there was insufficient space outside and the lads were forced to bring them inside the church. The priest was not amused and set about them. I certainly would not want to get on the wrong side of this priest. He is a small and powerfully built man and he lives with his wife and family at one end of the village. He is a farmer and is frequently to be seen driving around the village in his tractor with a plough or harrow at the back. I mention this merely to compare it with the strange life led by priests of the Catholic church who live an entirely unnatural and isolated existence. Here it seems a priest can live a normal human life.

At midnight the lights in the church are turned out and the priest comes through the Beautiful Gate with a single lighted candle. This symbolizes the Light of the World. This candle is then used to light all the candles held by the congregation symbolizing the Light spreading around the World. Once again it is believed to be lucky if you can take your candle home and draw three little crosses above your front door with the soot from your candle. My candle does even get as far as the church door before it needs relighting. Then there is a candlelight procession around the church with the church icons held high and leading the way. At one point the church icon are held aloft to forma bridge and the congregation walk under. All this is to the thunderous explosions of hundreds of fireworks on each side so that you cannot hear yourself think.

People drift away home with their candles. As we walk back to the coffee shop a lady drives by in her car and around the corner where we are standing. The passenger window is rolled down and in one hand she holds a mobile phone in the other she holds a lighted candle. Its OK you can do that sort of thing here.

The bonfire has been lit by the church and the village lads have started the barbeque. You should know by now that every celebration in Cyprus is incomplete without a barbeque. When we get back to the church after more fortification at the coffee shop we find the food is ready. A couple of police cars are there and the policemen stand around eating and drinking. After about thirty minutes they decide that the drinks and barbeque are up to standard and leave presumably to find the next barbeque.

The priest sits at the middle of a long tressel table surrounded by villagers. A rival barbeque has been set up by another group of lads about 20 metres away. The rival barbeques entertain themselves by throwing fireworks at each other. The priest is not immune to this. His own side frequently drop fireworks under his chair though he seems not to notice and barely blinks an eye. The joke never fails to lose its appeal even after the twentieth firework and he ignores them all.

The food and drink flows freely. I have no idea who provided it all but someone is always ready to fill up my plate or my glass. The bonfire is roaring and every few minutes there is a huge explosion as one of the homemade fireworks explode. These are serious pieces of ordinance which are detonated a little way away. A piece of shrapnel from one of these would do serious injury.

This little beauty (the one on the right!) exploded about 30 feet away from us.

(That's a metal pipe by the way)

At three thirty Andreas, one of the group, takes the priest home in his pickup truck and returns with his shotgun. He then starts the celebratory shots in the air over the church roof. The fireworks, shooting and feasting continues.

At five o'clock I feel I have done my bit having stayed longer than the other ex-pats and decide it call it a night. Surely nothing else can happen and so I leave them to it. Just as I am departing the group remember that they have not played with the church bell all night. I go off to sleep with the frenzied clanging of the church bell in the background.

The next day the fireworks continue. It is unanimously agreed it was a good evening. Two people were arrested after I departed. Andreas for shooting his shotgun and not having a licence and Costas for shouting at the policemen down at the station while trying to get Andreas released. Costas was allowed out that day and Andreas on Easter Monday.

I don't know about you but church was never this entertaining for me when I was growing up. You never know I might still be going if it had.