Monday, April 21, 2014

I Found the Joy of Easter


Me and the other guys just a moment before we became members of the church.
I am second from left.

Father Matti, and me (second from right) and the other "catechumens".

On the Great Saturday, we were accepted to become amembers of the parish in a formal
and beautiful ceremony called Chrismation (Russian: миропомазание, Finnish: mirhalla
voitelu, a direct translation: "anointing").

The priest anoints the recipient with "chrism", making the sign of the cross on the
forehead, eyes, ears, nostrils, breast, back, hands and feet using the following words
each time: "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit."

We got candles and also white roses after the ceremony.

As I told you before, I spent the Easter weekend at the Orthodox Church of Vaasa. I attended many services, and on the Great Saturday I was accepted to become a member of the parish in a formal and beautiful ceremony. At last, I am officially Orthodox Christian. A long, long journey has come to an end. This process began already in the summer of 2011, after my mother's passing. Now I feel like I have returned home.

Easter Night Service in the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church was stunningly beautiful, and it lasted for three hours (from 11:30 pm till 2:30 am). There were a lot of people from many different nationalities: Finns and Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Serbs, Ethiopians, and so on. All in all, our church has members from 24 different countries and they speak 14 different languages. Indeed, it's a very international organisation.

On the Easter Vigil, all who wanted, got the chance to ring the church bells. So I tried it too, and it was not easy at all to make it sound good. Haha. (One of my friends, Victor from Moscow, is a professional bell ringer, and I really admire him.) There was also a traditional outdoor procession around the church. In the procession, I carried the icon of the Mother of God.

I spent two nights in the church basement, in the room called playfully the "Crypt" by the members of the parish. My good friend also visited me on Friday evening. When I wasn't participating services, I was reading and praying in the Crypt. For me, it was like a monk's cell. (^—^) The book I was reading was the Orthodox Catechism written by Ivan Glukhov (he was a great teacher of theology from Moscow, died in 1999).

In summary, this was the happiest and the most memorable Easter in my life. I can say that now I have found the joy of Easter. Indeed, Christianity is a religion of joy, like Ivan Glukhov said.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I put here some photos from my trip.
Note! A new photos added on 24 April, 2014.
Please click on the pictures to see them bigger.

Text by Teisuka
Photos by Jussi and Teisuka

Me in the church on April 19, 2014.

 St. Nicholas Church in the Easter morning light.

 A dome of the church.

 A view inside of the church before the service.

 My modest bed in the church basement.

 Orthodox Catechism written by Ivan Glukhov. This book is a real gem,
an extensive and detailed guide to the Orthodox faith, including more
than 500 pages.

Next to the church is the Lotta Svärd statue, designed by Tea Helene-
lund, unveiled in 2005. Lotta Svärd was a Finnish voluntary national
defence organisation for women that was active between 1921 and 1944.
The organisation was religious-patriotic, unarmed and non-political.

A view from the city center of Vaasa.

14 comments:

  1. Congratulations :) I'm happy to hear you had a great Easter.

    - Tenchu

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Tenchu,

      Long time no see! Many thanks for the congratulations and for your kind words. I'm happy to see you here, and I hope that you also had a great Easter weekend. I wish all the best, my dear little sister. See ya! :)

      Tembo

      Delete
  2. Congratulations from me also. Wonderful, that finally achieved this milestone. It is so often forgotten in our "modern western world", that Easter is not really about bunnies, eggs and chicks. True faith is a lantern, that can illuminate our darkest hours.

    Best wishes,

    your friend Doyle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, Mr. Doyle. I appreciate your visit here. I agree with you, a true meaning of Easter is often forgotten here in the West. Sad but true. "True faith is a lantern, that can illuminate our darkest hours." That is wisely and beautifully said, my friend. Blessings! :)

      Teisuka

      Delete
    2. It brougth me in such a good mood, when I read your previous blog post. I wore my silver crucifix whole Easter, even though it was nothing extraordinary (work on Easter monday etc.), but I thinked a lot about my faith, and my family, friends and ancestors, because it's still in a way a very special holiday for anyone, who believes in god. I hope to see you sometime relatively soon, because I have a lot of future plans to tell you about :)

      - Doyle

      Delete
    3. Hi again, Doyle. Glad to hear that reading my blog post brougth you in a good mood. Indeed, Easter is a special holiday, a time of light and joy. Me too, I hope we could see each other soon. I'm curious to hear about your future plans. Be well, my friend – "until we meet again". :)

      Teisuka

      Delete
  3. Hi Teisuka,

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip to Vaasa. Again, congratulations to you on your officially becoming an Orthodox Christian. And it's great that you've found so much joy in your journey of faith. Yes, I understand how you feel -- it's like returning home. -:)

    I like your pictures. It's a really beautiful church, and the inside of it is even more impressive. The basement also looks nice even though your bed is kind of "modest." To me, it should be comfortable enough, right? Ha ha...

    I suppose the weather is still chilly in your area. When summer comes, I think Vaasa and the neighborhood around your church will look even nicer. Hope you will take some pictures of these places this summer and share them with us...

    Oh, by the way, you look good too in the picture. -:) Thanks again for this interesting blog article. May you continue finding joy in your Christian faith and enjoy life even better, my friend. Blessings to you!

    Bao

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bao,

      Thank you very much for the congratulations and for your nice comment. I'm glad to hear you also liked my pictures. Yes, this old church is very beautiful. It is built by Russian soldiers in 1862. The basement was a good place to sleep. Bed was soft enough, but basement was a little bit too cold. :)

      On Easter weekend, the weather in my area wasn't chilly but warm, at least to us Finns (almost +20 °C). When summer comes, I will surely take some new pictures. Then everything is greener.

      You said, I look good in the picture. Oh, thanks for the compliment, my friend. For my part I think, I always look the same. I'm such a "wood-face". Haha. Thanks again for being here today, my friend. I really appreciate it. You too, rejoice and be blessed, my friend, you and whole your family! :)

      Teisuka

      Delete
  4. Hi, Teisuka! My Congratulations! Now we are members of the same Church family :) So, what name did You take in baptism? My special congratulations with you bell ringing experience! It is quite easy, just some practice needed. Next time You will ring much better ;) Thank You for interesting pictures! The St. Nicholas Church seems to be not very big but very beautiful.

    Victor/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Victor,

      Thank you very much for the congratulations. Yes, now we are members of the same Church family. And yes, bell ringing was a great experience, indeed. Have to do that more, whenever it's possible. :)

      I was accepted as a part of the parish in the ritual called Chrismation, but not re-baptized (in the sense of receiving a new name), since I was already baptized and given a name as a child. See, earlier I belonged to the Lutheran Church, and Finnish Orthodox Church recognizes the Lutheran baptism.

      My real name (Теийо, in the Cyrillic alphabet) etymologically reminds a Christian name Theodore, so I think my saint patron is Theodore of Amasea (feast day: 17 February, which is close to my birthday, 11 February). I'm not yet completely sure about this, have to ask from my confessor... Haha. You know, there are a little different traditions in each country. :)

      Glad you liked my pictures. Spasibo. The St. Nicholas Church is a lovely little church. Russians built it in 1862. :)

      Teisuka

      Delete
  5. Dear Tembo-san

    Congratulations!! There you go, you found your very own Blessed place at the end of the rain.. err... I meant the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church! I know how important this is to you, Tembo-san, and I am so very happy for you.

    Loved all the pictures you've shared with us, thank you. The picture of the church is so gorgeous! Who is the 'second from left' person, Tembo-san? He is one handsome man isn't he?? Tee hee hee -^^-

    Take care and may you continue your journey with love and peace in your heart. Amen.

    The BonnieM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Michiko-chan aka The BonnieM -^^-

      Thank you very much for being here today and for your kind words. I really appreciate it! ^^ Yes, this is very important and remarkable to me. A handsome man, the second from left? Aww, many thanks for your compliment, though I think I look like Pinocchio. The same countenance always. Hahaha. :D

      By the way, I hope you received my private message via YouTube few days ago (regarding your grandmother)...? You too, be well and take good care of yourself, dear Bonnie-chan. Blessings to you and whole your family!

      Best greetings from warm and sunny Finland,

      Tembo

      Delete
  6. hello Teisuka (^^)/ my congrats!! im very glad for you ^o^ great article and photos as always.you look great, btw^^ thank you so much for sharing your personal experience with us. we really appreciate it.
    have a wonderfull weekend ahed my dear friend!^^

    Nika

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Nikushka! (^^)/

      Thank you very much for your kind words and compliment. I really appreciate it. You've walked with me on this long road, and I thank you for that. Without you I would not be here... Большое спасибо, мой ангел! ^^ You too, have a wonderful weekend, my dear friend. Let's keep in touch! ^^

      Teisuka

      Delete