Western Christians wrapped up Easter last Sunday. Orthodox Christians are just getting started - and when Pascha arrives this April 12, the celebration doesn't stop after one day.
It keeps going for seven.
The entire week following Orthodox Easter is called Bright Week - set aside by Orthodox Christians as a continuous celebration of the Resurrection, running from Easter Sunday all the way to the following Saturday. It ends the Sunday after, known as Thomas Sunday - the day the Gospels record Jesus appearing to the doubting disciple.
During Bright Week, the Royal Doors of the sanctuary - the central doors that lead to the altar - remain fully open for the entire week. That open view of the altar is a deliberate symbol: it represents the open door of Christ's empty tomb. In most Orthodox services throughout the year, those doors stay closed. Not this week.
Fasting is completely suspended. Every day is fast-free, with Paschal foods eaten at every meal and red Easter eggs - blessed during the Pascha Vigil - shared throughout the week. After 48 days of strict Orthodox Great Lent, where the faithful abstain from meat, dairy, and eggs, Bright Week is nothing short of a feast.
The Paschal greeting - "Christ is risen / Truly He is risen" - continues to be exchanged at every church meeting, not just on Easter Sunday. That greeting carries through all 40 days until Ascension.
Every day during Bright Week, the full Paschal service is celebrated in all its splendor. The Easter baptismal procession is repeated daily. For a tradition that treats the Resurrection as the hinge on which all of history turns, one Sunday is simply not enough.
For the hundreds of millions of Orthodox Christians across Greece, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Egypt, and their communities worldwide - and for the growing Orthodox population in the United States - Orthodox Easter this April 12 is not a single Sunday. It is the beginning of a week the Church has called Bright since the earliest centuries of the faith.
The candles are lit. The doors are open. Christos Anesti.
Related Article: Orthodox Easter Is April 12: Here Is What Actually Happens That Night at Churches Around the World
