Ancient Christian Witness

They were talking about this in the comment box at the
Ochlophobist blog. I never knew about Kyriopascha and it's to my shame and ignorance, but this is something rare and important to alot of Orthodox. There is a certain nostalgia, reverence and mystery about it.

The next one on the old calender....because it will never happen on the new...is the year 2075. The last time it happened was 1991, but this is what Orthodoxwiki had to say about it:

Quote:
"Kyriopascha ("The Lord's Pascha") is the rare
concurrence of the Great Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) with Pascha. It is
an especially festive event, including complex rubrics for its liturgical
celebration.

On Kyriopascha, the polyeleos normally appointed for the
Annunciation is omitted, the canon of Annunciation is sung together with the
Paschal canon during Orthros, and the Gospel of the Annunciation is read after
the sixth ode of the canon. On the remaining days of Bright Week the usual
Paschal services for these days are performed in combination with the service
for the Annunciation: the litia and artoklasia at Vespers, and the polyeleos,
megalynarion, and Gospel reading at Orthros.

Because of the difference
between the astronomical vernal equinox and the theoretical vernal equinox
calculated by the Julian Calendar—the latter of which is used by both the Julian
Calendar and the Revised Julian Calendar to calculate Pascha—Kyriopascha never
occurs on the Revised Julian Calendar, while it can occur on the Julian. It can
also occur on the Gregorian Calendar, however, which uses the astronomical
vernal equinox to calculate the date of Pascha.

As such, Kyriopascha can
be celebrated by the Old Calendar churches and those New Calendar churches which
use the Gregorian Calendar (i.e., Finland and Estonia), though it will not occur
in the same year.

The elimination of Kyriopascha from the cycle of the
Revised Julian Calendar is one of the criticisms leveled against those who use
that reckoning.

One of the more notable celebrations of Kyriopascha in
history was in 1821, the day which also marked the uprising of the Greeks
against the Ottoman Turks, leading to Greek independence.

The last
Kyriopascha on the Julian calendar was in 1991, which was the year of the
collapse of the Soviet Union, which resulted in the liberation of the Orthodox
people of Eastern Europe. The next will be in 2075, 2086 and 2159. The last
Kyriopascha on the Gregorian Calendar was in 1951, and the next will be in 2035,
2046 and 2103."

It looks like, I'm gonna have to visit Finland in the year 2035. I may not be able to witness this Great feast on the old Calender, but Lord willing, it may be possible to see it in my lifetime on the Gregorian Calendar......in which the Orthodox in Findland observe. And so, the Orthodox worldwide pretty much observe 3 different calenders.






ICXC NIKA