Christmas Eve, Part I
Last Wednesday evening, we celebrated Christmas Eve at St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago's Ukrainian village. For a few photos of the church building, which was originally German Lutheran (!), see:http://www.yelp.com/biz/st-volodymyr-ukrainian-orthodox-cathedral-chicago-2
Even though orthodox Christmas Eve lands on January 6, it is NOT the same as the western feast of the Epiphany. In fact, orthodox churches will celebrate Epiphany on January 19 of this year. For further explanation of why orthodox Christmas Eve and Christmas Day fall on January 6 and 7, see my blog entry for Feb. 29, 2008.
I'll share with you some of our experiences from last Wednesday, supplemented by information I've gleaned from personal experience or internet sleuthing.
Our Ukrainian Christmas celebraton started with a vespers service at 6:30 pm, with Bishop Daniel (Zelinski), of the Western Eparchy [diocese] of the Holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, presiding. We began the service, which lasted about 1-1/2 hours, by purchasing candles in the back of the sanctuary, and then lighting and placing them in front of icons in the sanctuary. The worship service featured lots of chanting, incense, candles, music selections by a small choir, and one congregational hymn. Unlike some of the services we've attended in past years, about 5% of the language was now in English, which seems to be something new introduced by the bishop. Another change is that he ended the service with a homily.
Following the service, we walked to the fellowship hall for a traditional Christmas Eve dinner. In many sources I've read, this meal is called sviata vecheria, but the words literally mean “holy evening." The bishop referred to the "holy meal" in his sermon, and I wondered if the food is blessed (sprinkled with holy water) in advance of the celebration.
The fellowship hall was decorated for Christmas with streamers, candles, and white tablecloths. Our table, reserved for the "Stahlkes," was close to the front seating for the dignitaries, which included the bishop, consul general of Chicago, and the pastor of the cathedral.
The following website gives photos from the bishop's installment last spring. Bishop Daniel can be seen in the top left photo, and the church's interior is visible in a few of the images. Some of the assisting ministers last Wednesday wore gold robes like the ones pictured in this website. The fellowship hall where we ate our Christmas dinner last Wednesday is in the bottom left photo on the site:
http://chicagua.com/church/index.html
posted by Stahlkes @ 1:29 PM
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