The Easter service in the Orthodox Church is the most solemn, because on this day believers triumph in honor of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many Orthodox Christians seek to attend church services in order to become partakers of the great triumph.
Easter service start time on Easter day
Currently, the main Easter service begins on Sunday night, when the Church begins to solemnly celebrate the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. This tradition dates back to the first Christians. Already in ancient times (in the first centuries of the spread of faith), believers were awake on Easter night, offering their prayers to the Lord.
Now the service on Easter night begins with a midnight service on which a special canon is read in front of the holy shroud lying in the center of the temple. The time for the start of the midnight stay is usually 11:00 p.m. on Saturday. Sometimes this service begins at half past eleven. By tradition, this worship should end before Sunday.
At night on Easter Sunday, a festive procession begins (12 a.m.), after which a festive matins are celebrated, passing into Easter hours and the liturgy. Matins last about an hour. Thus, the beginning of the Divine Liturgy on the day of Easter falls on the time around the hour of the night of Sunday.
Note: the service of the Easter liturgy may begin later, for example, at 1:30. This is due to the duration of the matins and Easter hours, during which the festive chants can be sung by the choir longer and longer.
On Easter evening, a festive Vespers is served. The beginning of this service may occur from 16:00 to 18:00, depending on the blessing of the parish priest.
