The Katavasia of Pascha
Wednesday, 30 April 2008 by Benedict Seraphim
Ode 1: It is the Day of Resurrection, /
let us be radiant, O ye people; /
Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha: /
for from death to life, /
and from earth to heaven, /
Christ God hath brought us, //
as we sing the song of victory.
Ode 3: Come, let us drink a new drink, /
not one miraculously brought forth from a barren rock /
but the Fountain of Incorruption, /
springing forth from the tomb of Christ, //
in Whom we are strengthened.
Ode 4: On divine watch let the God-inspired Habakkuk stand with us, /
and show forth the light-bearing angel clearly saying: /
Today salvation is come to the world, /
for Christ is risen //
as Almighty.
Ode 5: Let us awake in the deep dawn, /
and instead of myrrh, offer a hymn to the Master, /
and we shall see Christ, /
the Sun of Righteousness, //
Who causeth life to dawn for all.
Ode 6: Thou didst descend into the nethermost parts of the earth, /
and didst shatter the eternal bars that held the fettered, O Christ, /
and on the third day, /
like Jonah from the whale, //
Thou didst arise from the tomb.
Ode 7: He Who delivered the Children from the furnace, /
became man, suffereth as a mortal, /
and through His Passion /
doth clothe mortality with the beauty of incorruption, /
He is the only blessed and most glorious //
God of our fathers.
Ode 8: This chosen and holy day /
is the first of the sabbaths, /
the queen and lady, /
the feast of feasts, /
and the festival of festivals, //
wherein we bless Christ unto the ages.
Ode 9: Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, /
for the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee; /
dance now and be glad, O Zion, /
and do thou exult, O pure Theotokos, //
in the arising of Him Whom thou didst bear.
[from here]


Hello all… i am currently seeking a true spiritual life. I am seeking out people who can help me in this journey of discovery. I’m looking for the best books you can think of about Orthodox and its beliefs and culture (one that is from an academic point of view not a missionary trying to convince me something. God gave me a brain, I can put things together myself once I have all the information! With some guidance of course, but no Persuasion please.) Anyways, here is a little background on myself. I come from an Orthodox family where my Grandmother was the religious one, to the core. My parents divorced and I was living with my father. My father’s side of the family is “church goers on holiday” type of people so as an eight year old I had no clue what the Orthodox Church was about. My father passed away and my aunt (on my mother’s side) adopted me into her family. This is where my religious life begins. My aunt and her family are Protestants therefore when they went to church, I went to church. That’s how it all began. I had no problem with it when I was young but as I grew up I started really paying attention and stuff like (this will go to hell, that will defiantly go to hell, oh please, we are better than that, of course the devil is in that one, etc…) stared to pierce my thoughts. I grew up being told that the rest like the orthodox, Catholics were idol worshipers that they are just are “empty”. Oh and don’t mention Muslim, I was raised to believe that they are “out there.” So having Jewish, Muslim and a lot of orthodox friends, I just found all this very hard. I mean come on; God just can’t be like that.
Currently as a senior in college, I started taking a lot of African history classes, ethnic classes, sociology, political science, etc… and …. I’m just going to say that something clicked in my head. This something was the need for me to cut myself completely from anything that has to do with “church.” I finally freed myself from the fears of “what my family will think if I go to a bookstore and look up “the origins of religion”” ways of being and just went to the dame bookstore. Now, I’m on a path of finding not necessarily the “right way” to God because I believe there is not ONE way to God but that many people/culture have their own way to getting and understanding the creator; GOD. Right now, I’m searching for knowledge, history, culture, scripture that will help me. I’m researching, investigating, and asking both my heart and mind if one particular way is right for my well being and spiritual connection to God and his creation. All I know is that I want nothing to do with the protestant religion. It’s nothing personal, I don’t hate those who are it’s just the path that they offer is not right for my well being and my journey. So, if there is any one, two, three or heck 10.00000000 orthodox out there that are willing to help me out on my journey by recommending books, CD’s churches(to ask questions, if it’s possible), etc… I’ll truly appreciate it. Thanks.
P.S.
I am in no way generalizing about the religions mentioned. I am merely expressing my situation and my feelings pertaining to those situations. Please don’t be offended.