Christ is Risen — and that proclamation doesn’t stop at the cemetery entrance!

On the Sunday after Pascha, we celebrated Radonitsa, the Orthodox day of rejoicing with the departed. After a panikhida (a short memorial service for the reposed) inside the church, our clergy and faithful processed together through the trees to the small cemetery behind the temple. The cross and candles lead the way for us to pray our of love at the graves of those who have fallen asleep in the Lord.

What is Radonitsa?

The word Radonitsa comes from the Slavic root for joy — and that is exactly what we bring! This isn’t grief dressed in white vestments, but genuine Paschal gladness carried to those who wait in hope of the Resurrection. We sing the Paschal hymn. We chant the same Christ is Risen. We tell our beloved dead the good news.

For those unfamiliar with Orthodox practice, we get that this may look unusual! A procession through a graveyard in bright vestments, flowers on headstones, and incense in the open air. And we’re proclaiming this to the dead‽ 

But if we truly believe that the dead are alive in Christ, and we know that love does not end with death, this is the Church being exactly what she is — the living Body of Christ - a community that includes the living and the departed, bound together by the Resurrection of Christ that changes everything!

Several of our parishioners have walked through profound loss recently, especially since last year’s Radonitsa. It is hard and still healing all at once to revisit that loss in the light of our unshakable Paschal joy. We declare boldly, “Christ IS Risen!” - and indeed, this makes all the difference. 

Memory eternal to all those buried here, and to all our parish’s beloved reposed.