Easter parade in Andalucía
April 1, 2007
It seemed that whichever way I turned, the narrow streets were blocked by a double-column of pointy-hooded men, each bearing an enormous burning candle.
Pressed up against the darkened buildings were thousands of people watching in silence as the unbroken stream of marchers slowly wound its way through the cobbled lanes.
I had only been in Córdoba a few hours and was, perhaps foolishly, attempting to negotiate my way through the city’s old quarter, a tangle of narrow lanes that is confusing enough for visitors at the best of times. But this was Semana Santa, Holy Week, the Easter festival celebrated throughout Spain, but especially so in Andalucía.
All the region’s cities, towns and villages vie to outdo each other in terms of the splendour and elaborate nature of their processions to commemorate the death of Christ. Even for the most secular of visitors, this combination of religious devotion, colour, art and music in the solemn parades that process through the streets can be an extraordinary experience.
Spring is also a good time of year to enjoy the region’s many other attractions, from Moorish masterpieces, such as the Alhambra, to the flower-filled Andalucían countryside and its famous White Towns, before temperatures start to climb to their searing summer highs.
The most spectacular of the Easter events are in the triumvirate of Córdoba, Seville and Granada, but they are worth seeing just about anywhere in Andalucía, and can be at their most atmospheric in the tiny streets of the smallest of places. But be warned: finding hotel accommodation in these cities during Holy Week can be difficult, so it’s advisable to book in advance.
Typically, processions that draw their numbers from religious Cofradia’s, or brotherhoods, file out of churches from early afternoon and snake solemnly through city streets before returning many hours later.
At their head are the long-gowned Los Nazarenos, who wear high, pointed masks covering their faces and often carry candles or banners. They are followed by Los Penitentes, the fraternity members who perform the authentic act of penitence, carrying a heavy cross and usually walking barefoot during the procession. Then come the floats, or pasos, each adorned with life-sized statues of religious figures, the most common being Christ on the cross and the Virgin Mary in mourning.
Weighing up to several tonnes, shuffling the pasos through the streets, is a burden that is, quite literally, shouldered by Costaleros, squads of brotherhood members who remain unseen beneath the heavily gilded platforms.
I had chosen to be in Córdoba on the eve of Good Friday, widely regarded as the climax of the festival, which lasts from Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) through to Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday). Now I wanted to get to the Mezquita, the city’s great mosque, from where I had been told an ornately decorated paso bearing an image of the Virgin would be starting off at midnight.
Trapped in a mass of eerily garbed bodies, I was giving up hope of ever getting there when a couple of locals ahead of me did what I had reckoned would be an unthinkable act of sacrilege, they nipped through a gap between candle-bearers and set off down the street in the middle of the two columns.
Seizing my chance and emboldened by their lead, I darted after them and followed them around various corners until they again squeezed between the marchers and broke off down a quiet side street. A few minutes later I passed through the archway under the Mesquita’s beacon-like belfry into the fountain-filled Patio de los Naranjos, just as a set of mighty wooden doors was being swung open.
From the gloom a paso, bedecked with candles, moved slowly out through the distinctive keyhole-shaped Moorish archway. Its arrival silenced the chatter of the awaiting crowd as the float swayed gently forwards to the sound of a hymn being sung by a female choir.
At the sight of the Virgin, her face, crown and intricately embroidered cloak glowing in the candlelight, hands moved quickly to make the sign of the cross. Lit by moonlight, the air thick with incense and with the incomparable mosque as a backdrop, it was a captivating scene. Then, painstakingly slowly, the paso made its way out into the packed courtyard and on towards the city streets. The hushed tones and solemnity of the occasion were in stark contrast to the events of a few days earlier, when I had stopped overnight in the Murcian town of Lorca, en route to Granada.
While the Semana Santa processions in Andalucía are generally serious affairs, the parade through this former frontier town had almost the air of carnival about it. Vendors moved along in front of the stands, selling snacks, and large groups waved and shouted to friends as they passed, many of them dressed as Roman soldiers for their role as bit players in a theatrical display depicting the triumph of Christianity.
The following day I was being dazzled by achievements of a different persuasion in the form of Granada’s Alhambra, the spectacular Moorish palace complex built on a hill above the city. By mid-afternoon, when I returned to the streets below, the Holy Week parades were already making their way past the cathedral to the sound of drums and music, and they continued long into the night.
But if Andalucía’s Semana Santa processions are a solemn business, fireworks are not permitted and drinking and celebrating is still frowned upon by the religious brotherhoods it doesn’t seem to stop others having fun. Many of the bars in Granada, and later in Seville and Córdoba, were doing a roaring trade, some filled with large and noisy family groups who had come into the city centre to watch the processions. In some places, particularly the Andalucían capital, the revelry can carry on until three or four in the morning.
It was in Seville that I experienced one of the highlights of the Semana Santa events I saw during my trip. Having tired of standing on tiptoes in the central Plaza de San Francisco, trying to catch a glimpse of the colourful processions over the top of reserved grandstands access to which was barred despite many being virtually empty, I had wandered off into the neighbouring barrio, Santa Cruz.
Happy to just enjoy losing myself in the narrow streets of brilliantly whitewashed houses, I eventually ended up at Plaza San Pedro, on the official processional route. Here, it was easy to walk back and forth alongside the Nazarenos, cross-bearing Penitentes, and elegantly dressed bands as they paraded past, interspersed with the gleaming gold pasos and their religious effigies. It was also here that I first heard the intoxicating sound of a solo trumpet soar to a high note and hold it for what seemed like an impossible time, then fall away as the drums resumed their mesmerising beat.
Later, as the evening wore on, the pasos halted as flamenco singers performed melancholic songs known as saetas from balconies in honour of the statues. Then, with my appetite for processions sated for the day, it was time to seek out a more earthly passion for which Seville is also famed: tapas.
FACT FILE ANDALUCIA
How to get there > Visit www.easyjet.com for details. Visit www.ryanair.com for details.
Where to stay > Hotel Casa de los Azulejos, Fernando Cólon 5, Córdoba. Tel: 00 34 957 470000 or www.casadelosazulejos.com
Information in English on the routes and times for Andalucía’s Semana Santa events (1-8 April 2007) are available at: www.guiasemanasanta.com/index_in.php
Prepare for Holy Week in Mexico
April 1, 2007
Weeks of planning go into the elaborate celebrations of Semana Santa and Pascua
In Mexico, Easter is a nationwide spectacle of pageantry, reverence and celebration, lasting through out Holy Week. Planning for Holy Week starts with months of anticipation and festivities including passion plays, fervent processions and altar displays taking place all over the country.
Since the mass conversion of the indigenous peoples to Catholicism in the 16th century, Semana Santa (Holy Week) - a reverent observance of the last days of Jesus, and Pascua - a celebration of the resurrection - have become the most important religious holidays in Mexico next to Christmas. As with most Mexican celebrations, Semana Santa combines the country’s strong Spanish heritage with elements of its prehispanic past. For generations, pilgrims and tourists alike have journeyed to Mexico to witness the festive yet reverent Semana Santa.
The solemn festivities usually begin on Palm Sunday, commemorating the day that Jesus arrived to Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion. As the biblical passage goes, palm branches and clothing were spread in his path, and today, reenactments often include these elements. Holy Thursday commemorates the day of the Last Supper, marked by nationwide visits to seven temples, designated churches in each town or city. Good Friday marks the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross, with most Christians fasting on this day and reenactments of the crucifixion taking place all over the country. Easter Sunday is a day for celebration, commemorating the day of Jesus’ resurrection, featuring music, dance and cultural activities.
In addition to special mass ceremonies, an important and ubiquitous element of Semana Santa is the Passion Play, a dramatic reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus. The Passion Play was brought over to Mexico by Christian missionaries from Europe at a time when it and other religious plays were a widespread vital element of European culture. The play not only survived in Mexico but was incorporated into the local dramatic rituals already an innate part of the local culture. In Mexico, brilliant Aztec colors are noticeable throughout, and ancient dances are often performed alongside Christian rituals.
Most of the celebrations involve solemn processions, plays or reenactments of biblical scenes; others incorporate unusual elements into their festivities such as prehispanic dances and exploding Judases. Thousands travel to popular destinations to enjoy the outdoors and take part in the festivities.
Creel, Chihuahua: The mountainous indigenous community of Creel in northern Mexico, is a popular destination for a Holy Week. Aside from enjoying the myriad of ecotourism activities in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains, the Tarahumara Indians, one of the few remaining indigenous groups in the country, paint themselves white for Holy Week and host a special series of celebrations including dance and music dating back centuries, fusing prehispanic tradition with Catholicism.
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato: The colonial city of San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico comes alive during Holy Week. By Palm Sunday, the city overflows with visitors as well as indigenous women selling flowers, palm crosses and religious articles outside the Parroquia with the Gothic cathedral bearing tall spires as the focal point of the city.
The city’s unending pageantry of plays and processions on Good Friday are unparalleled. Children dressed in biblical costumes and men dressed as Roman centurions ride on horseback through the winding cobblestone streets while life-size statues of the Virgin Mary, the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist are carried through the city.
Taxco, Guerrero: The picturesque silver mining town of Taxco is also a popular Holy Week destination, given its proximity to Mexico City. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of many processions which begin in nearby villages. In commemoration of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, an image of Jesus is mounted on the back of a donkey. As the donkey journeys to Taxco, palm fronds and flowers are laid on the ground.
On the night of Holy Thursday, candle-bearing penitents walk in procession to the baroque Church of Santa Prisca. A reenactment of the Last Supper is performed. The Resurrection play, staged around nine o’clock on Saturday morning, is an awe-inspiring site to behold. A final and joyful procession takes place on Easter Sunday.
San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi: The colonial city of San Luis Potosi, located 257 miles north of Mexico City, will celebrate its fifty-second Procession of Silence this year, one of the most important Catholic manifestations in the country. With the participation of more than 2,000 Potosinos, the solemn procession will begin at the Templo de Santo Domingo at eight o’clock in the evening on Good Friday and will make its way through the downtown historic area.
Similar to the ceremony in Sevilla, Spain, penitents don hoods as they walk silently through the streets, carrying torches and holy images. During Holy Week, San Luis Potosi features more than 90 events, including concerts, a national food festival, and a tennis tournament, now on its fiftieth year.
Ixtapalapa, Mexico City: Few would guess that a small district just south of downtown Mexico City would be in the international spotlight during Semana Santa. More than a million people gather in Ixtapalapa every year to witness an entire town convert into a great stage to present a passion play that has been reenacted annually for 150 years. Months prior to Semana Santa, the town comes alive with preparations for the most important event of the year, incorporating each member of the community. While there is a part for everyone, actors are carefully chosen, with the most important parts such as Jesus and the Virgin Mary being the greatest honor. The actor who plays Jesus in particular must meet certain requirements such as height, weight and physical condition. The part is as physically demanding as it is emotionally challenging, since the reenactment requires the actor to carry a 200-pound cross through the town, after receiving an actual whipping.
Michoacan State: Starting with Palm Sunday, performances representing biblical passages take place throughout the state. In San Lorenzo, a small town in the Purepecha area, about 200 miles west of Mexico City, the celebration takes a special twist, with young people carrying six-foot tall palm leaves to church.
Holy Wednesday in the town of Tlalpujahua involves a procession in which huge images of Jesus Christ from the XVI and XVIII century grab the eyes of the spectators. Good Friday in Patzcuaro and Morelia include silent processions for the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ. Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus’ resurrection, is the last day of celebration. In Tarimbaro, el carnaval chiquito (the small carnival) takes place during which people dance in the streets while Judas figurines explode like fireworks.
Related Links > www.visitmexico.com
Palm fronds and incense as a ‘very special week’ begins
April 1, 2007
To an observer, the palm fronds, olive branches, candles and incense seem almost celebratory. But the message of Palm Sunday is bittersweet for Catholics, marking the celebration and subsequent persecution of their saviour, Jesus Christ.
“Although it’s a sad week, it’s a very special week, because it ends up telling us the lesson of God’s love and the power of love in human lives,” Archbishop Denis Hart said.
It commemorates the day Jesus fulfilled prophecy when he returned to Jerusalem on a humble donkey and was greeted by jubilant crowds. His supporters waved palm fronds and olive branches, the same objects used in modern proceedings.
About 500 people walked up Bourke Street to St Patrick’s Cathedral in a Stations of the Cross procession, marking Jesus’ last hours before crucifixion. Meanwhile, nearly 3000 Maronite Christians attended a high mass at the site of their incomplete new church in Thornbury. Referred to as the Christians of the Middle East, Maronites are mostly found in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Egypt. Most of Melbourne’s community is of Lebanese descent.
Father Joseph Takchi conducted the mass in a mixture of Arabic, English and Aramaic, the language Jesus would have spoken. The Melbourne parish priest for 25 years, Father Takchi was responsible for introducing English into the services two decades ago, a recognition of the generations of Australian-born Maronites in the church.
“It’s a response to the way we are in Australia. We tend to be a lot more free, a lot more open and a lot more dedicated and we’ve opened it up to everybody. The role of English in the liturgy is very modern in the sense that people can have their weddings and their baptisms and all their liturgies done in any language that they want,” he said.
“As Maronites, our parents came here probably over the last 100 to 150 years and the young people feel a sense of commitment to where their parents have come from … there’s a sense of camaraderie.” Archbishop Hart said Palm Sunday was a time for people to focus on peace and co-operation.
Experience the Passion > Holy Week
April 1, 2007
Within the Christian tradition, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. The early Church considers this week, the seven days from Palm Sunday to Easter, as a most significant week within the Church calendar. The Orthodox Church re-enacts the entire passion of Christ, encouraging us to relive and experience for ourselves these events.
HOLY MONDAY > The Cleansing of the Temple: Following the ancient exegetical pattern beloved by Christians, we may perceive “four senses” by which to understand the Lord’s purging of his temple. First, there is the literal sense of the text, the historical deed by which Jesus fulfilled the biblical prophecies, especially Zechariah and Malachi, that foretold his arrival at the temple to cleanse it for worship. Second, interpreting the temple as a “type,’ and the Lord’s actions as an “allegory,” we understand Jesus’ deed as an ongoing cleansing of the church, to keep it free from heresy and moral corruption. This is the allegorical sense of the text, its pertinence to doctrinal theology. Third, inasmuch as we ourselves are his temples, this action of Christ is to be understood in a moral and ascetical sense, indicating our constant need to be purified in heart and mind, because only holiness and purity of heart will permit us to see God. This is the tropological sense of the text, its pertinence to moral theology. Fourth, because the temple at Jerusalem prefigured the final, esehatological dwelling of God with man, this deed of the Lord foreshadows the last judgment, which will expel the wicked from the divine presence forever. This is the anagogical sense of the text, its pertinence to final glory.
HOLY TUESDAY > The Lord’s Busiest Day: With the possible exception of the day on which Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, we have more of his teaching from this day than any other in his earthly life. Having purged the temple on Monday, the Lord now returns there to teach and to confront his enemies. The material relevant to these things, preserved among the four canonical gospels, includes seven stories of controversy, the Lord’s comments on the unselfish widow, and his lengthy discourse about the Last Days. All of this teaching lifts the dramatic events of this week to the fullness of their redemptive meaning, marking all of history to the end of time.
HOLY WEDNESDAY > The Lord Betrayed: Up to this day the enemies of Jesus are found within certain groups within Judaism: The Herodians; the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Starting with the parable of the sower, a clear line has been drawn between those “inside” and those “outside” the circle surrounding Jesus. Today, however, that line is breached. In the person of Judas Iscariot there is introduced the tragic confusion of friendship and enmity; the intimate becomes the inimical, harmful, hostile. Judas is the betrayer through whom the sinful and violent world enters the sanctuary unto its desecration; the purged temple is polluted.
The betrayal of Judas thus matches the Babylonians’ defilement of the temple and the Holy City in 586 B.C., which is the theme of the Book of Lamentations that we are reading this week. This theme of breakdown and chaos stands in tension with the theme of purity and distinction symbolized in the Lord’s purging of his temple.
HOLY THURSDAY > The Last Supper: The mystery of the Lord’s Supper is inseparable from Good Friday. First, the two are joined by simple chronology: Since the biblical day begins in the evening, Thursday night is already Friday. That is noted in the earliest account of the Lord’s Supper, most probably reflecting a very early liturgical formulation, which says that it took place “on the night in which he was betrayed”.
Beyond the chronology, however, the Lord’s Supper and his Passion are joined theologically, because “as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes”. At the same time, while it is possible to read this sentence with the emphasis on the word “death,” it may be argued that the accent should better and more properly fall on the expression “of the Lord.” It is the death, that is, of the risen Christ, glorified as Lord by his resurrection. The body of Christ that we receive in the Lord’s Supper is not the corpse of Good Friday, but his transfigured, spirit-bearing flesh, transformed in glory and given for the life of the world. For this reason the early Christians immediately adopted the discipline of celebrating the Lord’s Supper each week, not on Thursday evening, but on the morning of Sunday, the day of the resurrection. Even as we receive Holy Communions on this Holy Thursday, it is still an Easter event.
HOLY FRIDAY (Good Friday) > The Slain Lamb of God: The theological principle of “substitutionary sacrifice” was introduced in the Bible in the story of Isaac, where the Lord designates a ram that Abraham is to immolate in place of his son. This principle of substitution was applied on the night of Passover, when the paschal lamb was sacrificed as the substitutionary victim on behalf of Israel’s first-born sons, and the principle was further institutionalized in Israel’s entire sacrificial system, which provided various sin offerings and other forms of substitutionary immolation. All those things, however, were prefigurations and prophecies of the one true sacrifice offered on the cross, where the true paschal lamb was slain for the sake of each of us, and the libation of his blood, sprinkled upon us for the forgiveness of our sins, sealed the door posts and lintels of our souls. Like the death of Egypt’s firstborn sons, that tenth plague introduced by the great darkness of the ninth, the true Passover of God’s son comes at the end of three hours of darkness that began at noon.
HOLY SATURDAY > We may be sure that Psalm 16 was among the psalms interpreted to the church by the risen Christ on the walk to Emmaus, because verses 8-11 are quoted when the Holy Spirit came rushing with power from the upper room on Pentecost. Even though it was King David saying those things, the voice speaking more deeply in Psalm 15, according to Saint Peter, is the voice of Christ. And as David prayed Psalm 16 in persona Christi, looking forward to the one who was to come, so do Christians, when they pray this psalm, identify themselves in hope with the risen Christ, for we, too, will rise with him: “And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power”; “He who raised up the Lord and will also raise us up with Jesus”; “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies”.
HOLY PASCHA > On Easter Sunday, with the service beginning at 10:00 PM Saturday, the idea being that the reception of communion would be at midnight, the life-giving resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated. Before midnight, the Odes of Lamentation of the previous day are repeated. The Orthros of the Resurrection begins in complete darkness. The priest takes light from the vigil light and gives it to the faithful, who are holding candles. Then the priest sings: “Come ye and receive light from the unwaning life, and glorify Christ, who arose from the dead.” All the people join him in singing this hymn again and again. From that moment, every Christian holds the Easter candle as a symbol of his vivid, deep connection with the resurrection of Jesus Christ as Savior. In many churches the priest leads the people outside the church, where he reads the gospel referring to the angels’ statement: “He is Risen; he is not here”.
Then comes the breathless moment as worshippers wait for the priest to start the hymns of resurrection, which they join him in singing, repeatedly: “Christ has risen from the dead, by death trampling upon death, and has bestowed life upon those in the tombs.” From that moment the entire service takes on a joyous Pascha atmosphere. The Hymns of the Odes and Praises of Resurrection which follow are of superb meaning and expression. The people confess, “It is the Day of Resurrection. Let us be glorious, let us embrace one anther and speak to those that hate us; let us forgive all things and so let us cry, Christ has arisen from the dead.” By that hymn they admit that love of one’s fellow man is the solid foundation of faith in the resurrection of Christ.
The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is then officiated. At the end of the liturgy, a part of the marvelous festival sermon of St. Chrysostom is read, which calls upon the people to “Take part in this fair and radiant festival. Let no one be fearful of death, for the death of the savior has set us free. O Death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory? Christ is risen and thou art overthrown. To him be glory and power from all ages to all ages.”
Bulgaria Celebrates Spring, Maidens on St Lazar’s Day
April 1, 2007
The Orthodox Church celebrates on Saturday before Palm Sunday the resurrection of Lazarus, brother of Martha and Maria, whom Jesus raised from the dead. Lazarus, who lived for 30 years more, was an ardent follower of Christian faith and died as a Bishop of the town of Larnaca in Cyprus.
Young girls preserve the traditions on St Lazar’s Day in today’s Bulgaria even though they have long lost their ritual significance.
Festivities on St Lazar’s Day, devoted to young girls, pastures, fields and woods, may have long lost their ritual significance, but remain one of the best-loved and known traditions in Bulgaria. The holiday is marked each year on the last Saturday before Easter and a day before Palm Sunday.
Lazarovden was quite an event in the life of every young girl, for then she could demonstrate to the village community that she has grown up to be an “accomplished maiden”. Traditions had it that a girl who did not participate in the so-called lazarouvane could not have a loved one and was likely to be carried off by a dragon.
The girls would gather in groups of about ten at the house of the prettiest one and start from there with their songs to make a round of the village. The songs sung on St Lazar’s Day praise the beauty of the maiden and her lover, the industriousness of the farmer, the purity of maternal love and express wishes for happiness and prosperity. Legend has it that health, wealth and love will reign in the house that the girls visit.
After completing their round, the lazarki returned to the house they started from to share out among them the presents they had received.
On the next day, Palm Sunday, they gathered again to go to the river and drop their willow wreaths in the stream. The wreath to be carried away the fastest would determine “the best girl”, whose home would host a humble feast for the maidens. On Lazarovden all those named Lazar, Lazarina celebrate their name day.
Holy Week begins; Passover tomorrow
April 1, 2007
Protestants, Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians join today in celebrating the start of the holiest week of their year as Jews prepare for Passover, which begins at sundown tomorrow.
Many of the state’s estimated 600,000 Christians will commemorate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago at Palm Sunday services today. It marks the start of Holy Week, which culminates in the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday.
The last time Holy Week coincided in the western and Orthodox churches was three years ago. Holy Week includes the observance of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and commemoration of Christ’s passion and death on the cross on Good Friday.
“The events that we commemorate, we both remember and relive,” said David Lamarre-Vincent, executive director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches. “… It’s as real in our lives today as it was for the disciples of Jesus two millennia ago.”
While the eight-day Passover holiday that begins at sundown Monday and ends at sundown April 10 is not the holiest in the Jewish year, it is the most widely observed, said Adam M. Solender, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Manchester.
Unlike other Jewish holidays, Passover is celebrated in the home with seder meals, reading prayers from the Haggadah and retelling the Passover story of the Israelites’ flight from slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.
Of the state’s estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Jews, even those who are not practicing will retell the Passover story to their children during the holiday, Solender said. “It’s a seminal story of freedom,” he said.
Palm Sunday lunch showcases community spirit, Greek specialties
April 1, 2007
The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society is holding its annual Palm Sunday luncheon April 1 in the Montford church’s hall.
Diners can savor Greek specialties such as chicken oreganato and rice, baked lamb shank and orzo, spanakopita, baked fish or plaki, layered pasta or pastichio, a beef and rice dish known as dolmathas, plus salad, vegetables and more.
The bake sale will feature Napoleons, baklava, Greek Easter bread or tsoureki, paximadia, koulouria, kourambiethes and many more treats.
Diners may eat cafeteria-style in the church hall or call ahead for takeout. Doors will open at 11 a.m., with takeout service beginning at 10:30 a.m. and lunch service ending at 2 p.m. The price range for entrees is $4-$11, with sides about $2.50.
The proceeds benefit the church’s ministry and philanthropic projects, said The Rev. Demetrios Iliou, who noted that philoptochos means “friend of the poor.”
“We’re inviting our neighbors to join us … as we celebrate our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem,” Iliou said. “It’s sitting down as one family.”
No reservations are required, but for takeout orders, diners may call the church office at 253-3754 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Friday, and Hellenic Hall at 254-7424 on Saturday or Sunday.
