The Eighth Day that is Bright Week.

April 16, 2026church, PaschaArtos, Bright Week, Eighth Day, proteasGretchenJoanna

Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!

This week after Pascha is called both Bright Week and The Eighth Day. Here is the explanation for that:

“When God created the universe, He rested on the 7th day, the Sabbath (Saturday). But, when Jesus rose from the grave, it was on the day after the Sabbath (the day after the 7th). Therefore, Jesus rose from the grave on the 8th day, He became the first-fruits of the new creation, the one unified with God, as the joyful sign and promise of the everlasting “Bright Week” in paradise…a never-ending week of brightness. The entire Bright Week is considered to be one continuous day.”

The photo above shows the altar doors as they are now, open all week, with the ceremonial artos bread that stays in that spot throughout this extended (8th) Day. On Thomas Sunday, the week after Pascha, we slice it up and pass it around to all the parishioners. It’s a very special recipe with lots of flavors and ingredients that keep it quite moist all week.

As with Holy Week, it seems like the best thing would be to just Be in Church for the ~~seven days~~ whole Day, but of course no one can do that. We must bask in the glow of Pascha wherever we are, and let His brightness shine out. Glory to God!

That inner world and its joy.

February 20, 2026Lent, quotesFr. Alexander Schmemann, St. John of TobolskGretchenJoanna

I’m taking a break for Lent.
This will be my last post until after Pascha,
which is April 12.

Let us understand …that what the Church wants us to do during Lent is to seek the enrichment of our spiritual and intellectual inner world, to read and to meditate upon those things which are most likely to help us recover that inner world and its joy. Of that joy, of the true vocation of man, the one that is fulfilled inside and not outside, the ‘modern world’ gives us no taste today; yet without it, without the understanding of Lent as a journey into the depth of our humanity, Lent loses its meaning.

-Father Alexander Schmemann, Great Lent

Man will not have peace in his heart until he… says,
“God and I are alone in the entire world.”
-St John of Tobolsk

Got butter and eggs?

February 16, 2026food and cooking, Lentbutter, Butter Week, Cheesefare Week, fastingGretchenJoanna

In the Orthodox Church we start fasting from meat a week before full-on Lent. And this week we don’t restrict ourselves otherwise, even on Wednesday and Friday. I thought I might post an appropriate recipe … but I’ve run out of time, so instead I’m just going to put up a few pictures of such foods as I have cooked, and might cook again, during these seven days.

As I eat more butter than cheese always, I prefer to call it Butter Week,
but Cheesefare Week is also a good name.

I can make Egg Lemon Soup with vegetable broth instead of the traditional chicken broth, but I can’t see making it without eggs, though I’ve seen recipes for such a thing. But please, give it a new name if you are going to do that!