I think eggs are associated with Easter worldwide, but especially so in Russia! When I called one non-Christian (Orthodox?) friend to invite her to church, she asked, "Oh, with the eggs?" I tried to explain that it was our normal church service, but with a celebratory focus. She said she would rather go to the nearby Orthodox church and watch the priests bless the eggs.
On the other hand, we did have eggs...at Sunday school!
The weather was marvelous, so a group of us took a stroll around the city. Here we are in a non Easter-related pose in front of the Museum of Hygiene.
Next we walked over to the Church of the Spilt Blood, the familiar landmark on the Griboedova Canal. I was searching for some evidence that today was Easter. Surely somebody was celebrating? Around the corner, we found some children painting a few giant eggs with messages of love and world peace. Always the eggs...
Next, we decided to go inside the church, which I hadn't done before. But it seemed appropriate to enter the Church of the Resurrection (its other name) on Easter Sunday. We waited for a group to form and were given a tour by a very knowledgable old lady who kept coaxing us to "gather around" her and listen.
At one point we were looking at the altar and our tour guide mentioned Christ, saying that He had always promised to be with us. Then she repeated, "The Saviour said, 'I will be with you always.' Amen." A few of us said "Amen," and she looked at me and winked. I think this old lady was a bit of an evangelist! :)
That's very interesting about the importance of eggs...weird, huh?
ReplyDelete