In the days of Bright Week, Christians find perfect joy. The joy of victory over death, evil, the joy of the Resurrection of Christ. Believers join it through prayer in the temple.
Bright week is the first week of the main Christian holiday. It begins with Easter and lasts until the onset of Fomina's Week. On Bright Week, believers should visit the temple every day.
Confession and communion
On these days, it is possible not to fast for those who observed Great Lent and Holy Week. For the rest, fasting is canceled on Wednesday and Friday. So that they can eat traditional Easter meals and get ready for the Sacrament.
Before Communion, prayers for Communion, canons for Communion and Easter are read. Some priests during the celebration of Easter, instead of confession, read a prayer of permission. Others allow communion on the first day of Easter without confession.
True believers receive communion every day of Bright Week. Others should strive for the daily sacrament as an ideal. Although it is very difficult to do this.
Easter hours and prayers
Divine services for Bright Week are short, so that the service in the church can be defended by the elderly, the weak, and children. Bows to the ground were canceled.
Instead of prayers, Easter hours. They are part of the Easter service, which also includes Matins, Liturgy and Vespers.
And they also read Ipakoy, the fourth voice, and Kondak, the eighth voice. Before the meal, the troparion of Easter is sung, after the meal - the Zadostochnik of Easter (refrain and irmos of the ninth canon of the Easter canon).
Throughout Holy Forty days, except Saturday and Sunday, the prayer of the Monk Ephraim the Syrian is recited.
Unconditional joy
Previously, it was believed that during the Bright Week, the sun did not set at all. A week is like one endless day that people have to spend in church.
If a person fasted, prepared for Easter, and spent Bright Week outside the church, he seemed to have fallen from the mountain, to the top of which he had been climbing for so long. After Easter, he may become discouraged.
And the Christian believer, who tries to attend all services, will feel unconditional joy, will touch the mystery of the Resurrection. For this joy in the days of Bright Week, even non-church people come to church.
Great Easter is a joyous holiday for Christians. Therefore, Easter Hours and all prayers are sung, if possible, and not recited. Bells ringing every day and after the Liturgy a procession of the cross is performed.
On Friday, the day of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring" is celebrated, there is little water illumination.
Forty days, starting from Easter, Christians greet each other: "Christ is Risen!" - "Truly He is Risen!"
