WESTERN EUROPEAN DIOCESE: April 17, 2018
Photo-report on the celebration of Holy Pascha at Geneva’s Elevation of the Holy Cross Cathedral

On Great Saturday, April 7, 2018, midnight office at Elevation of the Holy Cross Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, began at 11:30 pm. A procession of the cross under the peal of bells exclaimed to the city the Risen Christ the Savior. Divine services, including Liturgy, were led by Protopriest Pavel Tsvetkoff along with Protopriest Emilian Pochinok and the cathedral’s deacons. The joyous declaration “Christ is Risen” was made in over ten languages to the multi-national cathedral parish. The cathedral choir sang artfully under the direction of Larisa Popovich and Mathew Malinin. After Divine Liturgy, the Paschal epistle of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was read.

On Sunday evening, Paschal vespers were performed. Several thousand parishioners and worshipers visited the cathedral on the first day of Holy Pascha.

By tradition, on the second day of Pascha, the cathedral hosts a large gathering of children for Divine Liturgy, where they partake of the Holy Gifts and participate in a children’s procession of the cross that follows. Many of the young parishioners are active students of the cathedral’s Sunday school and parish life. Fr Emilian gave each youngster a gift of sweets and his blessing.

The Paschal Epistle of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York and His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, Administrator of the Western European Diocese, was then read to the congregation.