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Show ' 0 wife '&Wp,i&Q?k. '-Mi -HERB appeared recently 1. America fcM "4?J CYj Et newspapers an Aasoctated Press die- ''.miQj.., S'A "Vf WV. , ; 1 m s?-ar- - - ' H .pmtm , TSR- "With the approach of Easter and ,- ' If'SBft A W fV.'V. "T'V Catholic and Protestant daya of Inter- X ! V J rX3i U u Jl: :'al 0wN cessory prsyer on behalf of Christian jf , ; I' 'V ' . 'ftAWl ylJt Russians.' Soviet atheist officials are t ; . 4L ff ' n . 'ri JTV busy formulating an Intensified aa- ' fctAA V"' t ' fld tff l 1 sault upon God and rellgloa. .. TO?5 4Ct " "Ignoring the world-wide outcry against Com- r ' t? At J wJL A v, 1 U .1 f.Wv - munla for their attitude toward tha church.' ?A fej'r- mU-" ' I &&&L which tbey say Is only a cloak for an economic f ytf ,? WjrT'' JT.L.V--?2s" v I ' '' " "" By ELMO 8COTT WATSON aaaa- HERB appeared recently In American rT newspapers an Associated Press dls-ffl dls-ffl 3 1 patch from Moscow wblcb read. In part, as follows: Y "With the approach of Easter and zkZ&k Catholic and Protestant daya of Inter-cessory Inter-cessory prayer on behalf of Christian )2S Russians,' Soviet atheist officials are JT bnsy formulating an Intensified as-". as-". i ' sault upon God and religion. "Ignoring the world-wide outcry against Communists Com-munists for their attitude toward tha church,' which tbey aay Is only a cloak for an economic blockade against the Soviet Union, these leaders have Issued Instructions to members of the League of Communist Youths, numbering 2,500,000 mem-- mem-- bera, to have 'special shock brigades and groups of light cavalry' during Easter week lead tha anti-God anti-God movement and Investigate tha schools, universities uni-versities and clubs to sea bow the antl-rellglous education of tbe young Is being carried out "Members are directed to organize mock religious reli-gious carnlvala, atheistic meetings, torchlight processions pro-cessions and lectures and also to fight for extermination extermi-nation of the kulak, the complete collectivisation of all farms In Russia and fulfillment of the 5-year Industrialization plan. "On Easter day huge bonfires of Icons will be made In all large cities and towns around which unbelievers will celebrate tbe 'extinction of religion.' reli-gion.' "Dealing with lta newly-prepared B-year antl-' antl-' God plan, the Society of Militant Atheists, embracing em-bracing nearly three million members, has Issued a manifesto asserting means most be found for exterminating religious teachings among families and eliminating from the schools teachers who believe In God so that In tbe end of the B-year plan there will be no such thing aa religion la 1. The pilgrimage of French Catholics to the Colosseum In Rome for outdoor services during Easter week. 2. Children of the Near East Relief orphanage at Syra, Greece, planting the Easter cross above their school home. The custom ef planting the cross st Easter has been observed In Greece for many centuries. 3. The living cross formed by nurses and enlist, ed men at the Easter aunrlee services held at Wsl-ter Wsl-ter Reed general hospital In Washington, O. C 4. Throngs gathering for an Easter sunrise serv. lees on top of Mount Rubldoux at Riverside, Calif. 4 menlan bishop, a flaming torch In each band, tha .focus for a converging crush of worshipers, fran-' fran-' tic to light candles from his torches. "The Armenian, Coptic and Syrlac processions now form and circle the rotunda. But the climax of Interest has been reached. The visible symbol of resurrection, having been divided and passed on. no longer burns beside the 8epulcher. Slowly the crowds melt away, aome climbing past the Soviet schools. "In Its anti-Easter program, which It says will be carried ont not only among Christians, Jews and Moslems, but among all other religious faiths In the Soviet Union, tbe Society of Militant Atheists Athe-ists says: "By Intensifying tha struggle against religion, wa will hasten tha collectivization of peasant farms. By liquidating the kulak (rich peasant) as a class we will quicken tha fall at hla chief support, which Is religion. Wa will convert con-vert the state and collective farms Into great centers of atheism." Thus will Russia, under the Soviet government, not only turn from tha celebration of Easter, which nnder the old regime was a deeply Impressive Impres-sive religious ceremony, but It will challenge the faith of mora than one-third of all the peoples of tha earth to whom the observance of this day Is ao essential part of their religious belief. For out of a total of 1,847,500,000 people In the world today who accept some form of religion, 682,400,-000 682,400,-000 are Christians and, althongh their observance of Easter may vary In form In different countries, the essential spirit of their celebrations of tbe day la the same, whether It be la the Orient or tha proceeding to the Orthodox altar and doing obeisance. obei-sance. A Franciscan monk la present throughout the ceremony. "For days beforehand the church la Oiled with pilgrims. Many' sleep there. "The Turkish government, fearing, not without cause, that tbe excitement of these Easter crowds might result In an outbreak, waa accustomed to station a large body of troops In and around tbe church. Their place la. now taken by smaller bodies bod-ies of police. It Is the administration's task to In- ' sure order and reverence, and to assist the patriarch patri-arch In the service, protecting him, If necessary, from the fervor of blsj flock. "First the Armenian patriarch passes In procea-slon procea-slon around tha rotunda and retires; then tha Moslem guardian of the Holy Sepulcher, In tha presence of one Orthodox and one Armenian archimandrite, archi-mandrite, exercises his traditional privilege of sealing the doors of the Sepulcher. He first closes them and places thereon a large piece of wax, which holds In place a white ribbon whose ends, after passing through' the two door handles, are held by the archimandrites. At noon the repfesentativen of tha other churches do obelsanc, before tha altar of tha Cathollcon, to the Orthodox patriarch, who awalta them vested In white and gold, with a crown of gold scintillating with enamel and precious stones Garden of Oethsemane to the summit of Mount Olivet" Almost aa Interesting aa the Easter celebration In Jerusalem Is that In another Old world city-Rome. city-Rome. Italy. There a cross Is erected in the center cen-ter of the Colosseum, where so many Christian martyra Buffered death because of their faith, and Impressive services are held around tbla cross during dur-ing Easter week, especially on Good Friday. Perhaps Per-haps the most picturesque of these Is the procession proces-sion of penitence across Rome to the church of Santa Groce in Gerusalemme where relics of the Savior's passion are exhibited. Many members of the Roman nobility participate In the procession. All the marchers carry small candles of yellow wax and chant In chorus the canticle, "Long Live the Cross," before entering the church to give homage to the relics of tbe True Cross preserved there. In tbe United States the Idea el open air sunrise services on Easter morning have been gaining steadily during tbe recent years. It originated In California and the first service of this kind was held In 1009 on the summit of Mount Rubldoux, near Riverside, where stands a cross erected to the memory of Fra Junipero Serra. the pious Franciscan monk who first brought the cross to California and founded the missions In that state. Jacob RHs. the famous writer, is suld to have Occident One of the most Interesting of all the Easter celebrations to that which takes place In Jerusalem, Jerusa-lem, centering around the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where took place the event which gives Easter Its deepest significance for Christians. Of this celebration MaJ. Edward Keith-Roach, writing In the National Geographic Magazine, says: "The Church of the Holy Sepulcher Is shared by most of the Christian churches. Orthodox, Latin, Armenian, Jacobite, Copt, all have definite chapels and rights to worship within Its walls. "The Interior is divided Into two principal parts, the rotunda and the Orthodox cathedral. In the former Is the small shrine or edlcule containing the Tomb of Christ. Most of the building dates ' from 1810. but the eastern dome Is Crusader and the Orthodox cathedral Is Twelfth century. This dome was badly cracked In the recent earthquake and Is now being taken down and rebuilt by the government - "The supreme ceremony of the Eastern churches, the appearance of the Holy Fire, takes place at midday on Easter eve, according to the calendar of Eastern Christendom, In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Its origin la uncertain, but that it is derived from ritual and symbolism In nsage by the very early church is undoubted. In essence tbe ceremony symbolizes the triumph of the Christian faith, renewed yearly In commemoration of the first victory after Calvary. "The Orthodox patriarch, the primus inter pares among the princes of the Eastern churches, enters the edlcule over the tomb in which, for this one occasion, oc-casion, all lamps are extinguished. From here he passes out holy fire and distributes it to the crowd thronging the church, which carries It far and wide. Before the World war the fire was borne to the farthest corners of RumIs. The patriarch Is assisted by a bishop of tbe Armenian patriarchate. patriarch-ate. Representatives of Coptic and Jacobite, or, Syrlac sects take part as well "Tbe ceremony Is, however, essentially a rite of the Orthodox cburch and representatives of others obtain permission from the Orthodox patriarch by upon bis head. "About this time groups of young men enter the rotunda through the Orthodox Cathollcon, clapping clap-ping their hands and singing. One or two may be borne In the shoulders of coreligionists. The pressure pres-sure of the throng becomes Intense. "Tbe actual service now commences with the procession of the patriarch from the Orthodox Cathollcon, preceded by 13 banners borne by representatives rep-resentatives of leading Orthodox families. They circle tbe rotunda, through tha throng, three times; then all except the patriarch retire to tha Orthodox cathedral He, disrobed of miter and vestmenta before th doors of the Sepulcher, enters, accompanied by the Armenian bishop. The Copt and Syrlac take position before the doors. "Tense excitement prevails. All eyes are fixed upon the Tomb. Voices, are lifted up. Tbe crowd, holding candles aloft, presses forward, wave upon wave, self-restraint thrown . away, The seconds seem long-drawn-out minutes. "Suddenly an Orthodox priest, waiting without the shrine, with a mighty sweep, withdraws bla arm from a hole In the edlcule, holding a burning torlh. The flame appears from the Armenian side also. i - The burst of flame to greeted- with frantic cheering, the clapping of hands, the ringing of bells and high, plerclag ululatlona from the women. wom-en. Tbe priest gives the fire to a selected representative repre-sentative of the community, and the crowd opena to allow him to rush with the sacred Are and light the lampa on the altar of the Cathollcon. "Each pilgrim presses forward to light his candle can-dle ; others from the balconies let down their candles' can-dles' od strings to receive the flame. The building to soon ablaze with dancing light "The Copt and Jacobite enter the door of the Sepulcher and receive the Are from the Orthodox patriarch, who then emerges, followed by the Ar- i first conceived the Idea or an ussier uuru aerv-Ice aerv-Ice on Mount Rubldoux during a visit to Riverside, and It Is said to have sprung from a recollection of his childhood rn Denmark when bis people were accustomed to make a pilgrimage at Yule-tide Yule-tide to the summit of a venerated mountain nearby, near-by, singing Christmas carols aa they went On Easter morning 21 years ago a little group of less than a hundred people made their way up the slopes of the mountain from Riverside In the darkness before dawn so that the service could be held Just at sunrise. Tbe first service was a brief one, simple but sincere and Impressive. But as Rlls had predicted, the religious feeling brought about by an Easter sunrise service left an Impression Im-pression which guaranteed lta continuance. Each year thereafter the interest and attendance at this service grew. In 1017 more than 20,000 persons per-sons ascended the summit of Rubldoux at Eastertide Easter-tide and the next year saw the same number of pilgrims there. They had come not only from Riverside, but from other cities In California. Other notable Easter morning services In California, Cal-ifornia, each of which attracts thousands of worshipers, wor-shipers, are those In tbe great Los Angeles coliseum, coli-seum, In the Hollywood bowl, at the Tower of Legends in Glendale and In Pasadena. At Stove Pipe Wells In the famons Death valley a cross has been erected and there services are held on Easter morning In memory of the pioneers who lost their lives on the desert Every year thousands of people attend an Easter East-er sunrise service In the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colo- and In the Wichita mountains moun-tains of southwestern Oklahoma for the last four or five years a sunrise service has been held on the summit of one of the rugged granite hills. The chief feature of the service Is the Pageant of the Resurrection, presented by fifty members ef the Sunday school of Medicine Park. |
