Burr Ridge Churches Prepare for Easter

Burr Ridge is a prime location to celebrate Easter with various churches — including St. Helena’s Episcopal Church, St. Peter and St. Paul Orthodox Church and St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church — holding services.

“The heart of our Easter celebration is a series of three services,” said Rev. Robert O. Wyatt, who is also the rector of St. Helena’s. They began celebrating on Maundy (Holy) Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper, with foot washing and removing any decorations from the church, including any on the altar. 

A somber Good Friday service follows, which, in the bare church, venerates the cross, Wyatt states. Next follows the Great Vigil of Easter after sunset on Saturday at 8 p.m. “[This is] pierced by only one light, the Light of Christ on the Paschal Candle.” The congregation then recounts the story of redemption, starting with the creation, by reading lessons about it. 

“Then the lights come up and the great hymn, the Gloria, is sung and we celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection Easter in a church filled with flowers and banners and incense,” said Wyatt.

“Like many congregations, we also have an Easter Sunday Service followed by an Easter Egg Hunt,” he states. The Easter service will be held at 9:30 a.m., and is called the Holy Eucharist or mass, with incense, and it is done in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.

The St. Peter and St. Paul Orthodox Church is also holding services to celebrate the holiday. The church currently has 125 families attending the church, about half of whom have converted to the faith, said Father Herman Kincaid, who has served as pastor at the church for about two years. Many of the church members are Eastern European immigrants including Greeks, Romanians, Russians, Ukrainians, Serbians or individuals from the Middle East, he says.

St. Peter’s celebration includes a midnight service on Saturday that usually begins at 11:30 p.m. Kincaid said. “It’s a small vigil service before Christ’s Tomb in the church.” A table with flowers surrounds the tomb and there is an icon of Jesus Christ’s body.

The church is completely dark five to 10 minutes before midnight, and then when 12 a.m. arrives, the bells ring and candles are lit gradually throughout the church. The congregants process around the outside of the church three times. Then, they all re-enter the church.

“The lights are on, and the tomb has been put away. It’s kind of theatrical. There is a lot of movement by the people,” Kincaid said. The service ends at about 2 a.m.

Kincaid hands out red eggs to symbolize the rising of Christ from the dead.

“It’s probably the most mystical service. Everyone’s welcome to come and attend.”

Then Kincaid blesses about 100 Easter baskets with Holy water. The baskets are a tradition unique to St. Peter’s. They are called “Pascha” or Passover baskets, Kincaid said. They contain traditional meats, cheeses and rich breads.

“All of what we have been fasting from,” he said. The congregation has been avoiding all meat and dairy products for about 50 days, including Lent.

At the doors of the church, the resurrection service begins. In Greek, Arabic, and every language in which he can utter the phrase, “Christ has risen,” Kincaid said. The people respond, “Indeed, he has risen.” All of the services, however, are in English.

At noon on Sunday, the church holds another resurrection service, called the Agape Vespers. There, Kincaid blesses more Easter baskets and an Easter Egg Hunt is held.

St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church also holds an Easter celebration. The Egyptian Christian church has 500 to 600 families who attend services and the bulk of them are either from Egypt or of Egyptian heritage, while the rest have intermarried, said senior church member Dr. Kamal Ibrahim.

Easter celebrations there began on Palm Sunday, April 17, at the beginning of Holy Week. There have been morning and evening services every day this past week, Ibrahim said. There will be a midnight mass Saturday, April 23, followed by a congregational dinner at the church on Sunday.

The most important day, however, was Good Friday. Congregants read about Christ’s last day, hour-by-hour, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., the time when Christ was crucified. At 6 p.m., they celebrate his burial. “[The congregation is] asking for repentance for what he went through, for the redemption of people,” Ibrahim said. “Good Friday is a sad funeral service.”

From Friday at midnight on April 22, to Saturday morning, those celebrating at St. Mark’s will read the Book of Revelation over night. Then, there will be masses on Saturday morning and Saturday night. 

“Saturday night is celebratory of Jesus Christ,” Ibrahim said.