April 3, 2010

• Happy Easter!

  Here are some pictures from the Great Pascha (Easter) service at the Greek Orthodox in Jebel Ali last night. I used my mobile so the quality is not that great.

  

  These pictures were taken just a few moments after the priest had lit a single candle at the front of the church and the light was then passed on from person to person.

  

  Just like the night before, the church was absolutely packed. Me and a couple of friends were there more than an hour before the start of the service so we had good seats near the front.

  

  There were people standing in the central aisle throughout the whole service. Well, actually there seemed to be groups of people coming and going. Maybe someone in the back was arranging for people without seats to have some kind of rotating scheme.  I don't know.

  

  As this has been the first full week this brand-new church has been in use, everybody is new to the church building - even if they have been part of the Orthodox community in Dubai for a long time. As a result, all week I've heard comments from people about how pleased they are with the church, and it's obvious just looking around that people are very happy being able to celebrate Easter in a real Orthodox church building.

  

  One thing I've enjoyed in particular are the fabulous acoustics in the church. The choir sings wonderfully well, and with these acoustics this creates a great sense of festivity and beauty.

  • 10:52 pm
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