WESTFIELD, NJ – The service of the Bridegroom at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Westfield was celebrated with great enthusiasm on Holy Tuesday.

The presiding priest of the community, Fr. Peter Delvizis, shared with The National Herald the blessing he feels because this year's Easter is celebrated with the participation, in person, of even a limited number of the faithful, compared to last year when, as he said, only the priests and chanters were present.

He added: "We are in the heart of spring, everything around us is in bloom and in a few days Easter and the Resurrection are approaching. As nature has begun to bloom and the flowers come out, so the souls of men bloom from the light of the Resurrection.”

Fr. Delvizis said, “I wish the Resurrection of the Lord to warm the souls of people with love, joy and hope.”

“Today, Holy Tuesday in our Orthodox Church the Holy Gospel refers to the rebuke of Jesus against the religious leaders of Israel, the Scribes and the Pharisees, but also to the parable of the ten virgins,” he continued. “During the service, the Troparion of Kassiani of wonderful poetic beauty is sung in the Orthodox churches. A poetic rendition of the incident described in the Gospels and has to do with the sinful woman who showed her repentance by washing the feet of Christ with precious myrrh and wiping His feet with her hair.”

“The act of this woman is of particular importance for two main reasons: on the one hand because she prepared Christ for burial, as the Jews used to smear the bodies of their dead with a mixture of resin and perfume, and on the other because she demonstrated, by the intensity of the scene, the magnitude of her repentance,” Fr. Delvizis said, and concluded by wishing a “Happy and blessed Easter to all the Greek community.”

Parish Council President Felicia Karsos referred to the difficult situations that the Church experienced due to the pandemic, depriving the faithful of the opportunity to come and pray in person. She noted that “for many months our church was closed. Although Fr. Peter had an online Liturgy, it is not the same as the personal contact that the church offers.”

Karsos continued, “As a nurse by profession, in the last year I have seen many deaths, a lot of misery and horrible situations. Unfortunately, our parish also lost members due to the coronavirus.”

“During these holy days of Easter, our faith in Christ and in the Resurrection gives us strength, courage and hope for a better tomorrow,” she concluded.

A doctor and member of the Parish Council, Lauren Koniaris, wished everyone health and happiness and a quick return to the normal rhythms of life.

Panagiotis Tarhanidis, a member of the Parish Council, sent warm wishes to the Greek community and invited them to the church’s festival that will take place June 4-5 with orders for Greek food and sweets via the internet and telephone and will be limited to providing packages to-go.

“The festival will not only help our church financially, which was closed for so many months due to the coronavirus, but it will bring us all back together in person as we have longed for so much,” he noted.

More information about Holy Trinity Church in Westfield is available online: http://holytrinitywestfield.org/.