The Pascha Book Study has started, and it will meet each Wednesday evening through May 25. Father Andrew Wilson and Father Michael Coleman will be leading the group, and this year’s study will bring to a close our year long exploration of the theology and practices associated with death in Holy Orthodoxy. With the help of several selections, the group will take a guided tour of the funeral service itself, beginning with Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev’s overview from his Orthodox Christianity series. Along the way the group will focus on the prayers and hymns unique to the service, while also reading St. Gregory of Nazianzus’ funeral oration for his friend, St. Basil the Great, perhaps the best example of a eulogy in the Orthodox tradition. Finally, the study will end with a look at grief through a letter of consolation sent by St. John Chrysostom to a spiritual daughter whose husband had died.  There is no single text to purchase for the book study, but a packet of materials will be printed and available in the bookstore for only the cost of what it took to get them printed. Here’s the schedule for the sessions and the readings:

Session 1 - The Orthodox Funeral Service, Pt 1

Read: Funeral Service: pp 1-7

Read: Funeral Oration: paragraphs 1-27

Session 2 - Funeral Service, Pt 2

Read: Funeral Service: pp 7-13

Read: Funeral Oration: paragraphs 28-54

Session 3 - Funeral Oration

Read: Funeral Oration: paragraphs 55-82

Session 4 - Funeral Service, Pt 3

Read: Funeral Service: pp 14-21

Session 5 - Letter to a Grieving Widow & Conclusion

Read: Letter to a Grieving Widow (13 pages)