300 ACTORS TO PARTICIPATE IN EASTER RECONSTRUCTION IN
ODESSA, WHICH
METROPOLITAN AGAFANGEL TRIED TO PREVENT
Religiia
v Ukraine, 26 April 2019
On 27 April, a huge reconstruction of biblical events,
"The Last
Journey of Christ," will occur in the center of Odessa. More
than 300
actors will participate in the production. They will be dressed
in specially
created costumes of the first century C.E. of people of various
classes, and
they will pass along the cobblestone street of Deribasovskaia.
The organizers
of the event are the Good Samaritan charitable foundation and
the Odessa
People's Church, with the support of the Odessa city council and
the Youth
Council under the city mayor, Religiia v Ukraine reports, citing
Invictory.
During the production, significant events of biblical
history will be
shown: the betrayal of Judas, Peter's denial, the high priest's
plot, Christ's
meeting with Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate's trial, and the
crucifixion journey
of Jesus.
Christian protestants have worked on the production for
several months.
Authentic costumes were made especially for the historical
reconstruction from
images and archaeological finds of that period and natural
beards and wigs for
the principal characters were made to order.
Thirty professional reconstructors from Italy, Romania,
Poland, and Ukraine
will come to Odessa. Before the event, on 25 April, they will
establish a
mini-camp of Roman legionnaires on Deribasovskaia. Here they
will stage marches
and battles in full uniform of that historical period. They also
will erect
exact copies of weaponry and of an ancient grille on which the
legionnaires
will prepare food on Odessa's central street.
"We want to remind Odessans of the historical essence of
the
holiday of Easter," noted Denis Serdichenko, the senior pastor
of Odessa
People's Church. "Many have become accustomed to the fact that
Easter is a
holiday of gluttony and colored eggs. We also want to recall
that Easter is a
holiday of the triumph of good over evil and of the achievement
of Jesus Christ
who gave himself in sacrifice in order to atone for human sins."
This year the reconstruction is being conducted with the
participation
of the Ukrainian Inter-church Council.
The "Easter Reconstruction" has been held in Odessa for seven years now. This is the most massive theatrical, costumed action in Ukraine under the open sky, devoted to the last days of the life of Jesus Christ. Earlier the Odessa diocese of the UPTsMP protested against the reconstruction and Metropolitan Agafangel tried to prevent the production, because it is organized by non-Orthodox Christians. (tr by PDS, posted 26 April 2019)
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