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New Eastern Orthodox Christian Church will celebrate First Pascha (Easter) at midnight Saturday

The Rev. Stevhen Supica, left, of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Spokane removes Christ’s body from the cross and prepares to wrap it in a white cloth during a reenactment of the burial of Jesus during a service Friday, March 11, 2016. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Easter a week later than the Western Christian Church. The new St. Luke Orthodox Church in north Spokane will hold Easter service at midnight Saturday, April 27, 2019. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
From staff reports
The Rev. Stevhen Supica, left, of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Spokane removes Christ’s body from the cross and prepares to wrap it in a white cloth during a reenactment of the burial of Jesus during a service Friday, March 11, 2016. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Easter a week later than the Western Christian Church. The new St. Luke Orthodox Church in north Spokane will hold Easter service at midnight Saturday, April 27, 2019. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

St. Luke Orthodox Christian Church in north Spokane will celebrate its first Pascha, or Easter, service at midnight Saturday, one week after the Western Christian Easter.

The church was formed in the summer 2018 and meets at Valley Prairie Hall, 8216 E. Big Meadows Road, in Chattaroy.

The goal of the Church is to make Orthodox Christianity accessible to residents in north Spokane, the Rev. Timothy Wilkinson said in a news release. While the membership of the new church is small, it is diverse.

“We have people from various religious backgrounds who have become Orthodox, or are on the journey to becoming Orthodox, including Roman Catholics, Calvinists and Pentecostals,” Wilkinson said in the release. “One member was a pastor in the Assemblies of God denomination for 30 years and became interested in Orthodoxy after studying Church history and reading about early church fathers like St. Athanasius and St. Basil.

“Many people read their way into the Orthodox Church,” Wilkinson said.

St. Luke Church will have eight services leading up to Pascha, less than half that normally take place during Holy Week.

“In the Orthodox Church we don’t believe that ‘less is more,’ but that ‘more is more.’ However, because of our temporary location we can’t pull off all of the services on our own, so will join with the Orthodox churches for some of the midweek liturgies.”

The Orthodox Church traces its history to Jesus and the Apostles in an unbroken line of apostolic succession that reaches up to the present day. Its worship is liturgical, based on the pattern set in the Jewish Synagogue and Temple. No instruments are used, and a typical service lasts about an hour-and-a-half.

“All people, including families with young children, are welcome,” Wilkinson said. “We only ask that people stick around for coffee to debrief and ask questions after the service.”

On the day of Pascha, Sunday, St. Luke will hold a service at 1 p.m. followed by a dinner, Easter egg hunt and train rides.

For more information, contact . Timothy Wilkinson at (509) 426-4510 or visit spokaneorthodoxchurch.com.