After we had proceeded around the outside of the church, we crowded into the vestibule to hear the priests proclaim that Christ had risen. The congregation responded that indeed he had risen. This exchange went on often during the next few hours. The church was beautifully decorated and the atmosphere was joyus and festive. From time to time, people would step back out to the unheated vestibule to cool off and shake off some of the sleepiness. Some went out into the ten degree air. The prayers were recited and sung, with the priests singing and the choir responding. I could hear people around me singing quietly with the choir. At one point, two of the priests and one of the lay persons began a reading from one of the Gospels, in English, Russian, and Yup'ik.
We finally began to lose some steam at about 3:30 am. At about 3:45, we decided to head for home to get some water and use the bathroom. Upon arrival, it became clear that we were in for the night. Both of us were very tired, and someone thinks that the lingering sore throat and swollen gland in my neck means that I have some sort of exotic condition. Mononucleosis. Don't ya love armchair diagnosis?
A few hours of sleep sort of helped, but I was pretty groggy and unfocused for most of the day. In the evening, I got an invitation to steam from Joe. He described parts of the service that went on after we left. Next year, I intend to get more sleep, and make it through the whole night.
Today was a confusing day. We started late, to accomodate the Pascha vigil. We let out early, to let people attend the funeral of an elder. Tomorrow begins testing week. It will be interesting.
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