helo.my: For most Malaysians, Christmas falls on Dec 25 annually, with religious celebrations in church followed by feasts and gift exchanges between family and friends.
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Once New Year’s Day has come and gone though, the Christmas season is considered over, with households and shopping malls alike storing away their seasonal decorations.
Given that the next big celebration is to be Chinese New Year in February, it is not at all surprising to find lanterns and red packets replacing Christmas trees and mistletoe in the next few weeks.
But for a segment of Malaysian Christians, Christmas is yet to come and Yuletide celebrations have not begun; they are still in the midst of fasting for the season.
The mention of Orthodox Christianity to many will only draw looks of total bewilderment. However, statistically, Orthodox Christianity is the third-largest denomination of the faith, with most of its 260 million adherents living in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Through two thousand years of history, Orthodox Christianity has maintained its traditions and faith without change, which includes celebrating Christmas on Jan 7, not Dec 25.
Why is this the case? Most of the world currently follows what is known as the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, which replaced the previously used Julian calendar.
However, the Russian Orthodox Christian church continues to observe festivals and feast days according to the Julian calendar.
The Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, hence the reason for the delayed celebration of Christmas.
It may come as a surprise to many, but there are Orthodox Christians living in Malaysia, though their numbers are small.
Located in the shadow of the Petronas Twin Towers is one of the few centres of worship for this community, the Archangel Michael Russian Orthodox Church, that FMT paid a visit to one rainy Sunday morning.
This church, established in 2012, is a rare sight in the city and is one of the few brick-and-mortar Orthodox Christian churches in the country.
From its exterior, it appears to be a simple whitewashed structure, with the only indication of its purpose being a religious icon that hangs above its front door.
Upon passing through the doorway, it becomes clear that this is indeed a church, though not one that one might expect to find in Malaysia.
Beautiful paintings of saints adorn the walls inside, and it is hard not to admire the love and dedication that was clearly poured into these works of faith.
One’s attention is drawn immediately to the screen at the front of the church, covered with icons, a distinguishing feature of Orthodox churches.
It is called the iconostasis and it separates the altar from the ‘nave’, where the people stand to worship, much in the way that a curtain is used to separate the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place in the Temple of Jerusalem.
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In the age of Covid-19, religious institutions, like private businesses and public spaces, are compelled to adhere to SOPs. As such, the few chairs that are provided for worshippers are placed far apart from each other, and only a small congregation can attend the service, called a liturgy on Sunday.
Rather noticeably, women of the congregation cover their heads, a common practice of modesty in Orthodox Christian countries.
The liturgy, which began at 9.15am, was led by Father Pavel and Father Seraphim, the two men of the church, with prayers being sung by the congregation.
While some churches commonly use musical instruments during their worship, Orthodox churches do not; instead, they rely on choral music.
As much of the congregation and Father Pavel himself are ethnic Russians, the liturgy is largely conducted in Russian, though with some English parts included.
Once this liturgy concludes however, a sign of the times makes itself known as Father Seraphim delivers a solemn reminder.
In previous years, the Christmas liturgy held on Jan 7 would often be followed by a merry feast.
These feasts were often glorious events, with Eastern European delights comprising meats and dairy products which were shared out among the members of the congregation, to break the 40-day fast from these foods.
This year however, there is to be no such feast due to safety concerns, with rising cases of Covid-19 being a cause for alarm.
After hanging up his vestments for the day, Father Seraphim took some time to best explain to FMT the importance of Christmas to the Orthodox Christian Church.
For Father Seraphim, Christmas remains important as it marks the occasion when, “God became man to save us”. Interestingly enough, according to him, Christmas is only the second most important feast day of the church, the most important being Pascha or Easter Sunday.
Having converted to Orthodox Christianity in 2010, Father Seraphim acknowledges that this Christmas will be unlike others in the past. Yet, he remains hopeful through it all, strongly believing that the suffering wrought by the pandemic will eventually see its end one way or another.
And until that day comes, he and his brethren of the cloth stand ready to provide spiritual guidance to people troubled by these difficult times.
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