DATE: Sunday, April 27, 1997                TAG: 9704230039

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ANN WRIGHT, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   79 lines

GREEK EASTER: IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE GREEK. TRADITIONAL FOODS SUCH AS SPINACH PIE AND LAMB ARE ON FAMILY MENUS TODAY

WHAT LITTLE Easter candy is left is marked down 50 percent in the grocery stores. Peter Cottontail left baskets weeks ago. Yet in the Eastern Orthodox religions, today is Easter, the most important religious observance of the liturgical calendar. It is a joyous day, as Greek families gather to revel in their strong ties over a sumptuous meal.

Greek Easter only occasionally coincides with the Easter observances of the Catholic and Protestant churches. The Orthodox Easter day retains ties to Passover, which always precedes it because Passover provided the context for the original Holy Week. Even the length of Lent is different, with Orthodox Great Lent lasting about a week longer.

Prayer, fasting, attention to charity and special church services are part of the preparation leading up to Holy Week and Easter Sunday.

On the Saturday night before Easter, the congregation assembles for the Anastasi, or Resurrection service. At Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Norfolk, Easter Sunday begins a moment after midnight when the priest emerges from the altar door and announces the miracle of the empty tomb to those waiting in the darkened sanctuary.

``Come receive the light from the unwaning light, and glorify Christ who rose from the dead.''

The flame from the candle he carries soon flickers throughout the church as each worshiper's candle receives it and passes it on.

After the service, Lenten fasting ends with a supper of Easter bread, ``tsoureki,'' with a red egg tucked in its three braids, symbolizing the Trinity. ``Mayeritsa,'' lamb soup, or chicken soup with egg-lemon sauce, ``avgolemono,'' are also served.

After supper the minor mayhem of the egg cracking begins. Each participant holds a red egg securely in his fist and tries to bang others' eggs open without cracking his own. The red coloring is symbolic of the blood of Christ, and the eggshell represents the the tomb from which Christ emerged.

Family feasts commence in the early afternoon on Easter Sunday after the Great Vespers of Agape (God's love) service.

There is plenty of food.

Spring lamb, a traditional reference to the Lamb of God, is grilled on a spit or roasted in the oven. Roasted potatoes or rice pilaf and ``spanakopita,'' also known as spinach pie, are Easter essentials. The menu may vary somewhat from region to region in Greece, but it is usually completed with string beans, bread, salad and pastries. Lemon wedges, olive oil and red-wine vinegar are condiments. Olives, cheese and fruits are accompaniments.

Using special china, silver and linens inherited from mothers and grandmothers is a way of paying homage to your ancestors. And running out of food is an embarrassment too dreadful to contemplate.

The Orthodox faith is as richly colored as the icons that hang in sanctuaries and many homes. Its traditions emerged in the city of Byzantium when Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, moved his capital there in 323 A.D. and changed the city's name to Constantinople. Eventually the city became the crossroads of the known world, the trading connection between Europe and the Far East.

After Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, it became known as Istanbul.

Constantine P. Rogakos, dean of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Norfolk, says the church is the power that helped sustain his people during 400 years of occupation by the Ottoman Turks.

``The church kept the faith and the language alive for us,'' he explains. ``Our church doesn't change. It's the same institution that was given to us 2,000 years ago.''

In Hampton Roads, the Greek Orthodox Church is the common bond that binds immigrants, their children and grandchildren into a close community. It is also the spiritual home for Christian immigrants from Russia, Lebanon and Syria who relied on their own Eastern Orthodox religion in their homelands. MEMO: Ann Wright is a free-lance writer in Virginia Beach. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by LAWRENCE JACKSON, The Virginian-Pilot

Constantine P. Rogakos, dean of Norfolk's Annuciation Greek Orthodox

Cathedral

Decoratives eggs

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