“Χριστός ἀνέστη!” Cristo Anesti! Christ is Risen.

That was the greeting at St.Nicholas  Roman Catholic Church’s Easter mass. Since a number of years the Western Rites in the predominantly Orthodox countries celebrate Easter on the same calendar as their countrymen. It is a coincidence that my home parish in Gig Harbor is also St. Nicholas. It is a small church and the members are predominantly from countries other than Greece. I met a Portuguese, Irish, several Polish members and a couple Filipino families. The parish priest is Greek, assisted by Walter a Brazilian priest from German parents and a Greek seminarian.  The church was built in the 14th century, destroyed by the Turks, burnt down and rebuilt in the 17th century.

I did not get much sleep because the Greeks celebrate Easter vigil like other of us savages celebrate New Years eve with fire crackers and a heavy duty ear drum buster. They prefer to explode them in the narrow alleys of the old town where I happened to try and get some sleep.

When I arrived on the East Coast in 2007 I could count up something like 58 different churches I had attended in the 2 1/2 years voyage. I have long since lost count but I’ll be sure to check my record when and if I make it through the Heavenly Gates. But I did just put away my old passport. I was issued a new one in Amsterdam, last week.  It had two refills for the 10 year validity, 16 Visas and 127 border crossing stamps.