Lighting of the Candle

The first part of the Easter Vigil is the Service of Light. Our Paschal Candle will be lit from the fire and the following prayer will be read:

Christ yesterday and today

beginning and the end

Alpha and Omega

all time belongs to him

and all the ages

to him be glory and power

through every age forever.

Amen.

During this prayer the priest will trace the vertical arm of the cross, the horizontal arm , the alpha above the cross, the omega below the cross, the '2' upper left, the '0' upper right, the '0' lower left and the '9' lower right.

The Symbols: The paschal candle is inscribed with a cross, the current year (traced on the four side of the cross), and the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet: an alpha (A) above the cross and an omega below. The symbols on the cross reinforce the point that Christ is present among us now and throughout eternity. Christ is the same yesterday and today, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End (Revelations 21:6;22:13)