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JULIAN F. PAS
Pour forth, we beseech thee, O almighty God, thy abundant blessing on this lighted candle23 and behold, O invisible regenerator, the brightness of this night: that not only the sacrifice that is offered this night may shine by the secret mixture of thy light; but also into whatever place anything of this mysterious sanctification shall be brought, there, by the power of thy majesty, all the malicious artifices of the devil may be defeated. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.24
After this prayer the deacon, who has changed from purple to white ritual garments, receives the consecrated Easter candle. A procession is formed and proceeds toward the church, which is now in total darkness. Upon entering the church building, the deacon sings aloud: "The light of Christ." to which all present respond, kneeling: "Thanks be to God". Then the officiating priest lights his own candle from the blessed Easter candle. A second time, in the middle of the church, the deacon sings in a higher tone: "The Light of Christ!", and all the clergy present light their candles. Finally arriving in front of the altar, a third intonation of "The light of Christ!" is followed by the lighting of the candles of all those present. The lights in the church are also switched on. The Easter candle is then placed on a standard in the middle of the choir and after the usual ritual of incensing, the deacon, standing in front of the Easter candle, intones the beautiful hymn “Exsultet”.
This whole series of ritual acts is rich in symbolism and this has been pointed out by Christian authors. For the people attending, the symbolism provides an immediate experience in which they intuitively grasp the significance and the solemnity of the Easter events. From a critical viewpoint, however, several layers of symbolism can be discovered: the inner structure of the ritual, although overlaid with later essentially Christian meanings, points toward its ancient roots in pre-Christian times: the taking of new fire as a renewal ceremony. The first adaptation, also pre-Christian, was to see in this act a symbolical victory of the powers of light and goodness over the powers of darkness and evil. The second adaptation, made by the Christian church, was to identify light with Jesus Christ, who after having been overcome by the powers of darkness, triumphs again by his resurrection. However, since the Christian tradition has been partially grafted on the rich heritage of Judaism, it is no surprise that we find in the Easter celebration several themes reminiscent of the Jewish Passover. The texts of the Christian