How should we pray during Bright Week?
The liturgical order of the church services during Bright Week is very different from the rest of the year. During this week there are no mournful prayers for the reposed, no readings from the Psalter, nor are the usual morning and evening prayers used. Instead of the usual prayers, everything is replaced with the joyful Paschal hymns. Therefore, you can use the following guidelines for the following week:
During the night on Pascha, you can sing or read the Paschal canon, the Paschal stikhiry, the Paschal Hour and Typica. Afterwards, you can sprinkle your Paschal basket with holy water and break the fast! If it’s difficult to do this at night, you can pray in the morning. For families with children you may have to shorten the service or pray with them more quickly and then, separately from them, sing the rest of the service when you have a spare moment.
Throughout the remaining week, morning and evening prayers should be replaced with the Paschal Hour. If you wish, you can also read or sing the Paschal canon and stikhiry, as well as Typica, replacing the Epistle and Gospel readings from Pascha with the correct ones for that particular day of Bright Week, which you can find in any Orthodox calendar.
Easter Service Sunday May 2nd in English
