Compare a specific Passover Haggadah with the Communion Service in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church.

Comparison between the Passover Haggadah and the Communion Service in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Professor Date Comparison between the Passover Haggadah and the Communion Service in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church Introduction Jewish celebrations of the Passover and Christian celebrations of the Lord's Supper are rooted in a shared biblical tradition. They both point back to the same remembered event, and both stress elements of the Passover story. Despite what they have in common, the two different celebrations have evolved in different ways, each highlighting elements essential to its faith tradition. When the Lord’s Supper was taken for the first time, it was a meal to celebrate the Passover event and still show that Christ would be with his disciples for the last time. However, the evolution of the Lord's Supper has taken place so that it has become distinguishable from the Passover celebrations. The paper compares the Passover Haggadah with the Communion Service in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church to show how the differences have made these two distinguishable events. Comparison between the Passover Haggadah and the Communion Service in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church Similarities The two events are both procedural festivities. When people meet to celebrate for either of them, they follow steps that help them in the celebration. Passover Haggadah begins with the washing of the hands, which is known as Qiddush (Wola, 1994, p. 8). It then goes to breaking the bread, referred to as Mazzah. After that, there is a recital and the washing of hands. Then, individuals bless the bread. The blessing of the bread is followed by the offering of bitter herbs and the festive meal, after which individuals have a period of grace before they conclude. The first step in the Communion Service in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church is the issuance of the blessing by the priest (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 2023, para. 2). After that, individuals have the litany of peace, followed by the prayer of the first antiphon. They then have the small litany, the prayer of the second antiphon, another litany, the prayer of the third antiphon, the small entrance, the entrance prayer, and the prayer of the Trisagion hymn, followed by a series of events. The last event is the trisagion prayer and the apolytikion of the day. The two events are similar in the type of event they represent. In both cases, they represent the culmination of a specific kind of life and come about before a significant event occurs. The Passover Haggadah celebration represents the time that the Israelites would be living in Egypt as slaves for the last night. They had been in Egypt for a while, and the last night was the culmination of their stay. After that, the major event was leaving Egypt to start lives away from slavery. The communion service represents when Christ shared a meal with his disciples for the last time. They had been following Christ for several years, and it was time for Christ to be crucified. Before this significant event of crucifixion, the Lord's Supper took place. In both events, recitations are made. During the Passover Haggadah celebration, “one washes one’s hands and recites the benediction while drying one’s hands” (Wola, 1994, p. 74). When it comes to the communion service, the priest primarily makes recitations. An example of a recitation made is the prayer of the second antiphon, where the priest says, "Lord, our God, save Your people and bless Your inheritance" (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 2023, para. 28). Recitations are always made to remind people of certain truths. Hence, both celebrations prove the need for individuals to understand specific truths related to the original events. Both events recognize the existing leadership structure when the events are being undertaken. When a household's individuals celebrate the Passover, the head of the household says the first prayer (Wola, 1994, p. 10). In the household setting, the head of the household is the overall leader. To recognize his leadership, he is required to say the first prayer. The communion service begins with the deacon asking the priest to give the blessing (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 2023, para. 1). Also, this event recognizes the leadership structure by allowing the overall head – th...