So I’m a physician and an Orthodox Christian. I went to med school in the Caribbean. Med school takes up ALL YOUR TIME, & it doesn’t matter what holiday it is. So while it may be a tragedy you won’t be celebrating in the parish, for me, ...

...this is not new, although albeit different. But to learn from the experiences of an Orthodox Christian away from Church, this is what we did. We prayed every Sunday the liturgical hymns and read the readings. On Palm Sunday, we brought palms. ...

... I printed and laminated icons, and we chanted all the hymns of Palm Sunday we loved and read the readings. Then Holy Week, we chanted and read two or three hours of Holy Week, and prayed parts including the parts the presbyter prays like the concluding prayers ...

... we had a longer prayer service on Good Friday, then on Saturday evening, we did our “Resurrection” service, with hymns and readings. The gospel became our communion at this tough time of studying. ...

... After we gathered together and had a cook-out with our favorite foods, celebrating together. We turned the island into a witness of Coptic Orthodoxy and I personally tried learning Byzantine chant of Christos Anesti to accommodate for our Greek friends. ...

... this year, celebrating Holy Week and Easter does not have to be tragic. Celebrate at home, celebrate the hours, chant the hymns together. We are all chrismated priests at home. It’s true you won’t eat His body and drink His blood, but you are still His body and His blood. ...

... rejoice, again I tell you rejoice! Blessings of Holy Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Resurrection be with us all! Amen!