Let every tongue confess

It always feels a bit like Pentecost at my church, since it is made up of speakers of Russian and English. Father's first language is Russian and he gives the sermon in both languages (at different times during the service) and the prayers alternate between English and Church Slavonic. On Pascha, the acclamation "Christ is Risen" and response "Indeed He is Risen" was shouted in those languages and some others. At one point during that service, I was next to Nino, the woman whose husband (of five years) had also been chrismated. She was Georgian and turned to me smiling saying, "He said Christ is Risen in my language!" It gave her such joy to hear her native tongue included in the celebration. I felt joy that this truth rings out and through all languages. The multilingualism provides me with a strong sense of the universal truth of the Gospel. (I don't know why Mr. Crackles feels the opposite: hearing words he does not understand makes him feel excluded.)

Of course, after much repetition, I start to know some of the words. And I do try to learn them. Nino went over the pronunciation with of "Voistinu" a couple times, but it went out of my head, and when the song changes over from English to Slavonic I usually just mouth the words, though sometimes, at home, when I am doing something like taking a shower, I can hear the words and say them a bit. They are rolling around in there. 

At the end of each Liturgy, when parishioners come up to venerate the Cross, Father speaks to them in their language: "Happy Feast," or "Christ is Risen" for me, but on this Sunday he said it in Slavonic: "Hristos Voskrese!" I paused, digging in my mind and lo, it came out: "Voistinu voskrese!" He smiled broadly, very pleased: "You knew it!"

I know learning the language is not as important as learning the meanings of the words and Traditions, but I feel like they confirm each other and it is very exciting!