Eastern Christians celebrate Palm Sunday, which is also called (Shaanin Sunday) or the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, which coincides with the Sunday preceding the Resurrection. It is followed by the Passion Week or Holy Week; the holiest days for Egypt’s Copts. The word “Shaanin” is derived from the Aramaic word: “Hoshaanna”, it is equivalent in Greek to “Hosanna”: meaning, “save us”. It is a disyllabic word; “Hosea” which means “save” or “rescue”, and “na” which is an expression indicating the dire need of the speaker, so the meaning becomes: “save now”. The entry of Lord Christ into Jerusalem coincided with the preparations for the Jewish Passover, celebrated on April 14, as a memorial to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt under the leadership of Prophet Moses, the Converser of God.
Upon entering Jerusalem, Lord Christ sent two of His disciples to prepare for the entry, “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them… So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them, they brought the donkey and the colt…” This event was a fulfillment to the prophecy of Prophet Zechariah, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Hence, the journey to Jerusalem was launched, along which Lord Christ was followed by multitudes- not only His disciples- after He had raised Lazarus from the dead, who had been buried in the tomb four days earlier, “Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.”. Some of the multitudes spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. They cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
When the multitudes who were in Jerusalem knew about Lord Christ’s coming to celebrate the Passover, they received Him warmly with the palm branches, resembling receiving a victorious king, the city of Jerusalem was moved! The Bible states: “And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” Thus, the city of Jerusalem was moved twice: the first when Lord Christ was born, and the Magi of the East came inquiring about the Baby King of the Jews, whose star they had seen in the East, so they came to present Him with gifts and worship Him, while the second time was when the ministry of Lord Christ one earth drew to its end, as the entire city was moved inquiring who this Man coming in the name of the Lord was!
The disciples were praising Him, and this enraged the Pharisees, “Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” The stones cried out afterwards on Great Friday, and the leaders of the Jews were filled with hatred and rage, saying to each other: “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
The entry of Lord Christ into Jerusalem presented to us a picture of the true King: who reigns over people’s hearts with love and mercy. The life of Lord Christ was filled with mercy, as He went about doing good to everyone, wherever He set His foot somewhere, it got immediately filled with goodness, love, peace and healing. Numerous sick people were healed at His word or His touch! He raised a lot of people from the dead! Burdened people find comfort in His wonderful person! He said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” in order to fulfill what was said through Prophet Isaiah: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” Lord Christ rules over a spiritual kingdom that seeks the spiritual salvation of mankind, leading whoever sets Him a King over his heart to eternal life.
Happy feast to all of you…And stories about beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
