Seychelles' Christian leaders: Remember, the Easter egg symbolizes Christ's resurrection

As is the case every year, a great number of Roman Catholics attend the Easter mass at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Victoria, the capital. (Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency)  

(Seychelles News Agency) - Easter evokes many memories and has taken on many meanings, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese in Seychelles said in his Easter message.

Bishop Denis Wiehe shared his earliest childhood memory of the event, the children’s cries of joy as they found hidden Easter eggs on the afternoon before the Easter celebration.

“We were told that they were brought to us by the Easter bells which had started to ring very early in Rome. Today ‘an Easter egg’ is something quite different,” said Wiehe.

Easter – which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead -- is considered as the most important celebration for Christians.

Reflecting on the true meaning of Easter, the Bishop Wiehe spoke on how the egg became associated to Easter.

The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese, Denis Wiehe said in his message that belief in the Resurrection of Christ is not evident. It is hidden and somewhat mysterious. (Joena Bonnelame, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

“The answer, to my mind, is quite simple - it is because an egg makes us think of life. There is the idea of expectancy and hope, of what will be born from the egg - the egg contains the germ of a new beginning, of a new life and hence the link with the new life to which Christ was born by his rising from the tomb,” said Wiehe.

As for the hunt for the hidden egg, the Bishop said: “Belief in the Resurrection of Christ is not evident. It is hidden and somewhat mysterious. For a clear answer to the question above, we have to go to the Scriptures and see what the Gospel story tells of Christ’s Resurrection.”

Christians of the Seychelles archipelago in the western Indian Ocean have attended different churches across the country to celebrate Easter mass. As is the case every year, a great number of Roman Catholics gathered at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Victoria, the capital.

Easter is also a day in which people in Seychelles share a meal and quality time with family or friends, either at home or in other places like on the beach.

The Right Reverend James Wong of the Seychelles’ Anglican Diocese said in his pastoral letter that nowadays the Easter traditions and foods that we have retained such as Easter eggs, chocolate and large meals, are disconnected from their Christian origins.

Talking about the resurrection of Jesus, Right Reverend James Wong of the Anglican Diocese said that it is the beginning of a new creation. (Patrick Joubert,Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

“Even for those who attend Church on Easter, the meaning of the feast may be unclear,” said Wong.

He pronounced that Easter should be celebrated with all the dimensions of traditional orthodox Christian faith and practice that include the reclaiming of our proclamation of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Talking about the resurrection of Jesus, Bishop Wong, who held mass at the St Paul’s Cathedral in Victoria, said that it is the beginning of a new creation, in which baptized Christians are taken up with Christ on a journey into the Trinitarian life of God.

“May our Easter worship provide us with a vision and a taste of this life-giving exchange in which Jesus dives deep into our alienation, to find us and draw us with him into the fullness of a transformed life with God,” wrote Bishop Wong before signing off his letter.

Easter is one of the important celebrated event by Christians in Seychelles with a  population of around 93,000. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 76 percent of the Seychelles population is Roman Catholic, 6 percent Anglican, 2.4 percent Hindu, 1.6 percent Muslim, the rest are of other faiths.