HONG KONG (KKP): The International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission organised a Passover seder at Caritas Community Hall on March 21 to express their unity in Christ through the ancient Jewish holiday tradition.
The Seder is the traditional Passover meal that includes reading, drinking four cups of wine, telling the Passover and Exodus stories, eating special foods, singing, and other Passover traditions. As per Biblical command, it is held after nightfall on the first night of Passover or the second night if you live outside Israel to celebrate the anniversary of the Israelites’ miraculous exodus from Egyptian slavery more than 3,000 years ago. The Seder meal in 2024 will be celebrated on April 22 (and 23 in the Diaspora) after nightfall. The holiday marked the start of the barley harvest in ancient Israel.
The Seder, officiated by the Primate of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Archbishop Andrew Chan Au-Ming, was joined by Cardinal Stephen Chow, S.J., as well as two hundred clergy and lay people from both Churches.
This is the second time the two Churches have organised the event together. The event took place at Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Anglican Church, Kowloon, on March 30 last year.
Anglican Church leaders joining the Passover meal included Bishop Timothy Kwok Chi-pei of East Kowloon Diocese, Bishop Matthias Clement Der Tze-wo of Hong Kong Island Diocese as well as representatives of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission. The Catholic clergy joining the event included Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, Vicar General Father Joseph Chan Wing-chiu, chairperson of the Diocesan Christian Ecumenical Commission, and Vicar General Father Paul Kam Po-wai.
Reverend Lee Kwok-kuen of the Diocese of Eastern Kowloon of Sheng Kung Hui, said that he was happy to participate in ecumenical activities organised by the committee every time to experience the unity of the Catholic and Protestant Churches, based on the principle of looking for common grounds and respecting differences in theology.
He recalled that drafting the liturgy for the meal was the most difficult part when it was first organised last year. According to him, the commission used the Catholic liturgy for the Passover Seder as the basis and incorporated Protestant terminologies into it to make it suitable for both Churches.
Father Chan said in the introduction that the focus of the Seder is to celebrate God’s blessing, as Passover is a festival of freedom, marking the Exodus or the redemption of the Jews from Egyptian slavery and their redemption by God, the beginning of the history of the Lord’s salvation of his people. At Jesus’ last supper with his disciples during Passover, he left us with the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.
He encouraged the participants from the Anglican and Catholic Churches to grab the chance to get to know each other and help one another wash their hands, a tradition of Jews before the seder.
The dinner started with the lighting of candles, a blessing, and the washing of hands. Participants were then invited to hold a piece of green vegetables dipped in salt water, and pray to thank God for the food on earth.
Archbishop Chan then broke the matzah, a flat, unleavened bread symbolising the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt, and recalled how God helped the Israelites to have freedom.
In the liturgy, Archbishop Chan also explained, in response to questions raised by a child representative of the participants, the symbolic meaning of different dishes: the Passover lamb is the offering of the Jewish ancestors to the Lord; unleavened bread is a symbol of the Israelites’ hasty departure from Egypt, as they did not have time to let their bread rise; bitter herbs represent the abuses Jesus’ ancestors suffered under the Egyptians, such as heavy construction and fieldwork. (Exodus 1:14)
Titus Lo, a participant, said he was impressed by how biblical and historical messages can be incorporated into the Seder through a rich liturgy. He joined the gathering because he was attracted by the ecumenical theme and enjoyed the harmony every time he participated in such activities. He believes Catholics and Protestants have a lot of values in common and can get along with each other if they embrace their differences.
