After a break of a decade, a passion play is to be performed again in Germany’s minority Sorbian language in the district of Crostwitz in the eastern state of Saxony, an event that has occurred every 10 years since 1995, with the first performance going back to 1936.
Five performances of the play are planned for September, which depicts the trial, suffering and death of Jesus Christ, Christianity‘s central figure, the Catholic diocese of Dresden-Meissen said on Wednesday.
The play is to be presented in a revised version and acted by some 250 amateur performers. A German translation will be provided for those who do not understand Sorbian.
The performance is also to feature a segment in which the Lord’s Prayer — which Christians believe was provided as a model prayer by Jesus — is recited by all present in the Aramaic language that he is thought to have spoken as his mother tongue.
Saxony’s premier, Michael Kretschmer, is expected to attend the performance on September 13.
The Sorbs, a West Slavic ethnic group that suffered extreme persecution under the Nazis, predominantly live in the parts of the Central European region of Lusatia that are located in the eastern German states of Saxony and Brandenburg.
The Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian languages are officially recognized minority languages in Germany.
The world’s most famous version of the passion play is performed in Oberammergau, Bavaria, in southern Germany.
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