Great Heel of Holy Week of Great Lent. Remembrance of the holy saving passions of our Lord Jesus Christ Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. OK. 23, 34 On Great Heel, holy, saving and terrible sufferings and

Great Saturday of Passion Week of Great Lent This Saturday is the most blessed one, in which Christ will rise to sleep in trideven. The Concluding Line of the Kontakion and Ikos On Holy Saturday, the Orthodox Church commemorates the bodily burial of Jesus Christ and the descent

Announcement 53 (Wednesday of Holy Week) About the life-giving passions of our Lord Jesus Christ and that those appointed should humbly accept obedience My brothers and fathers. Always rejoice in the Lord, I, the prodigal, address you with an apostolic greeting.

JOSEPH THE BEAUTIFUL Monday of Holy Week Beautiful in body and soul, blessed Joseph was the son of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, the grandson of Isaac and the great-grandson of Abraham. He was born of Jacob's second wife, Rachel, who was barren until God heard her and

Divine Services of Great Lent and Holy Week Great Lent Great Lent is the most important and most ancient of the many-day fasts. He reminds us of the Savior's forty-day fast in the wilderness. Great Lent introduces us to Holy Week and prepares us for the joy of the Feast

890. Thoughts at the onset of Passion Week, and about your family, the mercy of God, be with you! Here is the passionate one in the yard. Grant you, the Lord, to compassionate the Lord, as much as you have strength. Through His suffering, the Lord accomplished our salvation. We assimilate this salvation for ourselves after St. sacraments

During Holy Week (April 22-27, 2019), a believer must definitely visit the church. And, of course, these days cannot be spent without prayers. Christians should be distracted from worldly, everyday affairs and devote themselves to spiritual concerns.

What prayers to read during Holy Week?

If you have not read the entire Old and New Testaments yet, catch up on the lost time in the days of Great Lent. Try to read these books in a relaxed atmosphere and then reflect on what you read.

In addition to morning and evening prayers, one can read the psalms of King David, as well as the Lenten prayers - the Great Canon of Penitence of St. Andrew of Crete and the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.

What prayers are read during Holy Week? For the first three days, all four Gospels should be read. On Maundy Thursday, at the service in the church, believers are present at the Last Supper and receive communion, and in the evening the Gospels of the Passion of the Lord are read in churches.

Prayer to the Lord Jesus crucified

“On the Cross, nailed for us, Jesus Christ, the only begotten God the Father, the Son, mercy, love and bounty is an inexhaustible abyss! We, as if sins for my sake, from inexpressible love of mankind, Thou hast deigned to shed Your Blood on the Cross, even I, unworthy and ungrateful, trampled upon by my bad deeds and in no way. Thus, from the depths of my iniquity and uncleanness, my clever eyes at the Crucified You on the Cross of my Redeemer, looking up, with humility and faith in the depths of the ulcers, filled with Your mercy, I cast myself down, forgiveness sins and my bad life, asking for my correction. Wake me mercifully, O Lord and Judge, do not take me away from Thy face, but with Thy omnipotent hand turn me to You and instruct me on the path of true repentance, so that from now on I will lay the beginning of my salvation. With Thy Divine sufferings, tame my fleshly passions; with your outpouring of blood, cleanse my spiritual filth; by Thy crucifixion, crucify the world with its temptations and lusts; Protect me with Thy Cross from invisible enemies who catch my soul. Abstain from the perforated hands of Thy hand from every deed that is not pleasing to Thee. Nailed to the flesh, nail my flesh to Thy fear, and avoiding evil, I do good in Thee. Incline Thy head on the Cross, incline my exalted pride to the land of humility; Guard my ears with Thy crown of thorns; You tasted gall with your mouth, lay it safe with my unclean mouth; have a heart open with a spear, create a pure heart in me; With all Thy ulcers of all, I am sweet in the love of Thy plague, so I may love You, my Lord, with all my soul, with all my heart, with all strength and with all my thoughts. Grant me a strange and needy one, where the heads should be tilted; grant me the all-blessed one, who delivers my soul from death; Give me the All-sweet One, who delights me in sorrow and misfortune with His love, but He who hates me first, become angry, expelled from myself and nailed to the Cross, this I will love now, rejoicing to receive and sweetly His Cross will carry until the end of my life. Do not grant from now on, O my all-good Redeemer, not a single will of mine be accomplished, there is no more evil and is indecent, but do not let me fall into the hard work of the sin that reigned in me; But Your good will, who wants to save me, is always done in me, giving me the same, to You, my Crucified Lord, I represent and pray from the depths of my heart with the clever eye of my heart, and in my separation from my frail body, You are the One on the Cross I will behold yours, in the hand of my protection I accept, and from the airy spirits, keeping malice, instilling with sinners, who please you with repentance. Amen".

It turns out that another rite of forgiveness is performed on Holy Week - for all the insults that we caused each other during Great Lent, and the reading of the 12 Gospels used to be a procession through the city - they read at stops, sang at the crossings. The structure of the Holy Week services is explained in more detail. Ilya Krasovitsky, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Practical Theology, PSTGU.

Another rite of forgiveness

Holy Week is an ancient Easter fast that grew out of the fast of Easter on the Cross. In ancient times, many Christians celebrated not Easter Sunday, as we do, but the Cross; this day is now called Good Friday. One of the Holy Fathers of the third century says that we celebrate the Resurrection every week, but Easter on the Cross, the memory of the Passion of Christ, only once a year. There were fierce disputes and disagreements on this issue, and only at the First Ecumenical Council, in 326, a single day for the celebration of Easter was established - the Bright Resurrection of Christ. How was Easter Baptism celebrated? She was celebrated with a very strict fast, and from this fast the entire Holy Week grew.

This means that the fast of Holy Week is separated from Great Lent both in meaning and in the liturgical order. It is usually said that Great Lent ends on the Friday before Lazarus Saturday, but it can be considered in another way: that Great Lent ends on Holy Wednesday, since the Lent service continues as usual until Holy Wednesday, and in the evening on this day the rite of forgiveness is performed. The same exactly as on Forgiveness Sunday. This is the rite of forgiveness precisely for the Holy Fourth Day. This rite of forgiveness cites the words of the abbot addressed to the brethren: "Bless, holy fathers, and forgive me the sinner, who have sinned even in my whole life, and in all the Holy Forty-days ...". Thus, according to the Lenten Triodion, Holy Wednesday is the last day of Great Lent. That is why it can be considered that Easter fast - Holy Week - begins only on Holy Thursday.

Gospel themes

But from whatever day we start counting the fast of Holy Week, from Thursday or Monday, Holy Week is something completely separate and special. It should be noted that on Holy Week the Gospel is read at almost every service of the daily cycle. Not only on large ones: Vespers, Matins, Liturgy, but also on small ones - on the clock. Why? Primarily because the last days of the Savior's earthly life are described in much more detail than other periods of His life. The text of the four Evangelists can be traced literally every step of the Savior: everything he said, did, where he went, with whom he communicated in the last days. And the Divine Service of Passion Week gives us the opportunity to spend these days, as it were, with Him, walking in His footsteps, listening to His words. This is how the Gospel readings are distributed.

Let's try to figure out how the Lord spent His last days. It is evident from the Gospel text that on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday He preached in the Jerusalem temple. Then, when the sun began to decline, He left the city with the disciples. The Lord left the city, walked in the fields, stopped to rest and talk with the disciples. In the morning He came back. This went on for four days.

Good Monday morning

The Gospel of the barren fig tree is read (Matt. 21: 18-43). The whole day is dedicated to the miracle of the barren fig tree. In the morning the Lord was going to Jerusalem to preach and not far from the city wall he saw this tree. And, not finding fruit on it, He cursed it, and in the evening of the same day, when they were returning on the same road, the disciples saw that the tree was completely dry. This is a reading about the events that took place during these hours, but it is deeply symbolic.

The curse of the fig tree. Ovsian miniature from the Gospel, 1306. Armenia

According to the Lenten Triodion's interpretation, this barren fig tree became like the Jewish people, in which the Lord did not find the fruits that he expected to find. In a broader sense, all those who believe in Him are God's people. And will the Lord find in us the fruits that He expects? This question is posed to everyone who hears these words.

***

• Holy Week iconography- Pravoslavie.Ru
• General composition of the services of Holy Week- Priest Mikhail Zheltov
• How is Holy Week arranged?- Ilya Krasovitsky
• About Holy Week- Abbot Siluan Tumanov
• Holy Week: how to combine work, services and preparation for Easter ...- Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko
• How to spend Holy Week- Archpriest Igor Pchelintsev
• Passionate Wednesday: There can only be two barriers between God and us
• Holy Week: Christ and I- Olga Bogdanova
• Good Thursday: Let's not hope for our exploits- Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
• Maundy Thursday: Last Supper and Garden of Gethsemane- Tatiana Sopova
• Composition of the service of the 12 Gospels (Matins of Good Friday)- Priest Mikhail Zheltov
• Why does the Church curse Judas?- Archimandrite Iannuariy Ivliev
• Easter vigil. Content of Vespers and Liturgy of Great Saturday and Bright Matins- Priest Mikhail Zheltov
• "Word on Holy Saturday"- Patriarch Photius of Constantinople
• Canons of Great Saturday- Priest Mikhail Zheltov
• Fifteen Steps to Easter(about the meaning of fifteen pre-Easter parimias) - Andrey Desnitsky

***

Good Monday evening

A passage is read about an event that took place outside the city, on the slope of the Mount of Olives - the eschatological conversation of the Lord with the disciples (Matt. 24: 3-35). As you know, the Mount of Olives is located opposite ancient Jerusalem and an amazing view of the Jerusalem Temple opened from it. They were sitting on the slope, looking at the city, and the Lord, pointing them to the Temple, said that very soon there would be no stone left over from this building. Then it was very difficult to imagine, because the Temple was only recently rebuilt by King Herod. The Lord had a long talk with the disciples about the end of the world. This eschatological theme is extremely important for Holy Week. It runs through all the days of Holy Week. Why? Because before His departure, the Lord wanted the disciples to better remember what will happen when He comes a second time. He repeatedly warns these days about the events of His second coming, therefore, throughout Passion Week, hymns related to the second coming of the Lord are sung. Troparion "Behold the Bridegroom Comes in Midnight" is sung for the first three days. We can say that the gospel reading of Monday night provides this theme for the entire Holy Week.

Good Tuesday morning

Sermon in the Jerusalem Temple (Matthew 22: 15 - 23: 39). The Lord denounces the Pharisees and legalists: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ..." - and so eight times. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for shutting the kingdom of heaven to men, for you yourself do not enter and you do not admit those who want to enter." The Lord denounces the Pharisees. The event is believed to have taken place on a Tuesday. During the sermon, the Lord denounced His enemies.

Good Tuesday evening

The Lord spoke most of the parables to His disciples in private. On Tuesday vespers three parables are read, which are set forth in the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. This is the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25: 1-13), the talents (Matthew 25: 14-30) and the Last Judgment (Matthew 25: 31-46). All three parables develop an eschatological theme.

Passionate Wednesday morning

A passage is read about the events that took place on Wednesday morning in the Jerusalem temple, when some of the pagans are brought to Christ, and the Lord says: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." His glory went beyond Israel, the Chosen People. The glory of the Lord becomes worldwide. And at the same moment the glory of the Lord appears from Heaven - thunder roars, and in it the Lord Himself and his disciples hear the voice of God the Father: "I also glorified, and I will glorify again." (John 12: 17-50). And the people heard nothing; it was just thunder for him. Thus the Glory of the Lord was revealed from heaven and in the world. This is a passage about the heavenly, transcendental and at the same time universal glory of the Lord.

Passionate Wednesday evening

On Wednesday evening, a very significant passage is read about the Lord's anointing with myrrh. About how a sinner wife anointed His head and His feet with ointment and wiped them with her hair. It also speaks of Judas. Very briefly. But the comparison is obvious. On the one hand, there is a sinful woman who performs a feat for the sake of love for Christ, and the Lord tells her that wherever the Gospel is preached, it will be said about what she did. And on the other hand, Judas - a traitor who conspired cunning, went to the Pharisees and agreed to betray Christ to them. These two characters are opposed to each other. (Matt. 26: 6-16)

In the six readings of the first two days, we see that events in the morning took place in the Jerusalem temple or on the way to it, and in the evening - in the house where the Savior spent the night or on the road - on the mountainside, where He and His disciples rested from the day's labors. But besides these readings from the Gospel, there are others. In the Church there is a very interesting custom of reading the Four Gospels on the clock. According to this order, almost all of the Four Gospels must be read during the services of the hours of the first three days. And it happens, so they read it. But this is a very long reading, so in some churches the Four Gospel begins to be read in advance. For example, from the sixth week of Great Lent or from the fourth, and sometimes from the second - a small passage every day. But the reading of the Four Gospels on the clock is symbolic precisely for the days of Holy Week, because the priest who stands in the middle of the church and reads the Gospel for a long time reveals the image of Christ. This is an example of symbolism in worship. Anyone who enters the temple at this time sees a priest reading the Gospel. Likewise, any Jew who entered the Jerusalem temple in those days saw Christ preaching.

So, during Holy Week, the Gospel is read very often. But, in addition, there are other topics of these days. Monday, as already mentioned, is dedicated to the barren fig tree. But, on the other hand, Monday is also dedicated to the Old Testament image of Joseph the Beautiful, whom the brothers sold into slavery. During Holy Week, not only the Gospel is read - the books of the Old Testament are also read. The image of Joseph is taken from the Old Testament reading. This ordinary reading fits surprisingly into the context of the events being remembered. Joseph is a direct type of Christ, because the brothers sold him into slavery for money, and Christ is being sold for money these days. Joseph reached the very bottom, he was supposed to die, was in prison and was sentenced, but after that he was raised to the very top of the hierarchical ladder: he becomes the closest adviser to Pharaoh, the first minister. What is this if not a type of the death and resurrection of Christ? What did Joseph do after he became a minister? Saved his family from certain death. At that time there was a seven-year famine, and his brothers came to Egypt to ask for help. And the Lord after His Resurrection saves all believers, His Church.

Holy Thursday, the main liturgy of the year

This is the memory of the Last Supper. The same event that took place on the night of Thursday to Friday. The Last Supper is an Easter meal of Christ with the disciples. All day the Lord preached in the Jerusalem temple, and in the evening there was an Easter meal. The Holy Thursday Gospel readings describe the events of the Last Supper. The Evangelist John writes in more detail about the Last Supper. He records the entire long conversation of Christ with the disciples, describes the washing of the feet. The Evangelist Luke also gives elements of the conversation that other Evangelists do not have. As for the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, they describe in detail the main thing that happened, namely the establishment of the Eucharist. On Holy Thursday, the Liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated at Vespers, so the reading of this composite Gospel actually falls on the Liturgy. After the Last Supper was over, the Lord with his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane, and there His prayer takes place until bloody sweat. This is a night time event. It must be said that for Holy Week there is no clear separation of one day from another. Events flow into each other in a continuous stream.

There are many customs in the Church associated with Maundy Thursday. For example, the consecration of the world, the preparation of spare Gifts, before the washing of the throne was performed. Why are there so many traditions associated with this Liturgy? Because this is the main Liturgy of the year, the commemoration of the very establishment of the Sacrament.

Rite of washing the feet

This rite is performed, as a rule, during the episcopal service. For example, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates it annually in Moscow. This takes place after the Liturgy of Great Thursday. According to the rules, this Liturgy should be performed in the evening, but in practice it is performed in the first half of the day, and this is wrong, since it is a symbolic depiction of the Last Supper itself, which took place late in the evening. At the same time, the rite of washing the feet falls. According to the Studios Rite, this rite should take place before the Liturgy, According to the Jerusalem Rule, according to which our Church lives, it is celebrated after the Liturgy. In this act, Christ is portrayed by the bishop himself, and the apostles are portrayed by 12 priests, among whom, of course, there is also Judas, because the Lord washed his feet too. And the bishop washes the feet of the priests sitting in front of him. At the same time, the Gospel text of John is read: the Gospel text is read by the protodeacon, and all the replies are uttered by the bishop and priests.

Kiss of Judas. Byzantine book miniature

Good Friday, twelve gospels

Good Friday is dedicated to the events of the suffering and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. All Holy Week services are of Jerusalem origin, and this is very important for understanding them. What was worship in ancient Jerusalem like? It was a procession through holy places, along the Way of the Cross. The entire Divine Service on Good Friday is a spiritual procession along the Way of the Cross with Christ. In ancient Jerusalem, this procession lasted the whole night. This type of service was called stationary worship, that is, a procession with stops. A station is a stop. Such a service was extremely typical for Jerusalem and, incidentally, for Constantinople too. Believers walked around the city and its environs during the service, many sources note this.

On Good Friday, the procession began on the Mount of Olives, then moved to the suburbs of Jerusalem, then to the city itself. During the procession, there were stops: at the place where Caiaphas had court, in the praetorium, where Pilate's court was, then the procession gradually came to Golgotha. Calvary is the last stop, where all further chants and readings are performed. Over the centuries, the number of gospel readings has increased. Now in our Church, of course, no procession takes place. The entire service is read and sung in one church. But this ancient stationary service was reflected directly in the structure of the Great Friday service. Later, the rite of the Twelve Passionate Gospels was combined with the usual matins, which resulted in our divine service, which is called "Following the holy and saving Passions of our Lord Jesus Christ."

In practice, the service of the Twelve Gospels is celebrated on Thursday night, but it was conceived as a night vigil. Because in Jerusalem this procession took place at night, immediately after the events of the Last Supper. And the first reading (by the way, the longest reading in the entire Orthodox divine service) is the Lord's farewell conversation with the disciples. These are almost five chapters of the Gospel of John. The second reading is prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and the taking of the Lord into custody, the third is the judgment at Kaifa, the fourth is the judgment of Pilate, and so on: about the crucifixion, about the words that the Lord spoke on the Cross, about how He dies and how He is buried in cave and roll a stone to the cave. This is where the succession ends. It conducts before our gaze the entire Way of the Cross from the Last Supper to the burial of the Lord in a cave.

All chants that are sung between readings comment on the readings themselves. For example, before the seventh Gospel reading, which tells about the crucifixion, the luminary of Holy Thursday is sung - "Divide my robe for myself and for my clothes, a lot of lots", and after the eighth Gospel reading, which tells about the robbers who were crucified on the right and left of the Lord , a well-known hymn is sung - the luminary of Great Friday, "Lord Thou hast vouchsafed the prudent robber in one hour of heaven."

Tsar's clock

Good Friday is the day of the strictest fast, the Liturgy is not celebrated on this day. The second service of Good Friday is called the Royal Hours. It takes place on Friday morning. The tradition of this worship is rooted in the reading of the Holy Scriptures at Calvary in Jerusalem. And in the Constantinople tradition, it was combined with the service of ordinary watches. She received the name "Tsar's watch" in Constantinople, because the emperor was always present at this service. The clock continues the same theme that was at night during the reading of the Twelve Gospels. The same Gospels are read, only they are no longer twelve, but four (according to the number of hours). We again return to those events, only now they have already been described according to the four Evangelists.

Shroud

The third service of Good Friday is the Great Vespers with the removal of the Shroud. It is done in practice exactly at the time it should be - in the afternoon, in the afternoon. Good Friday Vespers is clearly divided into two halves. The first half is another memory of the Passion, the composite Gospel of the Passion is read again. And the second half of the service tells about the burial of the Body of the Lord in a tomb, exactly corresponding to the text of the Gospel in time: the Lord was buried on Friday evening. But in church use there is one very annoying mistake that has firmly become a tradition. For some reason, it is believed that the day of burial is Saturday. And the funeral is called the Matins of Holy Saturday. But no burial could have taken place on Saturday. Because on Saturday, according to Jewish laws, any funeral act was strictly prohibited, and this is repeatedly mentioned in the Gospel.

Descent from the Cross. Mosaic next to the anointing stone. Church of the Resurrection of Christ, Jerusalem

There is a burial sequence in the service - this is the second half of the Good Friday Vespers. This event is portrayed as the removal of the shroud. The Shroud is an embroidered or written horizontal icon of Christ lying in the Tomb. They carry her out at Friday Vespers. Brought out and put in the center of the temple, for the worship of believers. The removal of the shroud is a symbolic burial. This takes place in the afternoon on Friday, that is, exactly at the time when it took place according to the Gospel, before sunset, because after sunset the Jews were already starting Saturday. This explains the haste with which Christ was buried: they did not even have time to complete all the rituals, did not have time to properly anoint His body with incense. Why did the myrrh-bearers come running to the tomb with the first rays of the Sunday sun? They had to finish the unfinished.

Matins of Great Saturday, which, due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, is called burial, has a completely different meaning and has a different origin. In parish practice, it is served on Friday evening, although it was conceived as a night service, in some monasteries it is celebrated at night.

As we have already mentioned, worship in ancient times was of a stationary nature. That is, in ancient times, believers almost every time came to the temple from somewhere. Therefore, all entrances are always so solemn: the community returned to the temple after a long procession through the city. The solemn entrance at the end of Matins was characteristic of Byzantine divine services, but in Russian practice it eventually ceased to be performed. And on Holy Saturday it just happens. It is performed by the entire community, and the priest carries the Gospel over him, and the Shroud over the Gospel. The origin of the Shroud is the Eucharistic air, which is used to cover the Chalice and the Discos during the Eucharist. When we went to the procession, out of reverence, the Gospel was wrapped in this cloth. Later, this plate became the Shroud, which participates in the service of Good Friday and Great Saturday. But the main object at this entrance is not the Shroud, but the Gospel. This is the entrance with the Gospel.

Great Saturday themes

This is the day between Easter and Easter Sunday. In theology, there is such a term - the Easter trinity. This is Good Friday, Great Saturday and the Bright Resurrection of Christ, therefore Easter in a broad sense is not one day, but three days. Cross and Sunday Easter combined. And Great Saturday, which is between one Easter and another, is named in the Triodi the most important day of the year.

Great Saturday is the day of mourning for Christ. The service of Great Saturday is partly structured as a lamentation.

At the same time, Great Saturday is the day of waiting for the Resurrection of Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ spent the day of Great Saturday in His body in the tomb. And this gives rise to the most interesting and deepest theological theme - the theme of Divine Peace. And it is present in the texts of the Great Saturday service. This is a parallel to the events of the creation of the world. The Lord created the world in 6 days, and the 7th day - Saturday - He spent at rest. At rest from the works of creation. He no longer performed any creative acts. The world was already created, and God "rested from His works." The seventh day of creation, in theological sense, is still going on. God participates in the life of the world only by His Providence. Then the eighth day will come - this is the life of the century to come, after the general resurrection. And Christ is called the new Adam. What Christ did is "a new creation." And when Christ completed the work of redemption, by His death on the Cross, He rested. Spent this Saturday in the cave of the Sepulcher, in complete peace. This parallel with the creation of the world is clearly drawn in the Great Saturday service.

The Lord with His Body dwelt in the Sepulcher, and with His soul He descended into hell. The Lord descended into hell and brought out the souls of the dead righteous from there. That is, He "destroyed the doors of hell." After all, hell is a place where there is no God. Having descended into hell, the Lord destroyed this place. The descent of Christ into hell is also the theme of the Great Saturday service.

In addition, Great Saturday is also Baptism. The same one that the catechumens were waiting for throughout Great Lent. In ancient times it took place on Holy Saturday. Baptism was followed by a Baptismal Liturgy: the Liturgy of Great Saturday. It was supposed to take place late in the evening (the latest in the year) and soon after it the second Liturgy: Easter - early in the morning (the earliest in the year). In our practice, unfortunately, the Liturgy of Great Saturday is celebrated too early: in the morning.

The fact that this Liturgy was baptismal is indicated by the reading of fifteen paremias at Vespers on Great Saturday. Why was there such a long reading of passages from the Old Testament in this service? So that the Patriarch has time to perform the baptism of the catechumens. And all the faithful at that time stood in the temple and listened to the Scriptures, waiting for the return of the newly baptized. The first hymn that was heard by those who were baptized upon returning to the temple: "Elites be baptized into Christ, put on Christ" - this is still sung in their honor. The dressing up in white clothes on Holy Saturday also happens for the sake of the baptized: they return to the temple in white clothes and the whole Church together with them dress up in white.

Great Saturday is filled with Sunday joy. As the service progresses, this joy grows dynamically. A number of Sunday chants are sung. They become more and more in the course of the service, and in the end they develop into Easter itself. This is understandable. After all, in fact, no one knows at what moment Christ was resurrected. None of the Christians have seen this moment. When the wives of the myrrh-bearer ran to the cave of the Tomb with the first rays of the sun, they saw that the Tomb was empty. The church does not know when it happened, but it is waiting for it every minute. The moment of the beginning of Easter, when the Royal Doors in churches are thrown open and "Christ is Risen from the dead" sounds - this is not the moment of the Resurrection, this is the moment when they saw the empty Tomb, the moment when the Church learned about the Resurrection. Easter joy grows from the depths of the Great Saturday service, and this is perhaps the most impressive of the many themes of this day.

Less than a week is left until Easter. The last days are called Passionate or Great. During this period, the Church is immersed in the Gospel and remembers the last days of the Lord's stay on earth.

• Click to view the image in full size. (archive in .zip format)

Great Monday, Great Tuesday, Great Wednesday

Holy Week begins on Great Monday, and Great Monday begins on Sunday evening. First, Vespers, which closes the Feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem, and then a new day, Monday Matins.

For three Matins in a row, the Church will glorify Christ - the Bridegroom of the Church with a quiet and meek troparion, which is heard only at midnight offices throughout the year:

Behold, the Bridegroom is coming in the midnight, / and blessed is the slave, he will find him vigilantly: / he is not worthy of a pack, he will find him despondently. / Take care of my soul, / do not be burdened by sleep, / let not death be betrayed, / and shut up the Kingdom outside, / but rise up calling: / Holy, Holy, Holy God, / have mercy on the Mother of God.

(Choir of the Valaam Monastery)

(Women's choir. Disc "Time of fasting and prayer")

Thy chamber. Bortnyansky

• Holy Week: how to combine work, services and preparation for Easter ...

V Holy Week Monday I recall the Old Testament character - the chaste Joseph, a prototype of Christ, and the Gospel story about the cursed fig tree. Church tradition says that a withered fig tree is an image of old Israel that did not bear fruit. To emphasize the tragedy of this symbol, the Church suggests recalling almost the entire 21 chapters of Matthew (v. 18-44), including the parable of the evil tenants.

On the first three days of Holy Week, the last of this year are celebrated. If you have not had time to visit these services during the Forty-year period, try to fill this gap!

• Great Monday: Great days start (+ audio, + video)
• Holy Fathers

V Great tuesday remember the Savior's parables about His Second Coming, about ten virgins and talents.

• Holy Fathers

Great Wednesday is the day of betrayal. It is in memory of Judas' betrayal of Christ that we fast on Wednesday throughout the year. On the same day, the Church remembers the woman who washed Christ's feet in peace.

On Tuesday evening they sing for the last time "Behold, Bridegroom ..." On Wednesday morning at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated for the last time and... There will be no more earthly bows, except before the Shroud, until Pentecost.

On Wednesday evening, the last big confession is made, there will be a lot of people at it, so it is better to try to confess in advance.

In many churches there will be no more confession until the end of Bright Week.

• Holy Fathers
• Great Wednesday: If you loved Him, why did you sell him like a fugitive slave?

Passion days

On Maundy Thursday, the Church remembers - the last meal of the Savior with the disciples. On this day, all Orthodox Christians partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

The Liturgy of Great Thursday according to the order of St. Basil the Great is celebrated in conjunction with Vespers, so be prepared for a long service.

After the Last Supper, Christ, showing His humility, washed the feet of the disciples, which was also reflected in the liturgical practice of the Church. The rite of washing the feet is performed by the bishop after the Liturgy. He washes the feet of the twelve priests in the image of Christ. In the twentieth century, the rite was not performed in the Russian Church. It was restored only in 2009 by Patriarch Kirill.

In the evening on Maundy Thursday Matins of Good Friday is celebrated - one of the longest and most beautiful services of the year, known as "". It recalls the Passion of the Lord from the prayer of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane to the position of His Body in the Sepulcher.

• Holy Fathers

Usual

There is a popular custom on Maundy Thursday to prepare for Easter: to clean the house, bake cakes and paint eggs. It is better to do this in advance. Between the two services, even if you manage to take time off from work that day, it is better to pray and rest. Skipping the services of the main days of Holy Week for the sake of the pre-holiday bustle is completely unacceptable.

Good friday

The very day of Good Friday begins early in the morning with the service of the Royal Hours. The Gospels of the Passion of the Lord are read again. In the middle of the day (usually at about two o'clock in the afternoon) Vespers is celebrated with the Removal of the Shroud. If you are working, you may find it convenient to walk to the nearest temple during your lunch break.

By the way, lunch on this day is not supposed, as well as breakfast - the day is strictly fast.

• Good Friday Chants. We will bury the Lord ...
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• Holy days on Mount Athos: Good Friday and Easter at Vatopedi Monastery

Great Saturday: May all flesh be silent

In the evening, Matins of Great Saturday with the Burial of the Shroud is celebrated in parish churches - a long and light service, around the Shroud richly decorated with flowers. The approach of Easter is already felt in the air itself.

In some churches and monasteries (Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Danilov Monastery) The burial of the Shroud takes place at night... Liturgically, this is more correct, but physically it is not easy to endure such a service, especially since the Liturgy begins immediately after it. Some say that the most convenient thing after the Removal of the Shroud is to rest a little longer, arrive at the night service by 23.00, which will last up to 3-4 hours, and then rest 3-4 hours before the beginning of the Great Saturday Liturgy in any parish church.

Liturgy of Great Saturday- also a very long and solemn service, full of Old Testament readings - paremias. In mood, it is already Easter: in the paremias the motive of the miraculous salvation (Israel's exit from Egypt, salvation in the fire of the prophet Daniel and his friends) is repeated, symbolizing the liberation of mankind from hell and death by the Sacrifice of the Cross and the Resurrection of the Savior, the Gospel of the Resurrection of Christ is read. The priests wear purple lenses in white festive robes.

This service calls for silence and rest, for this Saturday is the day of rest, when the Lord Himself rested. Instead of the Cherubic song, the troparion is sung: “ Yes is silent any flesh man and let him stand with fear and trembling and nothing earthly in himself, let him think: the King of those who reign and the Lord of lords comes to slay and give food to the faithful. " Instead of “It is worthy to eat” - irmos of the 9th canon of Great Saturday: “ Not cry Mene, Mati Seeing in the grave, but in the womb without seed thou didst conceive the Son: I will rise and be glorified and exalt with glory, ceaselessly like God, magnifying Thee by faith and love. "

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After the liturgy begins consecration of cakes, eggs and beads- usually in the courtyards of temples. It is customary not only to consecrate food for oneself, but also to leave part of it in the temple - to the clergy, altar men, singers - and donate to the poor.

On Holy Saturday, it is supposed to read the Acts of the Apostles in churches all day, or at least the last hours before Easter service.

And the Easter service begins with the reading of the canon "Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos" at the midnight office, after which the Shroud is carried off to the altar. Easter Matins begins - the first service of the Bright Resurrection of Christ.