Holy Week before Easter in 2017 lasts from April 10 to 16. In this period Special attention it is worth giving your spiritual state and devoting time to prayers.
True faith will help everyone's soul to get rid of negativity and let the Lord into the heart.
Prayer on Maundy Monday
"Lord Jesus! Soul and heart is always with you every sinner on this Earth. Let us pray to You, remembering Your sacrifice for the whole human race. By Your grace, let us find peace of mind, get rid of the demons that seduce us from the right path. Our sinful life, but controlled by You, will get rid of darkness and lack of enlightenment. Amen".
Prayer on Maundy Tuesday
“Source of our lives, Lord! Hear my prayers addressed to You. Cleanse me from sins, save me from the thoughts of the unclean. I found the source of my life in prayers to You, Lord. I repentantly and humbly ask you to forgive me for my unpious deeds, I appeal to the Holy Trinity for protection and patronage over me. Amen".Prayer on Great Wednesday
“I am aware of my laziness, I rejoice in every day lived in the cross. Great is my repentance. Grant, Lord, who accepted suffering for us, save us. May Your mercy spread over the forehead of everyone, enter into souls, subdue confusion and the cry of the devil. He will illuminate the path in darkness with heavenly light, and guide us through the sinless path. Amen".Prayer on Maundy Thursday
“Glory to Thee, Lord! Remember me, a sinner, in Your Kingdom. Do not let the intrigues of the unclean tell Thy mysteries and secrets, lock up my bold lips. Let me enjoy the light that comes from Heaven, imbue with wisdom through the ages and teach your sons and daughters to live in righteousness and sinlessness. Amen".Good Friday Prayer
“With a righteous prayer and Christian humility, I pray to You, Lord. Bless me for sinless deeds, give me the strength to fight negative manifestations, not to blame my offenders and put their punishment at Your Will. With righteous prayers I resurrect You daily, I pray for the whole human race, grant us forgiveness. Amen".Prayer on Holy Saturday
“Glory to our Lord for the Cross, for the death of Christ, for the Holy Resurrection. There are no more barriers to the righteous soul, for death is only sleep and repose. Let us pray for our souls, for peace on the sinful Earth, against the machinations of the devil. May the Lord not leave us in our tossings, show with His hand the way through the darkness and to the light of God. Bless us, Lord. Amen".
Holy Week ends with Easter, the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. On this day, Orthodox Christians rejoice at this event, glorify the Lord and greet each other with the words: “Jesus is Risen! He is truly Risen!"
Prayers and turning to Heaven every day give us great strength to resist the negativity that surrounds us. With their help, we ask for forgiveness and blessings, protect ourselves from illness and timidity, and help our children.
A unique time is coming, which all Christians revere with special trepidation - Holy Week. Nearly two thousand years ago these days, Christ came to Jerusalem to suffer, die on the cross, and be resurrected. For the salvation of the whole world.
Throughout its centuries-old history, the Church has compiled wonderful prayers, hymns and whole services in which all facets of those tragic and fateful moments are played out. In our cycle, we will briefly talk about how services are performed throughout the entire period of time - from Holy Monday to Holy Saturday.
During the first three days of Holy Week, the Church remembers the last parables and teachings uttered by the Savior during His earthly life. In general, parables occupy a special place in the Gospel and are regularly read throughout the year, however, the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday passages are special, they contain the whole essence of Christian doctrine.
On these days, the entire Psalter and the entire Gospel are read (with the exception of passionate passages, which are read especially on Thursday evening, on the eve of Good Friday). Also on these days, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated three times.
And Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have a common troparion. V church tradition this is the name of a small anthem, which reflects the main meaning of a particular holiday. Troparion of the first three days of Holy Week -. It beats the plot of the parable of ten virgins who met the groom in different ways. He teaches us to always be sober, cheerful and ready to meet Christ.
Fasting in the first half of Holy Week is prescribed the strictest. Naturally, in our time, any feats need to be negotiated with the confessor, depending on the strength and state of health. And in ancient times, nothing was eaten on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Didn't eat on Friday either. But on Thursday and Saturday, an indulgence was allowed - hot food with butter.
So, what are the divine services of each day of the week before Easter? Let's consider them briefly.
Great Monday
MORNING: Clock. Fine. Vespers. Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
EVENING: Matins. 1st hour.
The main motive of all the liturgical texts of this day is the personal meeting of Christ and man, as well as the readiness of the latter for it. The Church remembers the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph, whom the greedy brothers sold into slavery and who from ancient times was considered a prototype of the suffering Jesus.
The gospel story about the Lord's cursing of a barren fig tree is also read in the temple. A dried tree symbolizes a soul that does not bear spiritual fruits - true repentance, faith, prayer and good deeds. From the parables of the Savior, the stories about two sons and about evil vinedressers are especially remembered. V last passage the evil vinedressers are the Pharisees and scribes who ended up killing the Son of the Owner of the vineyard.
At the Liturgy, a special place is occupied by the reading of the Gospel, which contains the words of Christ about the future of the whole world and about His second coming. In addition to the Gospel, passages from the Old Testament are also read. The main place is occupied by the beginning of the book of Job. Quotes from this ancient sacred text are heard in the temple for almost the entire Passion Week, and this is no coincidence. Job is considered the most perfect righteous man of the pre-Christian era, an example of humility and love for God. And the suffering he endured is in many ways a type of the suffering of the Lord.
Maundy Tuesday
MORNING: Clock. Fine. Vespers. Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
EVENING: Matins. 1st hour.
Maundy Thursday
MORNING: Clock. Vespers. Liturgy of Basil the Great
IN THE EVENING:
Great Heel Matins
This day begins the actual passionate cycle. On Thursday evening, Christ established the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which, for two thousand years now, believers have been able to unite with Christ in the maximum possible way for a person.
The full Liturgy of Basil the Great is served. It is a continuation of Vespers. In principle, it should be served in the evening, but in modern practice it was moved to the morning. The most important texts of this day are the troparion “Whenever the disciples are glorified” and the anthem. In these amazingly beautiful prayers, Christians confess Christ as God and ask to be made worthy of union with Him in the Mystery of the Eucharist.
In the cathedrals and temples where the bishop serves, after the Liturgy, a special rite is performed - the washing of the feet. Following the example of Christ, who washed the feet of the disciples after the Supper, the bishop washes the feet of his fellow-servants.
On Thursday, the Psalter is no longer read (until Fomin's Sunday) and prostrations are not made (they are performed only before the Shroud).
On the same day, the Patriarch performs the consecration of the world - a special aromatic composition that is used in the Sacrament of Chrismation. It takes place once in a lifetime - immediately after Baptism.
On Thursday evening, on the eve of Good Friday, a service unique in its beauty is performed - the reading of the twelve Passion Gospels. These passages describe from beginning to end the path of suffering that Christ went through. According to the Charter, the Gospels should be read late at night, closer to midnight. But in modern conditions this service is performed earlier - in the evening. During the reading, believers stand in the temple with lighted candles. There is a tradition to keep the fire of these candles after the end of the service and take it home.
Good Friday, Passion of the Lord
IN THE MORNING: Royal Hours
AFTERNOON: Vespers. Removal of the Shroud
EVENING: Great Saturday Matins with the rite of the Burial of the Shroud
In Holy Week reaches its climax. This day is dedicated to remembering the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, the removal of His body from the cross and burial. Since the Liturgy is considered the most solemn service, it is not performed on the day of the death of the Savior as a sign of the deepest mourning. In the morning only the Royal Hours are read. They are named so because each Hour has its own Apostolic and Gospel readings. We again and again prayerfully experience all the vicissitudes of the Judgment of Jesus. Friday is the day of a special service, at the end of which the Shroud is taken out of the altar to the middle of the temple - large sizes cloth with an image of the deceased Christ embroidered on it.
In the evening, Saturday Matins is performed with the rite of the Burial of the Shroud.
All texts of prayers and Holy Scripture are imbued with the idea of co-dying of the creature with its Creator, participation in the Passion. Particularly noteworthy are the Old Testament readings of this day - excerpts from the books of the prophet Isaiah, who described His suffering 500 years before the birth of the Savior.
Matins - in fact - the funeral of Christ. Before the Shroud, Psalm 118 is sung, the verses of which are interspersed with special refrains mourning the Savior. These refrains sound on behalf of Holy Mother of God and are the greatest masterpiece of church poetry.
At the end of the rite of mourning for Christ, the Shroud procession carried around the temple with the singing of a funeral prayer Holy God. After the enclosing, the Holy Shroud is brought into the temple and brought to the royal doors - as a sign that the Lord Jesus Christ, even after His death, while remaining in the tomb with His body, was inseparably “on the throne with the Father and the Holy Spirit” according to His Divinity.
At the end of the service, people in the temple come up to venerate the Shroud while singing the stichera. This hymn recalls the secret disciple of Christ, Joseph of Arimothea, who, after the death of the Savior, went to Pilate and asked him for the Body of the Lord, which he then buried together with the righteous Nicodemus, also a secret disciple. They removed the Body of the Savior from the Cross, wrapped it in a shroud and laid it in a new coffin, in which no one had been buried before (this coffin Saint Joseph had prepared in advance for himself) in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the presence of the Mother of God and the holy myrrh-bearing women.
Great Saturday, Blessed Saturday, Silent Saturday
MORNING: Clock. Fine. Vespers. Liturgy of St. Basil the Great
Probably there is no other service (except Easter) that could be compared in beauty with the service Great Saturday. - the eve of the Holy Resurrection, in the divine service of Great Saturday, both mourning and festive features of Sunday can be traced.
After the Hours and Icons, Vespers is served with the Liturgy of Basil the Great - the last of the year. Its calling card is paroemias - a collection of 15 Old Testament passages, which contain prototypes of the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ and prophecies about the coming of the Kingdom of the Lord and the New Testament Church. Two huge songs of praise occupy a special place among these texts. One belongs to Miriam, the sister of Moses, who immediately sang of her when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. Another song was sung by three Jewish youths, miraculously saved by the Lord in the furnace, which the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar ordered to kindle. Both images symbolize Christ, who descended into hell, defeated the devil and brought out of the underworld all who wanted to go with Him.
At the liturgy, during the Great, instead of the Cherubic Hymn, an amazing hymn is sung: “Let all human flesh be silent, and let it stand with fear and trembling, and let nothing earthly in itself think: the King of kings and the Lord of lords comes to be slaughtered and given as food to the faithful. The faces of Angels with every Beginning and Power, the many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim, the faces of the closing and crying song come before Him: alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
As we listen to this hymn, we remember that according to the teachings Orthodox Church, Great Saturday is the day when the Lord descended in soul into hell, preached the news of the Kingdom of God there and led the souls of the righteous to freedom, to paradise, where before that only the prophets Elijah and Enoch, taken alive to heaven, as well as the prudent thief, had stayed on who confessed Christ on the cross.
Before the Liturgy, all the vestments in the church are changed from black to white. Saturday is the end of Holy Week. Usually, after the morning service during the day, the consecration of Easter cakes, eggs and Easter cakes is performed. Then people go home to gather together at night and glorify the Risen Savior.
In Jerusalem, on this day every year a unique event takes place - the descent of the Holy Fire.
Holy Week is also called Great Week, and not because it contains more days or hours, but because this week we celebrate great events that brought us incredible benefits: the war between man and God was put to an end, death and the power of the devil were abolished, the curse disappeared, reigned peace between God and people.
Services of the Great Week are performed in the morning - these are daily Matins. But in order for people to have the opportunity to visit them, the corresponding hymns are sung in the evening of the previous day: on the evening of Palm Sunday, the Matins of Great Monday are sung, in the evening of Great Monday, the matins of Great Tuesday, etc. In the morning of one day the hours and vespers of the next day are served.
After the resurrection of Lazarus, Christ again withdrew to the Jordan River so that He would not be seized by the high priests, who were plotting to kill Him.
Six days before the Jewish Passover, Christ returned to Bethany, where at a meal in the home of Lazarus' family, his sister Mary anointed Jesus' feet with myrrh. The next day, on Palm Sunday, He rode a donkey into Jerusalem.
The people strewed the earth with palm branches (this is how victors are greeted), because the people considered Him an earthly King who would free them from Roman power. Meeting Him, everyone exclaimed: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, King of Israel.” During this meeting, Zion shuddered with joy. Today, the new Zion, the new Israel, all of us, rejoices and celebrates, because the Lord is coming, the conqueror of death, foreshadowing His and our future Resurrection.
On this day, palm, laurel or spruce branches are distributed to believers in Greek temples. And in Russia - willow twigs.
Soft branches of date palms symbolized the victory of Christ over the devil and death. "Hosanna" means "please save me." The colt on which Jesus sat, according to the law of Moses, considered an unclean and wild animal, is a symbol of the former impurity and savagery of the peoples who will henceforth obey the Gospel law.
Maundy Monday (Palm Sunday evening)
On this day, we remember two important events. The first is the memory of the righteous Joseph (the son of Jacob, the great-grandson of Abraham), who is a type of Christ. Like Christ, Joseph was subjected to envy, was sold, immersed in a grave pit, tortured and glorified (Joseph - as a dignitary of Pharaoh, Christ - as the resurrected Lord), fed the people (Joseph - with wheat, Christ - with the Bread of life, His Most Holy Body).
The second symbol of this day is the barren fig tree, cursed by the Lord, not only as a sign of the end of the barren Jewish Synagogue, but also as an indication to all those who cannot bear spiritual fruit.
The hymns of this day call us to fight for the virtues. The first troparion sung on this day, "Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight", inspired by the parable of the ten virgins, is repeated on the next two days. The services of Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are called "following the Bridegroom".
Maundy Tuesday
(Evening of the GreatPMonday)
On Holy Tuesday, we remember the parable of the ten virgins, which calls us to meet Christ with the lamps of our virtues (especially mercy). The second event of this day is the remembrance of the parable of the talents, which teaches us to multiply our gifts.
The Church reminds us of all of the above with the help of hymns of this day, emphasizing that Christ will come suddenly, both at the hour of our death, and on the day of His Second Coming. He will ask us to present our spiritual achievements, however small. As we remember, in the parable of the talents, the master accused the third slave of not multiplying the only talent given to him, despite the fact that, as the holy fathers write, he kept the law of Moses.
In addition, we should never forget the example of the five foolish virgins who were not rewarded with paradise despite their “piety”. This means that the simple fulfillment of duty, devoid of the deep living experience of one's faith, or the “turning on” of religiosity only at certain hours of life will not be able to win the mercy and grace of God.
Great Wednesday
(Maundy Tuesday Evening)
Today we remember three events:
1. The anointing of the feet (in the Gospel of Matthew chapter) of the Lord by a harlot with the world for three hundred denarii (at that time the daily wage was one denarius).
2. Convocation of the Jewish Sanhedrin to condemn Christ.
3. The arrival of Judas to the high priests and the treaty of betrayal (in connection with this, fasting was established on Wednesdays in apostolic times).
At the end of the service, the famous troparion of Cassia, a pious and educated Byzantine hymnographer, who is called a harlot by some authors with rich imagination, is sung. Cassia was not a harlot, unlike the heroine of her work - a woman who anointed the feet of the Lord with the world.
On the evening of Great Wednesday (before the Bridegroom follows), the sacrament of chrismation is performed in churches.
Greaththursday
(Great Wednesday Evening)
On Maundy Thursday, the following events are remembered:
1. The washing of the feet of the apostles by the Lord.
2. The Last Supper.
3. The miraculous prayer of the Lord to His Father.
4. Betrayal of the Lord by His disciple Judas.
That evening the Last Supper took place, which Judas left to betray Christ while He was washing the feet of His disciples. After that, they go to the Kidron Valley, where, after the bishop's prayer, Judas comes with his companions and, having kissed Jesus, betrays Him. Jesus is then brought before the high priests Anna and Caiaphas. The disciples fled, except for John and Peter, who denies Jesus three times. At the Sanhedrin, Jesus confesses that He is the Christ, for which he is subjected to all sorts of ridicule and receives a death sentence.
On Maundy Thursday, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated in memory of the first Liturgy bestowed on us by the Lord on the evening of this day in the Jerusalem room. The Liturgy of Basil the Great is served, which is combined with the Vespers Liturgy and is celebrated on Holy Thursday morning instead of evening, since Good Friday Matins will be served in the evening.
Good Friday
(Maundy Thursday Evening)
Today we remember the Passion of the Lord: spitting, slapping, mockery and, finally, the Crucifixion and a terrible death. And also the thief, who confesses on the cross that Christ is the King of Heaven, and asks Christ to remember him in His Kingdom.
This is the day of extreme humility and the greatest sacrifice, when the bound Christ is interrogated all night from Thursday to Friday, like a criminal, and, in the end, is found guilty and at the sixth hour (about twelve o'clock in the afternoon) is crucified along with two robbers. At the ninth hour (at three o'clock in the afternoon), saying, "It is finished," "The Lamb of God, who took away the sin of the world," breathed his last. This is followed by the removal from the Cross and burial before sunset "in a new tomb."
Twelve passages from the four Gospels related to the Passion of the Lord (the so-called twelve Gospels) are read today. Between the reading of the fifth and sixth passages, a litany is performed and the Crucified One is placed in the center of the temple for worship.
On Friday morning, the Great Hours are read: the first, third, sixth and ninth. They are called Great, not because of their duration, but because they are related to important events. Immediately after the hours, Great Vespers follows, at which the Gospel is read. At this time, the Descent from the Cross takes place. After some time, a cloth is placed in the cuvuklion, on which the image of the deceased Lord is embroidered. This cloth is called the shroud.
All these readings, singing and other performances are not ordinary remembrance or theatrical performance. No, it's something more. They are the living embodiment of the events of Holy Week, bringing the past into the present and the present into the past. This sacrament revives all remembered events for each of us, forcing us to experience them as a personal experience.
Today, at the Divine Liturgy, the priests bring the Sacrifice, since it was already offered by the Great Hierarch on the Cross at the moment of His Crucifixion. The Church revives this sacrifice of the Lord, as if re-living the day of Good Friday at the Divine Liturgy.
Holy Saturday
(Good Friday evening)
On the day of Good Friday, there is a remembrance of the burial of the Body of Christ, from which, however, His Divine essence was not separated, and of the descent into hell of His soul, also united with His omnipotent Divinity. He crushed hell and freed the souls languishing there (of course, those who believed).
Today, on Saturday, the Lord rests, as God rested on the seventh day after the six days of creation. This Sabbath of Law and Creation becomes a parallel to the Lord's Sabbath: his rest in the tomb. Therefore, every Saturday we commemorate the dead and serve a memorial service.
On the third day, His soul and body were reunited and the Lord rose from the dead. The three-day burial is explained as follows: the first day is Friday from three o'clock in the afternoon until sunset, the second day is the entire Saturday, the third day is from sunset on Saturday until midnight Sunday.
Thus the Soul of the Lord crushed hell and the Body conquered death, for they were united by His divinity.
At the evening service, three articles of the so-called Praise are sung - small and very beloved by all troparions of an unknown author. They were probably created in the 15th century. After the doxology, the exit from the temple and the enclosing of the shroud around the Kuvukliya is carried out.
On Holy Saturday morning, Easter Vespers is served along with the Liturgy of Basil the Great. It is imbued with an Easter mood, for which the people call it "the first Resurrection." Indeed, this is a very beautiful service of the world-saving holiday of Easter.
On Holy Week (from April 22 to April 27, 2019), a believer must definitely visit the temple. 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 yet read the entire Old and New Testaments, catch up on the days of Great Lent. Try to read these books in a calm environment, and then reflect on what you have read.
In addition to morning and evening prayers, you can read the psalms of King David, as well as Lenten prayers - the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete and the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.
And what prayers are read during Holy Week? All four Gospels should be read for the first three days. On Maundy Thursday, at the service in the church, believers co-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
“Nailed on the Cross for us, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of God the Father, the Son, mercy, love and bounty, an inexhaustible abyss! We know, for the sake of my sins, from inexpressible philanthropy, Thou hast deigned to shed Your Blood on the Cross, even though I am, unworthy and ungrateful, hitherto filthy my deeds are trampled and not in any way. Moreover, from the depths of my iniquity and impurity, with my intelligent eyes, I gazed at the Crucified Thee on the Cross of my Redeemer, with humility and faith in the depths of the ulcers filled with Your mercy, I cast myself down, asking for the sins of forgiveness and the filthy life of my correction. Be merciful to me, my Master and Judge, do not reject me from Your presence, but by Your all-powerful hand turn me to You and guide me on the path of true repentance, so that from now on I will lay the beginning of my salvation. Tame my carnal passions by Thy divine sufferings; With Your poured out Blood, cleanse my spiritual filth; crucify me with your crucifixion to the world with its temptations and lusts; Protect me with your cross invisible enemy catching my soul. Thy pierced hands, my hands, from every deed that is not pleasing to You, hold back. Nailed to the flesh, nail my flesh to Your fear, so that having evaded evil, I do good before You. Having bowed Your head on the Cross, incline my exalted pride to the land of humility; with your crown of thorns, protect my ears, in a hedgehog do not hear except what is useful; tasting bile with your mouth, put storage with my unclean mouth; Have a heart open with a copy, create a pure heart in me; With all your ulcers, hurt me all sweetly in your love, so that I may love you, my Lord, with all my soul, with all my heart, with all strength and with all my mind. Give yourself a strange and poor, where to bow your heads; give me the All-good One, who delivers my soul from death; give me the All-Sweet One, who delights me in sorrow and misfortune with His love, but I hated Him first, angered Him, exiled Him from myself and nailed to the Cross, now I will love him, rejoicing I will receive and sweetly His Cross until the end of my life I will bear. From now on, O my all-good Redeemer, do not give me a single will to be done, there is evil and indecent, but I will not fall into the hard work of sin that reigned in me; but Your good will, wanting to save me, may it always be done in me, even handing me over to You, my Crucified Lord, with the smart eyes of my heart I represent and pray from the depths of my soul, and even in my separation from my mortal body, You are One on the Cross I will see yours, in the hand of my protection I will accept, and from the air spirits of malice, I will instill sinners who have pleasing you with repentance. Amen".
Passion Week is dedicated to remembering the last days of the Savior's earthly life, His suffering on the Cross, death and burial. According to the greatness and importance of the events that took place, each day of this week is called holy and great. These sacred days are perceived by believers as a Divine feast, illuminated by the joyful consciousness of salvation received through the suffering and death of the Savior. Therefore, on these holy days, neither the memory of the saints, nor the commemoration of the dead, nor prayers are performed. As on all major holidays, the Church even on these days calls on the faithful to take a spiritual part in the divine services and become partakers of sacred remembrances.
Since apostolic times, the days of Holy Week have been in deep reverence among Christians. Believers spent Passion Week in the strictest abstinence, fervent prayer, in deeds of virtue and mercy.
All the services of Passion Week, which are distinguished by the depth of pious experiences, contemplation, special tenderness and duration, are located in such a way that they vividly and gradually reproduce the history of the Savior's suffering, His last Divine instructions. For each day of the week, a special remembrance is assimilated, expressed in hymns and gospel readings of matins and liturgy.
Participating in the sufferings of the Savior, “being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3, 10), the Holy Church takes on a sad image this week: sacred objects in temples (throne, altar, etc.) and the clergy themselves dress in dark clothes and worship takes predominantly the character of sadly touching contrition, compassion for the Passion of Christ. In modern liturgical practice, they usually perform Lenten services in black vestments, changing them to bright ones on Holy Saturday. In some monasteries and temples, the service is performed on Fortecost, in accordance with more ancient practice, in purple vestments, and on Holy Week - in scarlet - burgundy, the color of blood - in remembrance of the Blood of the Savior poured out on the Cross for the salvation of the world.
On the first three days of Passion Week, the Church prepares the faithful for worthy contemplation and heartfelt participation in the Savior's suffering on the Cross. Already at the Vespers on the Week of Vay, she invites the faithful to flock from the highest and most sacred Divine Feast of the Vay to the Divine Feast of the honest, saving and mysterious remembrance of the Passion of Christ, to see the Lord accepting voluntary suffering and death for us. In the hymns of the Triodion these days, the Church encourages believers to follow the Lord, to be crucified with Him, and with Him to be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In the divine services of the first three days of Passion Week, a general penitential character is still retained.
On Great Monday, the Church in her hymns invites to meet the beginning of the Passion of Christ. In the divine service on Monday, the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph the Beautiful is remembered, out of envy, sold by his brothers to Egypt, foreshadowing the suffering of the Savior. In addition, on this day, the Lord desiccates the richly leafed but barren fig tree, which serves as an image of the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, in whom, despite their outward piety, the Lord did not find the good fruits of faith and piety, but only the hypocritical shadow of the Law. Every soul is like a barren, withered fig tree that does not bring forth spiritual fruits—true repentance, faith, prayer, and good deeds.
On Great Tuesday, we remember the denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees by the Lord, His conversations and parables, spoken by Him on this day in the Temple of Jerusalem: about tribute to Caesar, about the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, about ten virgins and about talents.
On Great Wednesday, we remember the sinful wife who washed her tears and anointed the feet of the Savior with precious ointment when He was at the supper in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, and thereby prepared Christ for burial. Here, Judas, with imaginary concern for the poor, revealed his love of money, and in the evening he decided to betray Christ to the Jewish elders for 30 pieces of silver (an amount sufficient at the then prices to acquire a small plot of land even in the vicinity of Jerusalem).
On Great Wednesday at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, after the prayer behind the ambo, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is said for the last time with three great prostrations.
On Thursday of Holy Week, four most important evangelical events that took place on that day are commemorated in divine service: The Last Supper, at which the Lord established the New Testament sacrament of Holy Communion (Eucharist), the washing of the feet of His disciples by the Lord as a sign of deepest humility and love for them, the prayer of the Savior in the garden Gethsemane and the betrayal of Judas.
In remembrance of the events of this day, after the prayer beyond the ambo at the liturgy in cathedrals, during the hierarchal service, a touching rite of washing the feet is performed, which resurrects in our memory the immeasurable condescension of the Savior, who washed the feet of His disciples before the Last Supper. The rite is performed in the middle of the temple. When the protodeacon reads the corresponding place from the Gospel, the bishop, having taken off his vestments, washes the feet of the 12 priests sitting on both sides of the place prepared in front of the pulpit, representing the disciples of the Lord who have gathered for the supper, and wipes them with a ribbon (long cloth).
In the Patriarchal Cathedral in Moscow, at the Liturgy of Great Thursday, after the transfer of the Holy Gifts, His Holiness the Patriarch performs the consecration of the holy world as needed. The consecration of the world is preceded by its preparation (the rite of chrismation), which begins on Holy Monday and is accompanied by the reading of the Holy Gospel, the prescribed prayers and hymns.
The Day of the Great Heel is dedicated to the remembrance of the condemnation to death, the suffering on the Cross and the death of the Savior. In the worship of this day, the Church, as it were, sets us at the foot of the Cross of Christ and before our reverent and trembling eyes depicts the saving sufferings of the Lord. At Matins of the Great Heel (usually served on Thursday evening), the 12 Gospels of the Testament of the Holy Passion are read.
At the end of Vespers on Good Friday, the rite of taking out the Shroud of Christ is performed with the image of His position in the tomb, after which there is a reading of the canon about the crucifixion of the Lord and the cry of the Most Holy Theotokos, then the dismissal of the evening service follows and the application to the Shroud (kissing of the Shroud) is performed. Nothing is said in the current Typicon about the removal of the Shroud on Good Friday. It is only spoken of carrying it out on Great Saturday after the great doxology. There is no mention of the Shroud in the Friday service and in the most ancient Greek, South Slavic and Old Russian charters. Presumably, the custom of wearing the Shroud at Great Vespers on Good Friday began with us in the 18th century, later than 1696, when the editing of the Typicon in our Church was completed under Patriarchs Joachim and Adrian of Moscow.
On Great Saturday, the Church commemorates the burial of Jesus Christ, the stay of His body in the tomb, the descent of the soul into hell to proclaim victory over death there and the deliverance of souls who with faith awaited His coming, and the introduction of the prudent thief into paradise.
Divine services on this Sabbath, unprecedented and unforgettable in all the ages of human life, begin in the early morning and continue until the end of the day, so that the last Saturday songs of the so-called Paschal Midnight Office merge with the beginning of the solemn Paschal hymns - at Paschal Matins.
On Holy Saturday, the liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated, beginning with the liturgy. After a small entrance with the Gospel (near the Shroud), 15 paramias are read before the Shroud, which contain the main prophecies and types relating to Jesus Christ, as having redeemed us from sin and death by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection. After the 6th Parimia (about the miraculous crossing of the Jews across the Red Sea), the chant is sung: "Gloriously glorified." The reading of parimias concludes with the song of the three youths: "Sing to the Lord and exalt unto all ages." Instead of the Trisagion, “They are baptized into Christ” and the Apostle is read about mysterious power Baptism. This singing and reading serve as a remembrance of the custom of the ancient Church to baptize catechumens on Holy Saturday. After the reading of the Apostle, instead of "Alleluia", seven verses selected from the psalms containing prophecies about the Resurrection of the Lord are sung: "Rise, O God, judge the earth."
During the singing of these verses, the clergy change into bright clothes, and then the Gospel of Matthew, ch. 115. Instead of the Cherubic Hymn, the song "Let all human flesh be silent" is sung. The Great Entrance takes place near the Shroud. Instead of "He rejoices in you" - the irmos of the 9th song of the canon of Great Saturday "Do not cry Mene, Mati." Involved - "Get up, as if sleeping, Lord, and rise again, save us." The Prayer beyond the ambo is read behind the Shroud. Everything else happens according to the order of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. After the dismissal of the liturgy, the blessing of bread and wine is directly performed. This rite recalls the ancient pious custom of Christians to wait for the onset of Easter in the temple, listening to the reading of the Acts of the Apostles. In view of the strict fast that was observed for a whole day until the Easter holiday, and the impending vigil, the Church strengthened the strength of the faithful with blessed bread and wine.
