Holy Week (April 6 - 11), so named in memory of the last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, is the week of the strictest fasting, the time when we prepare for the holiday of holidays - Easter, the Bright Resurrection of Christ (April 12). Each of the days of Holy Week was named Great - this emphasizes both the unusualness of this day for people and the greatness of what the Savior did for us.
"The Passion of Christ" - this is how the events of the last days of Christ's earthly life are called, the fact is that in the Church Slavonic language the word "passion" can mean "suffering", and it is this meaning that gave the name to this very important period for all believers. Twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, the most intense services are held in churches, passages from the Gospel are read, immersing us in the tragic events of those days: the last communion with the disciples, the betrayal of Judas, the unjust judgment, Golgotha, Crucifixion, Death on the Cross and burial. During Holy Week, fasting is especially strict, believers try to observe it rigorously - in order to feel the meaning and feat of Christ. The goal of Holy Week is to bring people as close as possible to understanding what Christ has done for us, to spiritually prepare people for the joy of the Resurrection of Christ.
Holy week calendar
Great Monday (April 6). The first three days of Holy Week are dedicated to the recollections of Jesus Christ's conversations with the people and disciples. On Great Monday, during the service, a barren fig tree, withered to the root, is remembered as an image of a person dying in unrepentance. On Great Monday, there is also an event that occurs only once a year. On this day, the Patriarch reads prayers for the beginning of the rite of world-making. Miro is a special mixture of vegetable oils, fragrant resins and aromatic herbs (50 substances in total), which is used during the Sacrament of Confirmation (performed after Baptism), as well as during the consecration of new thrones in the temple. Miro is brewed during the first three days of Holy Week and is accompanied by the recitation of special prayers. The brewed myrrh is consecrated by the Patriarch on Maundy Thursday. Each baptized person remembers that immediately after the Sacrament of Baptism was performed on him, the priest anointed his forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, chest, palms and feet with peace, pronouncing "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen." With this Sacrament of Confirmation, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are communicated to a person. So, myrrh, which will then be used for the baptism of new members of the Church and for the consecration of new thrones in churches, begins to be brewed on Great Monday, the first day of Holy Week.
Great Tuesday (April 7). On this day, the Church recalls the parables told by Christ to his disciples shortly before the sufferings of the Cross. The Savior revealed spiritual truths to His disciples, dressing them in the form of a parable - a short allegorical story taken from ordinary life. The fact is that Christ's disciples were simple people, and the parable, on the one hand, is easy to perceive and memorize, and on the other hand, it contains the deepest spiritual meaning, illustrates Divine laws using examples of our earthly, everyday life. So, during the service on Great Tuesday, they remember the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents and the story of Christ about the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment. All together, these Gospel readings call on believers to be spiritually vigilant, to ensure that we do not "bury" the talents given to us, and, finally, that we do not get tired of doing deeds of mercy. The Lord says that the Kingdom of Heaven will be inherited by those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, accept the wandering. For, says the Lord: "Since you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me."
Great Wednesday (April 8). On the third day of Holy Week, during the service, they remember how in the house of Simon the leper, where Christ came to visit, the sinner washed Jesus' feet with tears and poured precious ointment on His head. In those days, peace was not only anointed with royal persons, but also the bodies of the dead were anointed before burial. Thus, the sinner, without knowing it herself, prepared Christ for burial. On the same day, Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked them what they would give if he would betray Christ. The high priests offered Judas "thirty pieces of silver, and, as the Gospel says," from that time on, he was looking for an opportunity to betray Him. " In addition to these excerpts from the Gospel on Great Wednesday, during the Liturgy, the prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian is read for the last time, with three great bows. From this day, until the Feast of the Holy Trinity, obeisances in the temple are canceled, and this is its deep meaning. Bowing to the ground shows that we, people, fell to the earth by sin. And the abolition of bowing to the earth during the service emphasizes the fact that the Lord atoned for our sins, and reminds us that the Resurrection of Christ became a type of the future age.
At Wednesday evening service, believers try to confess.
Maundy Thursday (April 9). On this day, the Church returns us to the Last Supper. An event that happened before Christ was taken into custody. The Last Supper is the last supper, a meal of Christ with His disciples on the eve of His suffering on the Cross. During the service in the church, four evangelical events that took place on Thursday are remembered. The first event is the washing of the feet of His disciples by Christ before the Last Supper. This washing was a sign of Christ's deepest humility and His love for His disciples. During the same supper, as the Gospel says, "the devil has already put in the heart of Judas Iscariot" the idea of betraying Christ. And Jesus, seeing the heart of the traitor, said this at the evening, as if giving Judas the opportunity to stop. This gospel episode is also mentioned during the service.
The third event that we remember during the service is very important for every believer. The fact is that it was during the Last Supper that Christ established the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Greek word for Eucharist means thanksgiving. In Christianity, the Eucharist is called the Sacrament of Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Sacrament of the grace-filled (that is, perfect according to the influence of grace), the union of the believer with God. Established by Christ during the Last Supper, the Sacrament is still performed in every church during each Divine Liturgy. Many believers try to receive Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday.
And, finally, the fourth Gospel event, which is remembered during the Liturgy on Great Thursday, is the prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus knew what was coming to Him, "His soul grieved to death," and, as the Gospel says, He prayed "until he sweat bloody." This prayer of Christ is often called "the prayer for the cup", because, crying out to God the Father, Christ asked that, if possible, "pass His fate": "Abba, Father, all is possible for You; carry this cup past Me", - but then he added the words of complete humility before the coming fate and the will of God the Father: "However, not as I want, but as You."
These four most important evangelical events are remembered in churches on Maundy Thursday of Holy Week during the Divine Liturgy.
During the evening service on Maundy Thursday, twelve Gospel passages are read about the sufferings of Christ's death on the cross, the words of Christ on the cross, His crucifixion and burial are recalled.
According to a long-standing Orthodox tradition, during the reading of the twelve Gospels, believers stand in the church with lighted candles. And then, after the service, this light is brought home, and a cross is smoked on the window frames, on the door frames. This custom dates back to the Old Testament Passover. Believers who come to the church in the evening on Maundy Thursday prepare in advance to bring a candle not extinguished to the house, placing it in a special lamp for this.
Maundy Thursday is also called Maundy Thursday. On the one hand, this is the day of spiritual cleansing - on this day everyone is trying to confess and receive communion, and on the other hand, we mean the everyday side of our life. It is on Maundy Thursday that believers try to prepare their home, their clothes, Easter cakes and Easter for the Great Bright Resurrection.
Good Friday (April 10). The most mournful day in the church calendar, it was on Friday that the crucifixion and death of Christ on the Cross at Calvary took place. The Divine Liturgy is not served on Good Friday, since on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed himself.
For six long hours the Lord suffered painfully on the cross, redeeming with His sufferings all mankind from slavery to sin. The death of Christ on the cross took place according to the Gospel at the ninth hour (about three hours according to our time). Therefore, it is at this time that the shroud is carried out in the temples - an embroidered image of the crucified Body of the Savior taken from the Cross. The shroud is taken out of the altar and laid on a specially prepared table in the center of the temple - the tomb, and then the clergy and all the worshipers worship in front of it.
The shroud is located in the middle of the temple for three incomplete days, reminding us of the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the tomb.
On Good Friday, no food is eaten at all until the shroud is taken out; this is the day of the strictest fast of the year.
Great Saturday (April 11). This is the day when "let all flesh be silent," that is, this is the day of inner concentration, when we are in a state of spiritual expectation of the Resurrection of Christ. The Day of Holy Saturday is the day of the stay of the body of Jesus Christ in the tomb. As you know, the noble Joseph took the body of the Savior from the Cross and, having wrapped the shroud around Him, put it in a tomb. But, dwelling in His body in the tomb, in His soul, the Lord on this day descended into hell, where, waiting for salvation, the souls of all the dead, even the souls of the saints who lived before Christ, languished. Jesus Christ descends into hell - this is called "the descent into hell" - and brings out the souls of the righteous from there.
On Holy Saturday, the liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated (it is served only a few times a year), during which Bible prophecies are read in front of the shroud. As you know, long before the birth of the God-man, the prophets predicted both the coming of the Savior into our world, and that by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection, He would redeem us from the power of sin and death.
During the Divine Liturgy on Great Friday, there is an amazing moment - this is the re-vesting of the priests from black clothes to white ones. This is a symbol of the fact that "Christ was Risen from the dead, trampling death on death and giving those in the grave a life." The meaning of this hymn, sung on Easter in churches, is as follows: Through His feat of the Cross and death, and then the resurrection that followed death, the Lord transformed human nature and opened the path of resurrection to all people. This means that from now on there is no place for mourning in the world.
A special sign that the Resurrection of Christ and His victory over death took place is the miraculous ignition of the blessed fire in the cave of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This kindling of fire occurs without the efforts of a person, but only through a prayer that the Patriarch of Jerusalem reads in front of a huge crowd of believers. The very event of the condescension of the blessed fire occurs every year on the day of Great Saturday and is one of the visible evidences of the presence of Christ in our world.
All days of Holy Week, in parallel with intense divine services, preparations are underway for the meeting of the Risen Christ. On Saturday, everyone strives to consecrate Easter cakes, Easter and brushno (that is, meat and eggs), so that later, after the festive Easter service, they will break the fast. By itself, the sanctification of food means that we are blessed to accept it.
April 12 - the long way of the Holy Week is behind, the Feast of Holidays, Easter, the Bright Resurrection of Christ is coming!
Holy Week- follows after Palm, the seventh last week before Great Day (Easter), lasting six days; it begins on Monday and ends on the Saturday preceding Easter Sunday.
Preparations for the main holiday went on throughout the week: they washed tables, benches, benches, windows, doors. They whitewashed the oven, or even the walls. They scrubbed, washed the floor, shaken out the rugs, washed the dishes. From Thursday to Saturday, there was cooking at the stove and in the yard: the hostesses baked Easter cakes, painted eggs, baked meat; men put up swings, prepared firewood for the holiday, etc. The villagers tried to be laconic. As well as during the whole fast, loud street singing was avoided, there were no street games and round dances. According to the Bulgarians' beliefs, the Samovils watched over the observance of traditions. According to Slavic beliefs, before Great Day or after it, the ancestors return to earth, where they stay for some time.
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✪ Holy Week, the last week of Lent before Easter
✪ The truth about the BAPTISM of Russia. Russia Before BAPTISM. How did the Slavs live WITHOUT A CHURCH?
✪ EASTER for the Slavs - the deep essence / Unknown facts / Viktor Maksimenkov
✪ Palm Sunday
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Holy Week Holy Week is a special period in Christianity. This is the last week before Easter, following the Palm Sunday and established in memory of the suffering and martyrdom of Jesus Christ. They also call this week: Holy Week, Holy Week, Terrible Week, Great Week, Great Week, Red, Chervona, Holy Week, Biliy Tizden, Clean Tizden. The last six days of Great Lent are dedicated to the memories of the last days of the Savior's earthly life, of His sufferings, crucifixion, death on the cross, and burial. This week is especially honored by the Church. This week is called Great, because in this week great and natural miracles and extraordinary deeds of our Savior took place. In Christianity, all days of Holy Week are called "Great" - Great Monday, Great Tuesday, etc., the epithet "Passionate" is also used. According to ancient custom, Holy Week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. During Holy Week, the Last Supper is remembered, the tradition for judgment, crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ. Divine services on Holy Week are emphasized. Fasting during Holy Week is especially strict. The path of Holy Week is the path of fasting, confession and communion. Every day of Holy Week is full of sacred significance. In just one week, Jesus Christ learned the value of human love and betrayal, life and death. At the beginning of the Holy Week, he entered Jerusalem, in the middle he was captured and given over to suffering, at the end of the week he was crucified. The course of the church service varies depending on what event occurred on a particular day of the week preceding Easter. Every day of Holy Week is great and holy, and on each of them special services are performed in all churches. During Holy Week, the Orthodox Church does not celebrate the days of its Saints, does not commemorate the dead and does not conduct such sacraments as weddings and baptisms. This is the week before Easter, every day of which is great and holy. Orthodox Christians spend this time praying fervently and in strict abstinence. Let's consider each day separately. Palm Sunday On Palm Sunday, the Savior entered Jerusalem in order to preach there, to be captured and to accept suffering. Jesus Christ knew what was ahead of him, and made a conscious sacrifice for the sake of the one he loved more than anything else - for the sake of man. The inhabitants of Jerusalem accepted Jesus as a prophet and greeted him with palm branches in their hands. In the Slavic countries, they decided to replace them with willow branches. People in this time consecrate willow in temples. From Monday to Wednesday, Jesus Christ preached in Jerusalem. Knowing that the term of his earthly life was coming to an end, he tried to put as much information as possible in the ears of his listeners. Great Monday Monday is reminiscent of the story of a fig tree on which Jesus found no fruit and dried it up. This barren tree symbolizes souls who do not bear spiritual fruit in the Kingdom of God - true repentance, faith, prayers and good deeds. On this day, the biblical Joseph is also remembered - the son of Jacob, whom the brothers sold into slavery in Egypt, as a type of suffering Jesus Christ. Joseph was brought out of prison and placed over Egypt. It is allowed to eat vegetables, fruits, bread. Great Tuesday On Great Tuesday, the reproof by Jesus of the Pharisees and scribes is remembered, as well as the parables spoken by Him in the Jerusalem Temple: about the tribute to Caesar and the resurrection of the dead, also about the Last Judgment and the end of the world, about the ten virgins and talents. They eat hot on this day without the presence of vegetable oils in their food. Great Wednesday Wednesday of Holy Week is the day on which Christ was given over to suffering. On Wednesday, two most important events take place: the repentant sinner Mary of Magdala pours precious ointment on the feet of a tired Jesus and receives forgiveness, having washed her with tears and anointed Christ's feet with precious ointment, thus preparing Him for burial. On Great Wednesday, Christians remember with sorrow the decision of Judas Iscariot to betray his Teacher for 30 pieces of silver. This day is significant with the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the end of the great bows. Maundy Thursday On Maundy Thursday, Christians remember four events: 1. On Thursday, the Last Supper takes place, during which Jesus Christ gives final instructions to his disciples and foretells his imminent death and resurrection. 2. The Lord washing the feet of his disciples 3. The Savior follows to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prays and reminds the apostles that they should not sleep that night. 4. But the apostles fall asleep, and, betrayed by Judas, Christ falls into the hands of the Roman soldiers on the night from Thursday to Friday. Another betrayal falls to Christ's share: the frightened Peter denies the teacher in front of the soldiers. Maundy Thursday, also called “Quarters”. Good Friday - Good Friday Good Friday is the day when Jesus Christ was tortured, judged and crucified on the cross. After several hours of unbearable suffering, Christ dies crucified on the cross. This is the most sorrowful day of the Passion Week, the day of sorrow and the strictest fasting. Liturgy is not celebrated on Good Friday. The services are dedicated to the crucifixion and death of Christ. There is no liturgy, and Christians are holding burning candles - a symbol of the greatness of the Lord. According to custom, the poor are given alms, it is customary to distribute various food products to the poor. Even those who did not fast during Great Lent, the priests strongly recommend to refrain from eating fast food and alcohol on this Friday. Great Saturday On Saturday, faithful disciples bury the body of Jesus Christ. Saturday is the most mysterious day of Holy Week. While the body of Christ lies in the grave, his soul descends into hell, where it forgives the ancient prophets and righteous people who lived before the birth of Jesus. Hell groans with anger, as Christ establishes his authority even in the kingdom of the devil. Only a few hours remain until Easter, the great day that marks the victory over death. On Great Saturday one should prepare for the coming of the Resurrection of Christ. After the morning service, Easter, eggs, Easter cakes are consecrated in all churches. The priests put on light robes and hold the liturgy. On Saturday, the Holy Fire descends in Jerusalem. After Great Saturday, the Easter holiday begins. Holy Week for Christians. For Christians, Holy Week is a time of strict fasting and repentance. The church fathers prescribe spending this time in prayer and abstinence, attending church, attending services, and confessing sins. Attending Church services on Holy Week, representing all the events of the last days of the Savior as if taking place before us, we mentally go through the whole majestically touching and immensely edifying story of Christ's suffering. The Holy Church calls us this week to leave everything vain and worldly and follow our Savior. The Church Fathers composed and arranged the Divine Services of the Holy Week in such a way that they reflect all the sufferings of Christ. The temple these days alternately represents the upper room of Zion and Gethsemane, then Calvary. The Divine Services of the Holy Week were furnished by the Holy Church with a special external grandeur, lofty, inspired chants and a whole series of deeply significant rituals, which are performed only during this week. Slavic Traditions True believers are encouraged to reflect on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, on the events of the last days of his earthly life during Holy Week. Russian people fulfilled the precepts of the Orthodox Church: they prayed, observed a strict fast, tried to attend church all week, behave with dignity, at this time it was forbidden to have fun, sing songs, laugh. Throughout the week, preparations are underway for the main holiday of Easter: houses, courtyards, gates, wells are being put in order. They used to whitewash the stove, or even the walls. It is believed that Holy Week is a time of rampant evil spirits. According to Slavic traditions, before the Great Day or after it, the ancestors return to earth, where they stay for some time. During Holy Week, many rituals of a purifying and protective nature were carried out. Holy Thursday, Holy Thursday. Customs prescribe to wake up before dawn and begin to cleanse yourself and your home. Folk traditions call this day "Maundy Thursday". Accordingly, believers at this time strive for both spiritual and physical cleansing. Candles lit in the church and brought into the home, according to legend, bring happiness. On Maundy Thursday, according to Russian custom, it was necessary to wash the whole house: floors, ceilings, walls, doors and windows, clean the frames of icons, dry everything that was stored in chests for the whole winter, burn old straw beds, throw out old shoes, clothes, take out all rubbish, thoroughly wash all dishes in the house. After Maundy Thursday and until Easter, inclusive, the house was no longer cleaned or swept, this prohibition was explained by the fear of dusting the eyes of Jesus Christ lying in the tomb. On the same day, ritual ablutions of people were widespread, which were supposed to cleanse a person from sins, give him health and beauty. They were usually carried out at sunrise, before the awakening of the birds, when the water was still "not stained with anything." Ablutions were carried out on a river, pond, lake, or at home. People tried to enhance the magical effect of water by performing various additional ritual actions. So, silver coins were thrown into the water prepared for ablution, as well as into a natural reservoir, which, according to legend, had purifying properties. On Maundy Thursday, according to custom, they painted eggs, baked Easter cake, and made Easter from cottage cheese. The cake had to be baked, according to the peasants, on Thursday, because on that day Jesus Christ broke bread and gave it to his disciples to taste from it with the words "this is my body." On Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion of Christ on the cross, all work was prohibited. On Holy Saturday, Easter cake, Easter and painted eggs were consecrated in churches. Great Lent ends on Great Saturday. You need to go to church and bless the prepared cakes and other Easter food. No food is allowed before the end of the night service. After the end of the procession, Great Easter begins
Other names
Clean, Scary, Great Monday
The week of preparation for the meeting of Holy Resurrection begins. On this day, they washed and whitewashed the huts, cleaned the cattle. Anyone who sincerely fasts on Clean Monday (does not eat or drink all day) will, as they said in the Vitebsk region, successfully find bird nests in the summer. Gomel Poleshchuk avoided keeping anything unclean (from food) in the house this Monday and Tuesday, so that people and beef (cattle) would not be damaged. The peasants said about this day: "From Great Monday to Great Day, a whole week, women are up to the neck!" ...
In the Kherson region, at the "Zhiloviy Ponedilok", great commemoration for the ancestors is held - "Dead Great Day".
Clean tuesday
On the Tuesday of the last week of Lent, in the villages of the Tula province, linseed and hemp seeds are collected from the bins together, pounded in a mortar, and then juiced milk is prepared from them with water. All this is done in the morning, before dawn. All domestic animals are watered with such milk at dawn, as a precaution against future diseases. Here is the main condition: men should not know this business, otherwise it will be useless. According to the remarks of the old women, it is known that if an animal does not drink juiced milk, then no good can be expected in it; it is then already either sick or enchanted [ ] .
Passionate Wednesday
On a passionate Wednesday cattle are poured with snow water.
In Belarus, on the eve of Maundy Thursday, they put bread, salt and soap under the roof. With that bread, cattle were driven out of the barn on Yuri, salt was later used as a remedy for the evil eye, and the next day before sunrise we washed in the bathhouse to be clean (healthy) for a whole year. If the bread taken out froze during the night, it was assumed that the spring crops would also freeze.
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday, depending on the region, was called: "Navsky Great Day" (Ukrainian), Wood Thursday (Belarusian), Zhilnik (Belarusian)
Before the sun rises (“until the raven bought its children”), the whole family should bathe so that diseases and ailments do not bother the whole year, and during the day they remove the water, hang out to dry winter clothes. From the memoirs of a Voronezh peasant woman: “Maundy Thursday is bathing. We got up early in the morning, before dawn, before sunrise. Grandmother boiled water in succession, woke me up early, before sunrise, and began by washing my hair. She washed my hair - "Our Father" once read; she washed me up to the waist - she read Our Father for the second time; and the third time she reads "Our Father", when she washed my legs and everything below the waist. Three times she read "Our Father", finished: "Send, Lord, health to me and my child." Then I washed myself. She did not pour out this water, she gave it to the goats to drink. The goats drank it with pleasure. Everyone washed themselves before sunrise. Maundy Thursday was not celebrated. Thursday, Friday, Saturday were revered as strict days. Everyone was at home, the village was quiet. The nights were dark and eerie. " We swam, washed, washed and washed everything. The pig was also slaughtered to the sun, its bacon was considered healing.
In the Kiev region, Podillia and the Left Bank, "Maundy Thursday" is Navskiy Velikday (Nav, other Russian - the deceased, the other world). According to old beliefs, God releases the souls of the dead from the "other world" three times a year: the first time on "Maundy Thursday", the second time - when the corn is in bloom (probably on Semik), and the third time - on Spas. Preserved mythological stories about the release of the dead on Holy Thursday in the North Russian and Ruthenian (among the Lemkos) materials [ ] [ ] .
On the Russian-Belarusian borderlands, in the east of Belarus and in the western Russian territories, large communal bonfires are burned on Holy Thursday.
Good Friday
They said about Friday in Holy Week: “whoever fasts this Friday, that person will be saved from enemies and robbers” [ ] .
Czechs and Slovaks tried to wash or bathe in the river water before dawn on Good Friday. It was believed that it would bring health. Housewives carried kitchen utensils and agricultural implements to the water, and they bathed cattle. They believed that on this day water turns into wine. On Holy ("white") Saturday, they sanctified water and sprinkled it on the house, outbuildings and courtyard in order to protect their property from evil forces.
Holy Saturday
In the west of Polesie, in Poland, Slovenia, the prohibition to sleep during the all-night vigil was motivated by the threat of crop failure: they believed that the owner, who fell asleep / lay on Easter night, would sprinkle rye, wheat and flax, the fields would be overgrown with weeds, etc.
Water treat
It was believed that the merman lies on the river bottom all winter and sleeps deeply. By the spring, he - pretty hungry for hibernation - wakes up, begins to break the ice and torments the fish to death: in spite of the fishermen. That is why they are trying to appease the angry river governor with a treat. After that, he becomes complaisant and accommodating and he himself begins to guard the fish, lure large fish from other rivers "for the prince's bread", rescues fishermen on the waters during storms and unravels them seines [ ] .
Sayings and signs
see also
Notes (edit)
- , with. 161.
- , with. 267.
- , with. 102.
- , with. 54.
- "Rusalna nezela, yih tra: great day, on Truitsa and on Christmas." –See: Tolstaya S. M. Polessky folk calendar - M .: Indrik, 2005 - P. 216.
- Kvetná nedeľa // Tradičná ľudová kultúra Slovenska
- , with. 230.
- , with. 163.
- , with. 603.
- , with. 209.
- , with. 257.
- , with. 88.
- Thursday candle // REM
- Wipe off the fire // REM
- Thursday bread // REM
- Thursday salt // REM
- Veres // REM
- V. G. Kholodnaya Thursday salt (unspecified) ... Russian Ethnographic Museum. Archived August 21, 2011.
- Footnote error: Invalid tag ; no text specified for aircraft footnotes
- , with. 621.
- , with. 604.
- , with. 231.
- , with. 51.
- Narodni obichaјi and faith
- A. Corinth believed that in the old days, Holy Week was dedicated to Perun, and bonfires were made in his honor., P. 213, 222.
- , with. 642.
- , with. 214-215.
- , with. 214-215.
- , with. 459.
- , with. 457.
Literature
- Bonfire / T.A. Agapkina // Slavic antiquities: Ethnolinguistic dictionary: in 5 volumes / under total. ed. N. I. Tolstoy; ... - M.: Int. relations, 2004. - T. 3: K (Circle) - P (Quail). - S. 620-6271. - ISBN 5-7133-1207-0.
- Agapkina T.A. Mythopoetic foundations of the Slavic folk calendar. Spring-summer cycle. - M.: Indrik, 2002 .-- 816 p. - (Traditional spiritual culture of the Slavs. Modern research).
- Easter /
: His suffering, death on the cross and burial (in Church Slavonic the word "passion" means "suffering"). All the days of Holy Week are called great.
This week is especially honored by the Church. “All days,” it says, “surpasses the Holy and Great Forty Day, but more than the Holy Forty Day is the Holy and Great Week (Passionate), and more than the Great Week itself, this Great and Holy Saturday. This week is called great not because its days or hours are greater than (others), but because in this week great and natural miracles and extraordinary deeds of our Savior took place ... ”.
Recalling in Divine services the events of the last days of the Savior's earthly life, the Saint with an attentive eye of love and reverence follows every step, listens attentively to every word coming to the free passion of Christ the Savior, gradually leads us in the footsteps of the Lord throughout His journey of the cross, from Bethany to the Execution Ground , from His royal entry into Jerusalem and until the last moment of His redemptive suffering for human sins on the cross, and further - until the bright triumph of Christ's Resurrection.
The first three days of this week are devoted to intensified preparation for the passion of Christ.
In accordance with the fact that Jesus Christ, before suffering, spent all the days in the temple, teaching the people, the Holy Church distinguishes these days with a particularly long service.
Trying to collect and focus the attention and thoughts of believers in general on the entire Gospel story of the incarnation of the God-man and His service to the human race, the Holy Church in the first three days of Holy Week reads the entire Four Gospel on the clock.
V Great wednesday the sinner wife is remembered, who washed with her tears and anointed the Savior's feet with precious ointment when He was at a supper in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, and thereby prepared Christ for burial. Here, Judas, with an 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 purchase a small plot of land even in the vicinity of Jerusalem).
On Great Wednesday, at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, following the prayer behind the ambo, the prayer of the monk is pronounced for the last time with three great bows.
On Thursday During Passion Week in the divine service, four most important events of the Gospel that took place on this day are remembered: the Last Supper, at which the Lord established the New Testament sacrament of Holy Communion (Eucharist), the Lord's washing of the feet of His disciples as a sign of deepest humility and love for them, the prayer of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and betrayal of Judas.
In remembrance of the events of this day, after the prayer outside the ambo at the Liturgy in cathedrals during the bishop's service, a touching ritual of washing the feet is performed, which revives in our memory the immense indulgence of the Savior, who washed the feet of His disciples before the Last Supper.
On this day, the Lord established the Sacrament of Communion, therefore all Orthodox Christians strive to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ at the Divine. Troparion of the day “When I am enlightened to the glory of a disciple at the supper, then Judas, the wicked love of money, became darkened, and betray the righteous Judge to the wicked judges of Thee. See, the estates to the zealot, who have used these for the sake of strangling: flee unfulfilled souls to the Teacher such who dared. Who is the Good about all, Lord, glory to Thee "
Great Heel Day is dedicated to the memory of the condemnation to death, the sufferings of the Cross and the death of the Savior. In the divine service of this day, the Church, as it were, places us at the foot of Christ and, before our reverent and quivering gaze, depicts the saving suffering of the Lord. At the Great Heel Matins (it is served on Thursday evening), the 12 Gospels of the Covenant of the Holy Passion are read.
There is no Liturgy on Great Friday, since on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself, and the Royal Hours are celebrated.
Vespers takes place at the third hour of the day (14.00), at the hour of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, in remembrance of the removal of the body of Christ from the cross and His burial. When singing the troparion: “Good-looking Joseph, from the tree we will take off Thy most pure body, wrapping it with a clean shroud, and covering it with a stench in a new tomb.(Translation: “The noble Joseph, having taken down Your most pure Body from the cross, wrapped it with a shroud and anointed with perfumes, put it in a new tomb”) ”The clergy raise the Shroud (ie the image of Christ lying in the tomb) from the Throne, as if from Golgotha, and they carry her out of the altar to the middle of the temple in the presentation of lamps and when censing with incense. The shroud relies on a specially prepared table (tomb). Then the priests and all the worshipers worship before the Shroud and kiss the ulcers of the Lord depicted on it: his perforated ribs, hands and feet. In the evening there is a second service with a procession of the cross.
The Shroud is located in the middle of the temple for three (incomplete) days, reminding by this of the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the tomb.
This is the day of strict fasting, when nothing can be eaten, at least until the removal of the Shroud. This is the strictest fasting day of the year.
On Holy Saturday(the service begins on Good Friday evening) 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 the victory over death and the deliverance of souls who had faithfully awaited His coming, and the introduction of the prudent robber c.
Liturgy is celebrated on Great Saturday, beginning with Vespers. After the small entrance with the Gospel (near the Shroud), 15 parimias are read before the Shroud, in which are collected the main prophecies and types relating to Jesus Christ, as the one who redeemed us from sin and death by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection. After the 6th parimia (about the miraculous passage of the Jews across the Red Sea), it is sung: "Gloriously be glorified." The reading of the parimias is concluded with the song of the three youths: "Sing to the Lord and exalt forever." Instead of the Trisagion, "Elitsy was baptized into Christ" is sung and the Apostle is read about the mysterious power of Baptism. This singing and reading serves as a reminder of the custom of the ancient Church to baptize the catechumens on Holy Saturday. After the reading of the Apostle, instead of "Alleluia", seven verses are sung, selected from the psalms containing prophecies about the Resurrection of the Lord: "Resurrect, God, judge the earth." During the chanting of these verses, the priests disguise themselves in light robes. Instead of the Cherubic song, the song "May all human flesh be silent" is sung. At twelve o'clock in the morning, the midnight office is celebrated, at which the canon of Great Saturday is sung. At the end of the midnight office, the clergy silently transfer the Shroud from the middle of the church to the altar of the Royal Doors and put it on the throne, where it remains until the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, in memory of the forty-day stay of Jesus Christ on earth after His resurrection from the dead.
After that, believers reverently await the approach of midnight, on which the bright Easter joy of the greatest Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ begins.
Easter joy is a holy joy that is not and cannot be equal on the whole earth. It is the endless eternal joy of eternal life and bliss. It is precisely that joy about which the Lord Himself said: “Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” ().
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. Рravmir has prepared a calendar for this Week.
- Click to view the image in full size. Print version A1 - download (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 midnight, / and blessed is the slave, he will find him vigilantly: / he is unworthy of the pack, he will find him despondently. / watch for 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 Valaam Monastery) download
(Female choir. Disc "Time of fasting and prayer") download
Thy chamber. Bortnyansky Download
- V Holy Week MondayI 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 winegrowers.
On the first three days of Passion Week, the last Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of this year is celebrated. If you have not had time to visit these services during the Forty-year period, try to fill this gap!
- Chants of Holy Week. Great monday
- Great Monday: Great days start (+ audio + video)
- Holy Fathers About Great Monday
V Great tuesday remember the Savior's parables about His Second Coming, about ten virgins and talents.
- Great Tuesday: The groom is coming in midnight (+ mp3 + video)
- Holy Fathers About Great Tuesday
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, the Bridegroom ...". Wednesday morning at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated for the last time and the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is recited... There will be no more earthly bows, except before the Shroud, until Pentecost.
- Chants of Holy Week. Great tuesday
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.
- Great Wednesday: Judas betrayed Christ today
- Great Wednesday chants
- Holy Fathers About Great Wednesday
- Great Wednesday: If you loved Him, why did you sell him like a fugitive slave?
Passion days
On Maundy Thursday, the Church commemorates the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper - 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 the "Twelve Gospels". 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.
- Maundy Thursday: The Last Supper of Christ
- Holy Fathers About the Great Four
- Service "Twelve Gospels" Good Thursday
- The same Last Supper
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.
- Easter cakes at the Sokolovs
- Royal Easter (raw)
- Easter cake
- Easter cakes: proven cake recipes
- One secret of the Easter table
- Easter cakes
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 ...
- Good Friday: Christ died on the cross
- Holy Fathers About the Great Heel
- Canon about the crucifixion of the Lord and the lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos, read at the Shroud
- Holy days on Mount Athos: Great 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 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 eat 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. "
- Great Saturday: the last day before Easter
- Holy Fathers About Holy Saturday
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.
- Consecrate and eat?
On Holy Saturday, it is supposed to read the Acts of the Apostles in churches all day, or at least the last hours before the 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.
Days of Holy Week
Divine service
Liturgical features of Passionate
- Nikolay Zavyalov.
- Hermogenes Shimansky.
- Priest Mikhail Zheltov.
Iconography
- . PHOTO GALLERY
Holy Week, or Holy Week, is the last week before Easter, dedicated to the memories of the last days of the Savior's earthly life, of His sufferings, crucifixion, death on the cross, and burial. This week is especially honored by the Church. “All days,” says the Synaxar, “surpass the Holy and Great Forty Day, but greater than the Holy Forty Day is the Holy and Great Week (Passionate), and more than the Great Week itself, this Great and Holy Saturday. This week is called the Great not because its days or hours are greater than (others), but because in this week great and natural miracles and extraordinary deeds of our Savior took place ... "
According to the testimony of St. John Chrysostom, the first Christians, burning with the desire to persistently be with the Lord in the last days of His life, intensified their prayers during Holy Week and intensified the ordinary deeds of fasting. They, imitating the Lord, who endured unparalleled sufferings solely out of love for fallen mankind, tried to be kind and condescending to the weaknesses of their brethren and to do more deeds of mercy, considering it indecent to pronounce condemnation in the days of our justification by the blood of the Immaculate Lamb, stopped all litigation and judgments these days. , disputes, punishments, and even freed for this time prisoners in dungeons who were not guilty of criminal offenses.
Every day of Holy Week is great and holy, and on each of them special services are performed in all churches. especially majestic, adorned with wisely placed prophetic, apostolic and evangelical readings, sublime, inspired chants and a whole series of deeply significant, reverent rites. Everything that in the Old Testament was only foreshadowed or said about the last days and hours of the earthly life of the God-man - all this the Holy Church brings together into one majestic image, which is gradually revealed to us in the Divine services of Passion Week. Recalling the events of the last days of the Savior's earthly life in the Divine Service, the Holy Church with an attentive eye of love and reverence follows every step, listens attentively to every word coming to the free passion of Christ the Savior, gradually leads us in the footsteps of the Lord throughout His journey of the cross, from Bethany to the Lobnoe places, from His royal entrance to Jerusalem and until the last moment of His redemptive sufferings on the cross, and further - until the bright triumph of Christ's Resurrection. The entire content of the services is aimed at bringing us closer to Christ by reading and chanting, making us able to spiritually contemplate the sacrament of redemption, for the remembrance of which we are preparing.
The first three days of this week are devoted to intensified preparation for the passion of Christ. In accordance with the fact that Jesus Christ, before suffering, spent all the days in the temple, teaching the people, the Holy Church distinguishes these days with a particularly long service. Trying to collect and focus the attention and thoughts of believers in general on the entire Gospel story of the incarnation of the God-man and His service to the human race, the Holy Church in the first three days of Holy Week reads the entire Four Gospel on the clock. The conversations of Jesus Christ after entering Jerusalem, addressed first to the disciples, then to the scribes and Pharisees, are developed and revealed in all the hymns of the first three days of Holy Week. Since in the first three days of Holy Week various significant events took place, which are closely related to the passion of Christ, then these events are reverently remembered by the Holy Church on the very days on which they took place. Thus, the Holy Church in these days relentlessly leads us after the Divine Teacher, with His disciples, now to the temple, now to the people, now to the publicans, now to the Pharisees and everywhere enlightens us with precisely the words that He Himself offered to His listeners during these days.
Preparing the faithful for the suffering of the Savior on the Cross, the Holy Church gives the Divine Service the first three days of Passion Week the character of sorrow and contrition over our sinfulness. On Wednesday evening, the Lenten service ends, the sounds of the weeping and lamentation of the sinful human soul are silenced in church hymns, and days of another weeping that permeates the entire Divine service comes - weeping from the contemplation of the terrible torments and sufferings of the Son of God Himself. At the same time, other feelings - indescribable joy for their salvation, boundless gratitude to the Divine Redeemer - overwhelm the soul of a believing Christian. Mourning the innocent suffering, reviled and crucified, shedding bitter tears under the cross of our Savior, we also experience inexpressible joy from the consciousness that the Savior crucified on the cross will resurrect with Himself and us who are perishing.
Attending Church services on Holy Week, representing all the events of the last days of the Savior as if taking place before us, we mentally go through the entire majestically touching and immensely edifying story of Christ's suffering, with our thought and our hearts "we merge with Him and be crucified with Him." The Holy Church calls us this week to leave everything vain and worldly and follow our Savior. The Church Fathers composed and arranged the Divine Services of the Holy Week in such a way that they reflect all the sufferings of Christ. The temple these days alternately represents the upper room of Zion and Gethsemane, then Calvary. The Divine Services of Passion Week were furnished by the Holy Church with a special external grandeur, lofty, inspired chants and a whole series of deeply significant rituals, which are performed only in this week. Therefore, whoever is constantly in these days at the service in the temple, he apparently follows the Lord, who is coming to suffer.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week are dedicated to the remembrance of the last conversations of the Savior with the disciples and the people. On each of these three days, the Gospel is read at all services, it is supposed to read all four Gospels. But whoever can, he must certainly read these passages from the Gospel at home both for himself and for others. An indication of what to read can be found on the Church calendar. When listening in church, because of the large amount of reading, much can escape attention, and home reading allows you to follow the Lord with all thoughts and feelings. With a careful reading of the Gospels, the sufferings of Christ, reviving, fill the soul with inexplicable tenderness ... Therefore, reading the Gospel, you involuntarily transfer yourself to the place of events in your mind, take part in what is happening, follow the Savior and suffer with Him. It also requires reverent meditation on His suffering. Without this reflection, the presence in the temple, and the hearing, and the reading of the Gospel will bear little fruit. But what does it mean to meditate on the sufferings of Christ, and how to meditate? First of all, imagine in your mind the suffering of the Savior as vividly as possible, at least in the main features, for example: how He was betrayed, judged and condemned; how He carried the cross and was taken up to the cross; how he cried out to the Father in Gethsemane and on Golgotha and gave Him his spirit: how he was taken down from the cross and buried ... Then ask yourself why and for what He endured so much suffering, Who had no sin, and Who, like the Son of God , could always be in glory and bliss. And also ask yourself: what is required of me so that the death of the Savior does not remain fruitless for me; what must I do to truly participate in the salvation obtained at Calvary for the whole world? The Church teaches that this requires the assimilation of the mind and heart of the whole teaching of Christ, the fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord, repentance and imitation of Christ in a good life. After that, the conscience itself will already give an answer whether you are doing this ... Such reflection (and who is not capable of it?) Surprisingly quickly brings the sinner closer to his Savior, closely and forever connects him with the cross with the cross, strongly and vividly introduces him into participation what happens at Calvary.
The path of Passion Week is the path of fasting, confession and communion, in other words, retreat, for the worthy communion of the Holy Mysteries on these great days. And how can you not fast in these days, when the bridegroom of souls is taken away (Matthew 9:15), when He Himself hungers for the barren fig tree, thirsts for the cross? Where else can one lay down the burden of sins through confession, if not at the foot of the cross? At what time is it better to partake of the Chalice of Life if not in the coming days, when it is given to us, one might say, from the hands of the Lord Himself? Truly, whoever, having the opportunity to begin the Holy Meal these days, avoids it, he avoids the Lord, flees from his Savior. The path of Holy Week is to provide, in His name, help to the poor, sick and suffering. This path may seem distant and indirect, but in reality it is extremely close, convenient and direct. Our Savior is so loving that everything we do in His name for the poor, the sick, the homeless and the suffering He assimilates personally to Himself. At His Last Judgment, He will require from us especially deeds of mercy towards our neighbors, and on them he will affirm our justification or condemnation. Keeping this in mind, never neglect the precious opportunity to ease the suffering of the Lord in His lesser brethren, and especially take advantage of it in the days of Passion Week - by dressing, for example, a needy one, you will act like Joseph, who gave the shroud. This is the main thing and accessible to everyone, with which an Orthodox Christian in Passion Week can follow the Lord coming to suffering.
