As Great Lent ends, Great & Holy Week begins. It’s hard to overstate the importance of this week. Many Orthodox Christians throughout the world take off from work or school in order to devote themselves to the intensified fasting and schedule of services. The Church’s rubrics are turned on their head: you’ll notice morning services (matins) are held at night, and evening services (vespers) in the morning. Our sense of time is disrupted, as we enter in to the mystery of Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. If we have misgivings about our Lenten effort, this week gives us a chance to make amends and prepare ourselves fully for what, to me, is the most important part of the year, by far: the incredible journey to Pascha.
Lazarus Saturday
This Great Feast begins our journey to Pascha with the raising of Lazarus, a prefigurement of the Resurrection of Christ. We begin Great and Holy Week, where we experience Our Lord’s confrontation with sin and death, with an experience of joy and victory over death
Palm Sunday
Having revealed the triumphant power of His Life over the earthly death of Lazarus, Jesus enters Jerusalem as a King. But the “triumph” is not of this world, and points to the ultimate humiliation of worldly power: Jesus enters the city in a lowly way, riding on the foal of an ass.
Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, & Holy Wednesday
These days of the Bridegroom are filled with the anticipation of a wedding feast, and the arrival of the Bridegroom, the time of which is unknown. Like the disciples at the Garden of Gethsemani, we are urged to remain faithful, watch and pray. The theme of Joseph (the son of Jacob) and his mastery over the passions is announced.
Great & Holy Thursday
The celebration of the Mystical Supper (on Thursday morning) is preceded by the sacrament of Holy Unction (on Wednesday evening), which reveals the richness of God’s mercy. We are anointed so that we can truly draw near and commune at the table of Our Lord’s death and resurrection, at the Liturgy of the Mystical Supper, which focuses on the theme of Christ’s last supper with his disciples, institutng the Eucharist.
Great & Holy Friday
Our Lord is handed over to suffering and death and we contemplate this in the language of the twelve readings from the Holy Gospels (on Thursday evening) which chronicle the entire story of Christ’s betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and death. On Friday afternoon, as we bring the winding sheet (epitaphion, or plaschanitsa) out from the altar, we focus on the imagery of His sacrifice, and grieve with His mother and disciples.
Great & Holy Saturday
We are struck with profound lamentation when we behold Christ in the tomb. His rest is the Great Sabbath, when all mortal flesh keeps silence: what can be said in the face of God’s embrace of death and descent into Hell? Yet with melody, light and color we hear the first announcement of the Holy Resurrection, as sin and death are vanquished before the face of the Living God. These two services are extremely moving and unique; they are really not to be missed.
On Friday evening, we gather near Christ’s body and lift it up in a funeral procession, singing lamentations. The dramatic reading of Ezekiel’s prophecy of the ‘dry bones’ and the first exclamation ‘Let God arise!’ give the first sign of hope amidst the sadness.
This anticipation blossoms the next morning at the Liturgy of Holy Saturday (on Saturday morning). Readings from throughout the Old Testament foreshadow the coming of Christ. As we focus on the ‘life-giving sleep’ of our buried God, the Liturgy is not celebrated in the altar, but rather in the middle of the church, upon the tomb of Christ. At the exclamation “Arise, O God, and judge the earth!” the church’s dark appointments are changed to the radiant white of Pascha. After the service, we share a solemn meal of bread and wine inside the church, gathered around the tomb, quietly awaiting the Resurrection.
Holy Pascha – The Feast of Feasts!
At the verse, “For I shall arise…” the Winding Sheet is returned to the Holy Altar and the mystery of Our Lord’s passage from death to life begins to unfold before us. The triumphal announcement of the Resurrection follows our procession around the Church, a symbol of Our Lord’s three days in the tomb. Our celebration is completed in true communion with the Risen Lord at His Mystical Table, and is followed by the blessing of the Paschal foods, and the joy of Bright Week. Everyone is expected and encouraged to join in the midnight service.
We look forward to seeing you and praying with you this year!
