All the movable days of worship are connected with the greatest
Christian feast, Easter, “the Day of the Pascha.” Some of them are a
preparation for the worthy celebration of this feast,
others continue the festivities, making us sensible of its fruits.
The preparation for the
feast consists of two fasts, that of Great Lent, beginning on the Monday of the
first week and ending with the Friday of the sixth, and the fast of the Holy
Week. These two fasts are united by two days of which one; Saturday, is sacred
to the memory of the Resurrection of Lazarus, and the other, Sunday, to that of
Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. Both fasts together are called “the Great Fast,” or “Lent.” Over
and above these weeks, three weeks are set apart as a preparation for Lent.
Thus the whole time of preparation for the Paschal Feast comprises ten weeks.
The Paschal Feast lasts
seven days. But the festivities do not end with these. The hymns in honor of
the Resurrection are sung up to the day of the Ascension; then for two more
Sundays, the Church speaks of the fruits which the Resurrection bore for our
good; one is sacred to the memory of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the
Apostles, and the other commemorates all the Saints who have obtained the
Kingdom of Heaven through faith in the Lord crucified and risen from the dead.
Lent is a time of
penance, and as penance requires a sense of one’s unworthiness, hope in the
mercy of the Lord, fear of judgment, and a readiness to forgive others, all
these feelings must be aroused in us before the beginning of Lent.
Three weeks before
Lent, on Sunday, the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee is read, and in
the Matins hymns the meaning of it is explained, which is a lesson of humility.
This Sunday is called, “the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee,” and from it
until the Sunday of the fifth week of Lent, after the hymn “Having beheld the
Resurrection of Christ...” penitential troparia are sung, inculcating
humility. Besides this, that we may be taught still more clearly not to take
pride in and boast of fulfilling the law, as the Pharisee of the parable
boasted of keeping the fasts, the fast of the Wednesday and Friday is remitted
for the following week.
Penitential Troparia:— “The doors of repentance do Thou open to me, O Giver of
life, for my spirit waketh at dawn toward Thy holy temple, bearing a temple of
the body all defiled. But in Thy compassion, cleanse it by the loving-kindness
of Thy mercy.” — “Guide me in the paths of salvation, O Theotokos, for I have
defiled my soul with shameful sins, and have wasted all my life
in slothfulness, but by thine intercessions deliver me from all uncleanness.”
— “When I think of the multitude of evil things I have done, I, a wretched one,
I tremble at the fearful day of judgment; but trusting in the mercy of Thy
loving-kindness, like David do I cry unto Thee: Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Thy great mercy.”
On the following
Sunday, during the Liturgy, the parable of the Prodigal Son is read, which
teaches us, having repented of our sins, not to despair of our salvation, but
to trust in the mercy of the Lord, our Heavenly Father. This Sunday is called
the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. The essence of the hymns of the day is
expressed in the Psalm: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we
sat down and we wept when we remembered Sion.” This Psalm is sung at Matins
after the Polyeleos Psalms.
On the Sunday following
that of the Prodigal Son, the lesson from the Gospel is that on the Day of Judgment, that we, in trusting to God’s mercy, may not
forget His justice and may not lapse into carelessness. This Sunday is called,
“the Sunday of Meat Fare,” because with it ends the eating of meat. On the day
before — Saturday — the Church commemorates, i.e., prays for, all our deceased
forefathers, fathers and brethren, for whom the time of repentance is past, and
who can obtain the mercy of God only through the prayers of the living. The
Matins service on this Saturday consists mostly of prayers for the rest of their
souls.
This Sunday is followed
by the “Cheesefare Week,” which is the vestibule to Lent. It has received this
name, because, all through it the use of butter, cheese, and eggs is allowed.
In all the hymns of this week the Fall of Adam is referred to and it is shown
that it was caused by intemperance. On Wednesday and Friday of this week there
is no Liturgy, but only a Lenten service. The last day of the week, Sunday, is
called, “the Sunday of Cheese- Fare,” because with it ends the eating of
butter, cheese and eggs. The Gospel lesson, at the Liturgy of the day, commands
us to forgive one another’s sins. This is why Christians on this day ask one
another’s forgiveness for mutual offenses, and make efforts to become mutually
reconciled. Hence the day is called “Forgiveness Sunday.”
The general feature of
Lenten services is their increased duration with lessened splendor; in
particular a limited number of joyful and triumphal hymns, subdued light, less
frequent drawing away of the curtain and opening of the Royal Gates. Most of
the services are performed with the Royal Gates closed and consist of the
reading of Psalms and penitential prayers, with frequent prostrations. At every
service the penitential prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is recited with prostrations:
“O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and
idle talking give me not. But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness,
patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant. Yea, O Lord King, grant me to
see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages
of ages. Amen.” At Matins, every day except Saturday and Sunday, “Alleluia” is
sung instead of “God is the Lord and hath appeared unto us.”
The Liturgy being a joyful,
triumphal service, it is celebrated during Lent only on Saturdays and Sundays;
on the other days only the Typica service is performed. Yet, in order
that Christians may not be deprived for long of the privilege of partaking of
the Sacrament of the Eucharist, it is permitted to give communion on certain
days at Vespers, using Presanctified Gifts. Such a Vespers service at which the
faithful may receive communion is called, “the Liturgy of the Presanctified,”
also the Liturgy of Gregory the Great, because the ritual of it was written
down by the Roman Pope, Saint Gregory the Great.
There is a special
combination of services prescribed for Lent. The evening service consists of
Compline; the morning service of Matins and the First Hour; the noon
service of the Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours, of the Typica, and of
Vespers, combined on certain days with the Liturgy of the Presanctified.
The peculiarity of the
offices of the Hours in Lent, consists in this, that at every Hour: 1) After
the Three Psalms the kathisma is read; 2) in the place of the troparia
for the day, special troparia are read, indicating the events commemorated
in the service for the given Hour; 3) before the concluding prayer of the Hour,
the penitential prayer of St. Ephraim is recited, with prostrations. At the
Sixth Hour, over and above all the above mentioned, a paremia is read.
Troparion of the First Hour: “In the morning, hearken unto my voice, O my
King and my God.” — Of the Third Hour: — “O Lord, Who didst send down Thy
Most-Holy Spirit at the third hour upon Thine apostles: take Him not from us, O
Good One, but renew Him in us who pray unto Thee.” — Of the Sixth Hour: — “O
Thou Who on the sixth day and in the sixth hour didst nail to the Cross Adam’s
daring sin in Paradise, tear asunder also the handwriting of our sins, O Christ
God, and save us.” — Of the Ninth Hour: — “O Thou Who at the ninth hour for our
sake didst taste of death in the flesh, mortify our carnal mind, O Christ God,
and save us.”
The Liturgy of the
Presanctified is celebrated on those days of Lent when the contrition proper to
the season does not allow of the triumphal gladness conveyed by the full
Liturgy, yet the memories of the day demand the comfort of the Communion
Sacrament. Such days are the Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent, the first three
days of Holy Week, and all the days on which falls the feast of some Saint, in
whose honor the Polyeleos is prescribed. At this Liturgy the gifts are
not consecrated, but the faithful who receive communion partake of the Gifts
which have been consecrated at the preceding Liturgy of Basil the Great or of
John Chrysostom, and preserved in an ark on the altar. Therefore, the Liturgy
of the Presanctified consists only in the bringing out of the Holy Gifts, the
preparation for communion, the act of communion, and the thanksgiving for
communion. This service is combined with that of Vespers; only, as catechumens
may be present at Vespers, but only the faithful may witness the Liturgy,
therefore, at the end of the Vespers service, before the Holy Gifts are
transferred to the altar, the catechumens are bidden to depart.
Until the Vespers
entry, the service proceeds as usual, with the only difference that it begins
with the benediction of the Kingdom of the Holy Trinity, as when the complete
Liturgy is celebrated: “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.” The initiatory exclamation of the priest is followed
by the introductory Psalm, the Great Ectenia, the kathisma,
divided into three sections or Antiphons by the Small Ectenia, recited
twice, — the Psalm, “Lord, I have cried,” with sticheræ, and the
hymn, “O Gentle Light.” Before this latter hymn is sung, the Royal Gates are
opened and the priest enters with the censer, or — if it be a day on which a
reading from the Gospels is appointed — with the Gospel. After the entry the prokimenon
is sung, the Royal Gates are closed, and two paremiæ for the day
are read; on feast-days the paremia of the feast is added. After the
first paremia the Royal Gates are again opened and the prokimenon
of the first paremia is sung. Then the priest takes in his hands a
censer and a lighted candle, exclaims: “Wisdom! Aright!” to arouse the
attention of the worshippers, and makes the sign of the Cross over them with
the censer and the candle, with the words: “the Light of Christ shineth upon
all,” in token that the Old Testament Saints, whose words are read in the paremiæ,
were also illumined by the same light as the New Testament man, that they lived
and were saved by faith in the coming Christ as we are saved by faith in Christ
come. At this moment the faithful worship Christ, the light of Truth, with a
prostration. This ceremony is a survival of the ancient custom of making the
sign of the Cross with a candle during Lent over the catechumens who were
preparing for baptism before Easter; it was done in anticipation of the illumination
which the catechumens were to receive through this Sacrament. After the
ceremony, the Royal Gates are closed once more, and the second paremia
is read.
After the paremiæ,
in order to arouse more strongly the feeling of penitence, the worshippers
listen prostrate to the Verses of the Psalm which were sung before the introit,
and which now are sung again with deep contrition: “Let my prayer be set forth
as incense before Thee; the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. —
Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me; attend unto the voice of my
supplication, when I cry unto Thee. — Set O Lord, a watch before my mouth, and
a door of enclosure round about my lips. — Incline not my heart to words of
evil, to make excuse with excuses in sins. — Then the worshippers express their
repentance by repeating the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, with three
prostrations. Here follow readings from the Gospel and the Apostle, if such are
prescribed; if they are not, the Triple Ectenia is recited. The general
prayers of the Vespers service end with the Ectenia for the catechumens
and with the latter departing from the church. The faithful remain, and the
special prayers of the Liturgy begin.
The Liturgy begins with
two Small Ecteniæ, each ending with the exclamation, “Wisdom!”
after which the Cherubic Hymn is sung during the transfer of the Holy Gifts:
“Now the hosts of Heaven minister with us invisibly; for behold the King of
Glory entereth. Behold, the finished Mystical Sacrifice is being escorted in
[literally, upborne on lances]. With faith and love let us draw nigh, that we
may become partakers of Life everlasting. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.” At the
words, “borne on high” the singing is suspended; the priest enters through the
northern door, bearing on his head the paten, on which repose the
Pre-sanctified Gifts, and in his hand the chalice with the wine, and enters the
Sanctuary through the Royal Gates, without speaking. The faithful worship with
a prostration Christ, Who passed before them in the Sacrament. After the priest
has entered the Sanctuary, the Royal Gates are closed, the curtain is drawn shut,
and the choir takes up and ends the Cherubic Hymn.
After the transfer of
the Holy Gifts the faithful prepare for communion; the Triple Ectenia is
recited, the Lord’s Prayer is chanted, the priest offers “Peace be unto all,”
proclaims “The Presanctified Holy Things are for the holy.” to which the
faithful respond by singing, “One is holy, One is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the
glory of God the Father, Amen.” then the Communion Hymn is sung: “O taste and
see that the Lord is good. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”
The communion of the
celebrants and the laymen, the giving of thanks, and
the dismissal take place as usual. Only, instead of “Blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord,” the choir sing the hymn: “I
will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
The heavenly Bread, and the Cup of Life; O taste and
see that the Lord is good. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”; and when the priest
descends from the ambo, he reads a prayer in which he asks that the Lord may
“Grant us also... to fight the good fight; to finish the course of the Fast; to
preserve inviolate the Faith; to crush under foot the heads of invisible
serpents; to be accounted victors over sin; and uncondemned to attain unto and
worship the holy Resurrection.”
Special Features of the Services In Each Week of Great Lent.
Each of the successive
weeks of Great Lent presents some special feature in the services. At Great
Compline, the first four days of the first week, the penitential canon composed
by St. Andrew of Crete is read. The troparia of this canon call our attention to
the virtues and transgressions of the men who are spoken of in Holy Scripture,
and urge us to imitate the former and shun the example of the latter. The
burden of the canon is the prayer, “Have mercy on me, God, have
mercy on me.” On the Wednesday and Thursday, to this canon is added that to St.
Mary of Egypt, who was at first a great sinner, then a great penitent and
ascetic. This latter was also composed by St. Andrew of Crete, and teaches us not
to despair of our salvation, but to labor at our self-improvement, while
trusting in the help of God. This Compline office is also called Ephymnion
— a Greek word which means, “the burden or refrain of
a song.”
On the Saturday of the
first week there is a celebration in honor of St. Theodore Tyro, Martyr. It
begins already on Friday at Vespers, when, after the Liturgy of the
Pre-sanctified, a prayer is said for the blessing of the wheat food (Kólivo,
Kutyá — boiled wheat with honey). This celebration commemorates
the following occasion. The Greek Emperor Julian, apostate from the faith,
wishing to pollute the Christians by the use of food forbidden by the Church,
secretly ordered that every article of food placed for sale on the markets in
the first week of Lent should be sprinkled with the blood of animals sacrificed
to the idols. But St. Theodore appeared to the bishop of the city in a vision,
made known to him Julian’s secret order, and advised that the Christians should
buy no eatables in the markets during the whole week, but live on boiled wheat
with honey.
On the first Sunday of
Great Lent the “Triumph of Orthodoxy” is celebrated, in memory of the
restoration of the veneration of holy icons under the Empress Theodora (862 a.d.). The special feature of the day’s
service consists in this, that, in Cathedral churches, before the Liturgy and
after the Hours, or just before the end of the Liturgy, the celebrants come
into the middle of the church, bearing icons of the Saviour and of the Mother
of God, and having placed them on lecterns, perform before them a special
service with singing, consisting chiefly in petitions that the Lord may
establish Christians in the true belief and incline apostates and heretics to
return to the right path. At the end of the service, the deacon, in a loud
voice, recites the Creed, to impress on Orthodox Christians the doctrine which
they are to hold; after which he enumerates all the false doctrines, pronounces
anathema against all those who receive them, — i.e., separation from the Church
or exclusion from the community of Orthodox Christians — and “eternal memory”
for the defenders of the faith. The service concludes with the proclamation of
length of days” to Orthodox Patriarchs, to the clergy, and to all Orthodox
Christians, and with the petition that the Lord may keep them firm in the true
faith, and convert and bring to the knowledge of eternal truth the traducers
and blasphemers of the Orthodox Faith and Church and those who rebel against
them. Then the hymn, “We praise Thee, O God,” is sung, during which the
worshippers express their reverence for icons by veneration and kisses.
On the third Sunday of
Lent, at Matins, after the Great Doxology, the Cross is brought out into the
middle of the church as on the day of the Exaltation, for veneration, to the
singing of the hymn, “Before Thy Cross we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection
we glorify.” The Cross remains in the church all through the week, but the
veneration takes place only on Monday and Wednesday, at the office of the First
Hour, and on Friday after the service of the Hours, when the Cross is taken
back into the Sanctuary. From this ceremony the third Sunday and the week
following after it (fourth of Lent), have the name of “Week of the Veneration
of the Cross.”
On Thursday of the
fifth week (following on the fourth Sunday), at Matins, the entire penitential
canon of Andreas of Crete is read together with the canon in honor of St. Mary
of Egypt. On this day the Liturgy of the Presanctified is celebrated.
On Saturday of the fifth week, at Matins, an Akathist in
honor of the Virgin is read, in remembrance of the deliverance, on this day, of
Constantinople from the invading Persians and Avars in the seventh
century through the intercession of the Virgin, whose icon was carried around
the walls of the city.
These two days are the
preliminary to the fast of Holy Week. The Saturday commemorates the raising of
Lazarus from the dead, and is called, “the Resurrection of Lazarus.”
Because this event
manifested the divine might of Christ, and prepared His solemn entrance into
Jerusalem, and, on the other hand, gave the assurance that all the dead should
rise, therefore, at Matins are sung the Sunday troparia “The assembly of
angels was amazed,” and the hymn “Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ,”
while the prayers for the souls of the dead, usually sung on Saturdays, are
omitted.
The Sunday following on
this Saturday commemorates the solemn entry of Christ into Jerusalem, and is
one of the Twelve Feasts.
At Matins, after the
reading from the Gospels, the consecration of the palms takes place; (in our
country budding willow branches are substituted for the palm branches). All
through the singing of the canon the worshippers hold in their hands these
branches and lighted candles. From this ceremony the day has the name of Palm
Sunday.
The essence of the
hymns of this day and the meaning of the ceremony of consecrating the palms are
expressed in the troparion of the feast: “In confirming the common
Resurrection, O Christ God, Thou didst raise up Lazarus from the dead before
Thy Passion. Wherefore, we also, like the children bearing the symbols of
victory, cry to Thee, the Vanquisher of death: Hosanna in the highest; blessed
is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
The Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday of Passion (Holy) Week commemorate the last communings of Jesus with
the people and His disciples. These communings make up the substance of nearly
all the hymns of these days.* At Matins after the Alleluia, instead of “God
is the Lord” is sung the troparion: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh at midnight, and blessed is that servant whom He shall find watching; but
unworthy is he whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, lest
thou be weighed down with sleep; lest thou be given up to death, and be shut
out from the kingdom. But rouse thyself and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, O
God; through the Theotokos, have mercy on us.” After the
canon is sung the hymn: “Thy bridal chamber do I see, O my Saviour, adorned,
and no wedding garment have I that I may enter there. Illumine the robe
of my soul, O Light-giver, and save me.” On these three days the Liturgy of the
Presanctified is celebrated, with readings from the Gospel. The Gospel is read
also at Matins. And besides all this, in order to bring before us more vividly
and fully the entire life of Christ, the Church prescribes to read all the four
Gospels through on these days, at the Offices of the Hours. From the importance
of the events commemorated, all the days of the Passion Week are called “holy”
and “great.”
The service of Holy
Thursday commemorates the washing of the disciples’ feet, the Mystical Supper,
Christ’s praying in the garden of Gethsemane, and His betrayal by Judas. The special features of the day are the
following: A paremia is read at the First Hour; the Liturgy of Basil the
Great is celebrated in combination with Vespers; at the Liturgy, instead of the
Cherubic Hymn, the Communion Prayer, the verse during the act of communion, and
the hymn, “Let our mouth be filled with praise,” the choir sings: “Receive me
this day, O Son of God, as a partaker of Thy Mystical Supper.”
In Cathedral churches,
after the prayer which the priest descends from the ambo to recite, the
ceremony of the washing of the feet is performed. The bishop comes forth and
steps on an ambo placed in the middle of the church (the robing platform);
there he takes his seat in an armchair before a lectern on which lies a Gospel.
Then the deacon leads forth from the Sanctuary twelve priests, two by two, and
they take seats on both sides of the bishop in two rows, from the platform to
the Royal Gates. During this time the choir sings sticheræ in
which the washing of the disciples’ feet by the Lord at the Last Supper is
referred to. When all the twelve priests, representing the disciples at the
Supper, are in their places, the deacon recites the Great Ectenia,
adding a petition that, “it [i.e., the washing] will be for the washing away of
the defilement of our sins, let us pray to the Lord.” During the recital of the
ectenia, the bishop and the priests remain seated; when it is concluded
the bishop alone rises, offers up a prayer, that “the Lord may deign to let the
contact of this water wash us of all spiritual impurity and to preserve us from
the spiritual serpent, which striveth to bite our heel,” and sits down again.
Then, all the celebrants remaining seated, begins the reading of the Gospel,
telling how Christ, at the Mystical Supper, washed His disciples’ feet. As the
deacon utters the words “He riseth from supper,” the bishop rises; at the words
“and laid aside His garments,” he lays aside his episcopal vestments: the panagia,
the pectoral Cross, the omophorion, the thigh-shield and the saccos. During the disrobing the deacon keeps
repeating the words “and laid aside His garments.” The deacon reads on: “and
took a towel and girded Himself”; the bishop then girds himself with a towel.
The deacon reads, “After that He poureth water into a basin” and the bishop
pours water from an ewer into a basin. When the deacon
reads “and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel
wherewith He was girded,” the bishop washes the feet of the twelve priests,
beginning with him who sits first on the left hand side and ending with him who
sits first on the right hand side.
The order of the
washing is as follows: the bishop pours water thrice from his hand on each
priest’s foot, wipes it with the towel and kisses the priest’s hand; and he
whose foot has been washed, kisses the bishop’s miter and hand. While the feet
of eleven of the priests are washed, the deacon keeps repeating the words “and
began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He
was girded.” As the deacon reads, “Then cometh He to Simon Peter: and Peter
said unto him,” the bishop approaches the priest who sits first on the right
hand side; the priest rises from his seat and says in the words of the Gospel:
“Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?” The bishop replies, also in the words of the
Gospel; “What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.” The
priest continues to speak in the words of the Gospel: “Thou shalt never wash,
my feet.” The bishop replies: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”
Then the priest says “Lord, not my feet only, but my hands and my head,”
pointing to his hands and head, and resumes his seat. The bishop replies in the
words of the Gospel: “He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet, but is
clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all” — and washes the priest’s
foot, after which he returns to his place on the platform and takes off the
towel, and the deacon reads the end of the Gospel: “For He knew who should
betray Him; therefore said He ‘Ye are not all clean.’” The choir now sings
“Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee”; then the deacon again invites those
present to listen attentively to the Gospel, and continues reading: “After He
had washed their feet, and had taken His garments.” The words “and had taken
His garments” are repeated many times, while the bishop resumes his vestments.
As the deacon reads the
words, “and was set down again,” the bishop sits down and all the priests rise
to their feet. Then the bishop himself reads the end of the Gospel: “I have
given you an example, that ye should do as I have done
to you.” The bishop then rises, and offers a prayer, that “the Lord, may wash away all impurity from our souls, and that
we, having washed away the dust of, transgressions that did cling to our souls,
may “wipe one another with the towel of love and gain the strength to please
God.” Then the bishop enters the Sanctuary and goes on with the Liturgy. At the
Church of the Dormition in Moscow and in the Lavra of the Caves at Kiev
(Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra) there takes place on Holy Thursday the
consecration of the myrrh or chrism which is used in all the churches in Russia
for the Sacraments of Confirmation, at the consecration of churches and Antiminses,
and at the coronation of a Tsar. The preparation of the ingredients begins from
the week of the Veneration of the Cross. The ingredients are: olive oil, wine,
sweet-smelling oils, various kinds of incense and herbs (thirty in all). The
oil is emblematic of mercy, the wine of Christ’s Blood,
the perfumes symbolize the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit. From Monday of
the Holy Week, the mixture of oil and wine simmers in kettles to the continuous
reading of the Gospels. On Wednesday the aromatic ingredients are added and the
myrrh is poured out of the kettles into vessels. On Thursday, before the
Liturgy, the bishop and priests, in full canonicals, transfer the vessels
containing the new myrrh and a vessel containing last year’s myrrh to the
church, and place them on and around the Table of Oblations. At the great procession
with the Holy Gifts, the vessels with the myrrh are also transferred from the
Table of Oblations to the altar. The vessel with last year’s myrrh is placed
upon the altar; the vessels with the new myrrh are disposed around it.
After the exclamation
“And may the mercies of the Lord, our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, be with
you all!” the consecration of the myrrh takes place. The bishop blesses each
vessel thrice with the words “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit,” then prays that the Lord “may send down upon the myrrh the
grace of the Holy Spirit, and make it a spiritual anointment, a repository of
life, a sanctification of bodies and souls, an oil of gladness.” After the Ectenia
of Supplication and commemoration of all the Saints, the myrrh is taken into
the repository of sacred vessels. There, into each vessel of new myrrh are
poured a few drops of the old myrrh, and the vessel which holds the latter is
replenished with new myrrh. This is done, in token of the uninterrupted
connection of the Russian Church with the Greek, from which she received the
grace of priesthood in the person of her first bishop and also received the
first consecrated myrrh.
The services on Holy
Friday commemorate the Passion of Christ. Matins begin at the second hour of
night (eight p.m. on Thursday, as we count time). There is no kathisma,
but after the Great Ectenia and the “Alleluia,” the twelve Gospels are
read which narrate the Passion of Christ, beginning with His last discourse
with His disciples at the Last Supper, and ending with His entombing in the garden of Joseph of Arimathæa.
Between the readings hymns are sung, in which Judas’ treason and the Jews’
malice are denounced, then the Triodion and sticheræ. The
service ends with the ectenia. During the reading of the Gospels, the
faithful stand with lighted candles in their hands. This service is called “the
succession of the holy and saving passions of Our Lord Jesus Christ” —
familiarly “the Passions.” There is no Liturgy on Holy Friday. The Royal Hours
are read, in which the Psalms, the troparia, the paremiæ,
the Epistles, and Gospels all have reference to Christ’s Passion. Vespers begin
at the tenth hour of day, (three p.m). At this service,
after the introit, are read three paremiæ,
and lessons from an Epistle and a Gospel. (The Gospel reading is composed of
the narratives of the three Evangelists — Matthew, Luke and John, of the
Passion of Christ, from the conference of the Jews to the Saviour’s death).
After the sticheræ the Epitaphion (Plaschanítsa)
is brought out of the Sanctuary and placed in the middle of the church. This is
a painting, generally on canvas, (or an embroidery or tapestry) representing
Christ entombed, in memory of the taking down from the Cross of the body of
Christ. This ceremony takes place to the singing of the troparion “The noble
Joseph, having taken Thy most pure Body down from the Tree and wrapped It in pure linen and covered It with spices, laid It in a
new tomb.” The canvas is laid out on a table, and all present
adore it and kiss the wounds of Christ, in the side, the hands and the
feet. If the feast of the Annunciation happens on this day, Vespers take place
earlier, combined with the Liturgy of John Chrysostom, and the Epitaphion
is brought out at Small Compline.
On Holy Saturday, after
“God is the Lord” and the troparia, the 118th Psalm (the 17th kathisma)
is Sung: “Blessed are the blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the
Lord,” verse by verse. The verses of the Psalm are divided by refrains which
are called praises because they contain a glorification of the dead and
entombed Lord. All present during this time hold lighted candles in their
hands. The Psalm is followed by the Sunday troparia and canon. During
the canon the celebrants don the full, sacerdotal vestments, and after the
Great Doxology take up the Epitaphion to the singing of the funeral Trisagion,
and carry it in procession either outside around the church, or inside around
the Sanctuary and church, in memory of the entombing of the Lord. When it is
restored to its place in the middle of the church the ecteniæ are
recited the paremiæ are read, as well as the Epistle and Gospel,
then follows the veneration before the Epitaphion.
The Liturgy is
celebrated on this day after the rite of Basil the Great, and is combined with
Vespers. As the latter service has reference to the next day — Sunday, the
hymns commemorating the entombing of Christ alternate during the Liturgy with those
belonging to the Sunday service. After the evening entry, which on this day
takes place with the Gospel, fifteen paremiæ are read containing
prophecies and prototypes of salvation through the passion and resurrection of
Christ. The lesson from the Apostle tells us that through Baptism we are
entombed together with Christ. Before the Gospel lesson, the choir, instead of
“Alleluia” sings the prokimenon “Arise, O God, judge the earth, for Thou
shalt have an inheritance among all the nations.” While this prokimenon
is sung the celebrants change their vestments and the decorations of the church
are changed. The Gospel reading tells of Christ rising from the dead. Instead
of “It is meet,” the eirmos of the 9th ode of the Matins canon is sung,
and instead of the Cherubic Hymn, the hymn: “Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and stand with fear and trembling; and let it take no thought for any earthly
thing. For the King of kings and Lord of lords draweth nigh to be sacrificed
and given as food to the faithful. Before Him go the choirs of angels with all
the principalities and powers, the many-eyed cherubim and the six-winged
seraphim, covering their faces and crying aloud the hymn: Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia.”
The Liturgy ends with
the blessing of bread, wine and oil, for the restoration of the worshippers’
strength, for, according to ancient custom, they should spend this entire day
and the night following in the church. After the service begins the reading of
the Acts of the Apostles and continues until 10 p.m.
During the hour before midnight, all lampadas and candelabra being lit, to the toll of the
bells, the midnight service begins, during which the canon for Holy Saturday is sung.
When this service is concluded, the celebrants silently transport the Epitaphion
from the middle of the church, through the Royal Gates into the Sanctuary, and
there lay it upon the altar, where it remains until the end of the Paschal
festival, in memory of Christ’s forty days’ sojourn on earth after His
resurrection from the dead. Then all reverently await the stroke of midnight.