Movable Feasts and Fasts

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.

The Weeks of Preparation for Lent.

        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.”

Peculiarities of Lenten Services.

        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 Lenten Hours.

        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.

        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.

The Palm Sunday.

        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 Passion Week.

        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 Holy Thursday.

        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 Holy Friday.

        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.

The Holy Saturday.

        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.