Holy Week in the Orthodox Church
Holy Week and Pascha in the Orthodox Church
Holy Week: The meaning of each day
Let’s explore the meaning of each of the solemn days of Passion Week.
Homily on Great and Holy Friday by Metropolitan Avgoustinos Kantiotis
It is Holy Friday today, my beloved and brethren fellow-sinners, a holy day full of memories, a day which calls forth strong emotions and tears.
A Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week
The Beginning of the Cross: Saturday of Lazarus “Having fulfilled Forty Days… we ask to see the Holy Week of Thy Passion.”With these words sung at Vespers of Friday, Lent comes to its end and we enter into the annual commemoration of Christ’s suffering, death and Resurrection.
Synaxarion for Great and Holy Monday
Joseph was the eleventh son of the Patriarch Jacob, born to him of Rachel. Envied by his brothers on account of certain dreams that he had, he was first cast into a pit. Jacob was deceived by his other sons into believing, on the basis of a bloodstained robe, that Joseph had been devoured by a wild beast. Joseph was then sold to some Ishmaelite travellers for thirty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites in turn sold him to Potiphar, the chief eunuch of Pharaoh, the King of Egypt.
Synaxarion for the Saturday of Lazarus
On this day, the Saturday before Palm Sunday, we celebrate the Raising of Lazarus, the holy and righteous friend of Christ, who lay for four days in the tomb.
Bright Friday: The Feast of the Mother of God the Life-Giving Spring
One of the most famous shrines of Constantinople, the Zoodochos Pege, is located outside the land walls to the west of the city, at the site now known as Balikli. Two versions of a very old tradition provide information on the origins of this ancient shrine.
What is “Bright Week”?
Bright Week, otherwise known as Renewal Week, begins on Pascha Sunday and ends on the following Sunday of Thomas. The name probably originates from the fact that the newly baptized catechumens from Pascha are newly illumined and bright. For them it is a time of regeneration and renewal.
Holy Pascha on Mount Athos (video)
Mount Athos has a somber and completely spiritual atmosphere during Holy Week. Visitors to the Holy Mountain during this time find themselves in a completely different world from what they are used to in the world.
The Firstborn from the Dead
The Resurrection of Christ, the premier event in the mystery of the divine economy, gives us each year the opportunity to delve into this event and little by little to engage the mystery of the Resurrection with our own resurrection. Besides, this is the purpose for the establishment of the annual festive cycle of Pascha.