Passion of Christ. The last days and hours of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ

The last days of the earthly life of the Savior

Holy Week

The central event in the history of mankind is the coming into the world of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the most important thing is His voluntary suffering and death on the cross, culminating in the glorious Resurrection from the dead.

The Divine Services of Holy Week aim to revive in the minds of the worshipers the significance of Christ's feat on the Cross, so that we would feel more deeply the greatness of His love for us and, in turn, try harder to love Him. Therefore, everything that in the Old Testament only prefigures, and in the New Testament directly relates to the feat of the Savior on the Cross, the Holy Church reveals to the spiritual gaze of those praying in the touching divine services of the week before Paschal, which is also called Passion Week because of the suffering of the Savior. Each service of this week is unique in its gospel memoirs, in its melodies, prayers and sacred rites. And here the Church introduces believers to great spiritual wealth, not only in its internal content, but also in its external design. These services have been created and improved over the centuries by the work of many talented church writers, poets and composers.

In this brochure, we will tell about the events of the last days of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ, explain the main moments of the Passion Services and give the texts of some hymns with a parallel translation into Russian.

The last days of the earthly life of the Savior

Having celebrated the Last Supper and communed His disciples, the Lord Jesus Christ went with them to the Garden of Gethsemane. It was on Thursday evening, the day before the Jewish holiday of Passover. The cozy Gethsemane Garden, densely planted with olive trees, once belonged to the forefather of the Savior, King David. Located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives, the garden towered over Jerusalem, and from it a picturesque view of the Temple and the magnificent buildings surrounding it opened. When the Lord visited Jerusalem, He invariably gathered with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Knowing this, Judas, one of the apostles (who left the Last Supper to betray the Savior) decided to bring guards here so that they could arrest Christ here.

Knowing about the approach of the soldiers, the Lord began to prepare for the upcoming judgment of the high priests and for His death on the cross. Feeling the need to pray at this crucial moment, the Lord told the apostles, "Sit here while I pray." Having gone a short distance, the Lord began to grieve and yearn. "My soul is grieving to death," He said to the nearby apostles Peter, James, and John. "Stay here and watch with Me." Then, moving away a little, He fell on His face and began to pray: "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. However, not as I want, but as You." This prayer was so intense that, according to the description of the evangelists, sweat, like drops of blood, flowed from His face to the ground. At this time of incredible internal struggle, an Angel from Heaven appeared to Jesus and began to strengthen Him.

No one can comprehend the entire gravity of the Savior's sorrows when He was preparing for suffering on the Cross for the redemption of sinful mankind. There is no need to deny the natural fear of death, because He, as a man, knew the usual human hardships and illnesses. It is natural for ordinary people to die, but for Him, as completely sinless, death was an unnatural state.

At the same time, the inner sufferings of Christ were especially unbearable because at that time the Lord took upon Himself all the unbearable burden of the sins of mankind. The evil of the world, with all its unbearable weight, seemed to crush the Savior and filled His soul with unbearable sorrow. He, as morally perfect, was alien and disgusting even the slightest evil. Taking upon Himself people's sins, the Lord together with them took upon Himself the guilt for them. Thus, what each of the people had to endure for their crimes now focused on Him alone. Obviously, Christ's sorrow was heightened by the realization of how hardened the majority of the people were. Many of them not only will not appreciate His infinite love and great achievement, but they will laugh at Him and angrily reject the righteous path He offers. They will prefer sin to a righteous way of life, and they will persecute and kill people who yearn for salvation.

Experiencing this, the Lord prayed three times. The first time He asked the Father to remove the cup of suffering from Him; the second time He expressed his readiness to follow the will of the Father; after the third prayer, the Savior said: "Thy will be done!"

From a theological point of view, the internal struggle that the Lord Jesus Christ endured in the Garden of Gethsemane clearly reveals two independent and integral essences in Him: Divine and human. His Divine will was in everything in agreement with the will of His Heavenly Father, who wants to save people by His sufferings, and His human will naturally turned away from death as the lot of sinners and wanted to find another way to save people. Ultimately, strengthened by diligent prayer, His human will yielded to His divine will.

Rising from prayer, the Lord approached the apostles to warn them of the approach of a traitor. Finding them sleeping, He meekly reproaches them: "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour has come and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:38). ). How could it be that the disciples fell asleep at such a crucial moment? This happened, obviously, from excessive sadness. They vaguely understood that some terrible tragedy was about to happen, and did not know how to avert it. It is known that strong experiences can exhaust the nervous system so much that a person loses the will to resist and tries to fall asleep.

However, the Lord urges His disciples, and in their person and all Christians, not to despair under any difficult circumstances, but to be vigilant and pray diligently. God, seeing the faith of man, will not allow the one who trusts in Him to fall into temptation beyond his strength, but will certainly help him.

Taking Jesus Christ into custody

At this time, the silence of the garden was deafened by the noise of the crowd breaking into it. A detachment of Roman soldiers arrived, led by Jewish leaders and commissioned by the high priests. With them was a lot of people, thirsty for spectacles. The crowd was led by Judas, one of the twelve apostles, who became a traitor. For his betrayal, he received from the high priests 30 silver coins - a relatively small amount: for this price you could buy a slave on the market.

Although it was a full moon, the crowd came with torches, suggesting that the Lord would try to take refuge in the hidden places of the garden. Expecting resistance, the warriors came with swords and the servants with sticks. The high priests, fearful of popular outrage, told Judas to be careful when arresting Jesus. The crowd that came with Judas did not know exactly who would be arrested. It was only ordered that we must take the One whom Judas points out. Judas, keeping in secret the commission given to him, limited himself to the following instruction: "Whom I kiss, He is the one we follow" (Mark 14:44).

It can be assumed that Judas intended, having separated from the detachment and running ahead, to approach Jesus with the usual greeting, kiss Him, and then step aside and pretend that he does not understand what is happening. But he did not succeed. When he approached Jesus and stammered in confusion: "Teacher, teacher," then Jesus asked him point-blank: "Friend, why did you come?" Not knowing what to answer, Judas in embarrassment said: "Rejoice, Teacher," and kissed Him. The Lord reproached Judas for this vile kiss, saying: "Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

As the crowd approached, the Lord asked, "Whom are you looking for?" The Jewish leaders, who knew who the detachment was sent for, answered: "Jesus of Nazareth." - "This is me!" - loudly answered Christ. Those who came were instructed that they would have to take Jesus with care, for He had followers who could intercede for Him. And suddenly He openly and not afraid of anything, declares: "It's me!" The Lord said this with such authority that His enemies stepped back in surprise and fell to the ground. When they had somewhat recovered and stood up, the Lord asked a second time: "Whom are you looking for?" They repeated, "Jesus of Nazareth." The Lord then says to them, tempering his Divine power: "I told you that it is I. So, if you are looking for Me, leave them [the apostles], let them go." This concern of the Lord for His disciples is touching. From the first day of the calling of the apostles, the Savior protected them from dangers, as can be seen from His High Priestly Prayer to God the Father: "Of those whom You gave Me, I did not destroy anyone."

Addressing the Jewish leaders, Christ said: "As if you went out against a robber with swords and clubs. But now is your time and the power of darkness." After that, the disciples, leaving Him, fled. Only the apostles Peter and John remained, who from a distance followed the retreating detachment leading Jesus. So they came to Jerusalem.

Judgment on the Lord by the High Priests

The bound Savior was led into the house of the high priests, which was located in Zion, a rich area of ​​upper Jerusalem. (Zion is the area southwest of the temple, where the palace of King David once stood. During the time of the Savior, Jewish leaders and nobles lived in Zion. There was also a house with a spacious upper room, where the Lord celebrated the Last Supper. The house was spacious, with many rooms located on the periphery of a vast court. The ruling high priest was Caiaphas, and Anna was his father-in-law. (Caiaphas is a nickname. His real name is Joseph. He reigned as high priest from the 18th to the 35th year after Christ. In 1993 d. in the family tomb of the high priests at a distance of half a kilometer south of the temple, archaeologists found an elegantly carved sarcophagus with human bones and with the name of Caiaphas written on the outside of the sarcophagus.It is assumed that this is the Caiaphas mentioned by the evangelists). however, he continued to live in the high priest's house, and everyone took into account his opinion, as with the opinion of an older and more experienced high priest. afa headed the formal court.

Sly Anna began to ask Christ what He taught and who were His disciples. By this, he set the criminal tone for the further court case, throwing suspicion on Jesus, as on the head of some kind of conspiracy, with secret teachings and secret goals. The Lord immediately averted the possibility of such accusations from Himself, indicating to Anna: “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, and secretly did not say anything,” and as proof of this, he offered to ask the witnesses who constantly heard Him. Despite the fact that there was nothing offensive in such an answer, one of the servants, obviously wanting to please the high priest, hit the Lord on the cheek with his hand, saying: “Do you answer the high priest like that?” In order to reason with the servant, the Lord humbly advised him: "If I have spoken badly, show me that it is bad; but if it is good that you are beating Me?" - that is, if you can prove that I taught the people something bad, then prove it, and do not beat without reason.

Having finished the preliminary interrogation, Anna sent the bound Jesus to the high priest Caiaphas. Meanwhile, elders, scribes, eminent Pharisees and almost the entire Sanhedrin gathered at Caiaphas. Despite the late hour, they hurried to collect evidence against Jesus in order to prepare everything necessary for another morning full meeting of the Sanhedrin, at which they could formally pass a death sentence on Him. To collect accusations, they invited false witnesses who began to accuse Christ of various violations of the law (for example, breaking the Sabbath rest). Finally, two false witnesses came, who pointed to the words spoken by the Lord during the expulsion of the merchants from the temple. At the same time, they maliciously twisted the words of Christ, putting a different meaning into them. The Lord said, "Destroy this temple [my body], and in three days I will raise it up [raise] it" (John 2:19). He did not say that He Himself would destroy the temple in order to raise it later - as the false witnesses claimed at the trial.

But even such boasting attributed to Christ was not sufficient for a serious punishment. Jesus did not try to refute these ridiculous and confusing accusations. The silence of Christ irritated Caiaphas, and he decided to force such a confession from the Lord that would give reason to condemn Him to death as a blasphemer. According to the judicial customs of that time, he turned to the Lord with a formally posed question: "I conjure you by the living God, tell us, are you the Christ - the Son of God?" This forensic formula of the spell demanded that the accused must answer the absolute truth, calling God to witness. To such a directly posed, and even under a curse, question, the Lord could not but answer. No longer hiding His Messianic and Divine dignity, Christ answered: "You said!" that is: "Yes, you said correctly that I am the promised Messiah, and added: "From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Here is a reference to the 109th psalm and to the vision of the prophet Daniel. Psalm 109 depicts the Messiah sitting at the right hand of God, while the prophet Daniel saw the Messiah in the form of the "Son of Man" coming on the clouds of heaven. I will put Your enemies at Your footstool... from the womb before the morning star, Your birth is like the dew." Description of the prophet Daniel: "I saw in night visions: Behold, with the clouds of heaven, it was as if the Son of Man was walking, reached the Ancient of Days and was brought to unto him. And unto him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, tribes, and tongues should serve him. His dominion is everlasting, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed" (Dan. 7:13-14).

With these references to the Holy Scriptures, the Lord confirmed that He was the Messiah and the Son of God promised by the prophets. Then the high priest tore his clothes and exclaimed: "He blasphemes." The tearing of the clothes of the Jews expressed great sorrow or indignation. The high priest was forbidden to tear his clothes. With this dramatic gesture, Caiaphas wanted to emphasize that he was so outraged by the statement of Christ that he even forgot about the existing prohibition.

"What is your opinion?" - Caiaphas asks those present, and receives the desired answer: "He is guilty of death!" Having pronounced such a verdict, the judges, who had been sitting decorously for a long time, turned into a brutal crowd and attacked Christ.

No longer hiding their hatred, they began to mock Him and spit in His face. Others beat him on the face and head, asking with a sneer: "Prophesy to us, Christ, who hit you?" By their behavior they discovered that their whole judgment was only a crude hypocrisy, under which their personal malice against Christ was hidden. They are no longer guardians of the Law of God, but mob blinded by envy.

The Apostle John, as a fisherman, was familiar to the family of the high priest, and they let him into the courtyard without hindrance. John took Peter with him. Since it was cold, a fire was lit in the yard, around which the guards and servants sat. Obviously, the apostle Peter from time to time approached the fire to warm himself. It was then that some of the servants recognized Peter and began to accuse him of being a disciple of Christ, and Peter began to assure them that he never knew "That Man." Then someone again accused Peter of being a disciple of Christ. For the third time already in the morning, when several servants with great insistence began again to accuse Peter that he was a disciple of Christ, he was very frightened and began to assure with oaths that he had never known Him. At this time the rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the Savior's prediction about the rooster and, ashamed of his cowardice, went out into the street and wept bitterly.

The verdict of the Sanhedrin

The first meeting of the Sanhedrin, which began in the house of Caiaphas on Thursday night, ended on Friday early in the morning. The second meeting was called a few hours later in the magnificent building of the Sanhedrin, located a little south of the temple. In the Talmud, where ancient Jewish laws are collected, it is said that in criminal cases, the final sentencing should follow no earlier than the day after the beginning of the trial. But neither Caiaphas nor the members of the Sanhedrin wanted to delay the matter. In order to maintain at least the form of a secondary court, the Sanhedrin met the next morning - already in its entire composition. To this second meeting, the guards brought the bound Jesus Christ, who spent these hours between meetings in the high priest's court, being mocked by the guards and servants.

The Lord Jesus Christ was brought into the meeting of the Sanhedrin and again asked: "Are you the Christ?" It was important that the new members of the Sanhedrin personally heard the confession of Jesus that He considers Himself the Messiah promised by the prophets. Knowing that the court was only a formality and that His fate was already sealed, the Lord replied: "If I tell you, you will not believe, but if I ask you, you will not answer Me and do not let go." - "So, You are the Son of God?" - the judges asked again, and the Lord, as if reluctantly, confirmed: "You say that I am." It was the formally expressed consent of the accused - exactly what the accusers wanted to hear. Satisfied with the answer, the members of the Sanhedrin declare that further investigation of the case is no longer necessary and pass a sentence on the surrender of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Roman authorities - to Pontius Pilate - for the execution of the death penalty on Him.

The Lord Jesus Christ at Pilate's Trial

After the verdict, the Jewish leaders hastened to lead the Lord Jesus Christ to Pontius Pilate. From the time of the subjugation of Judea to the Romans, the Sanhedrin was deprived of the right to punish criminals with death. Therefore, it was necessary that the Roman governor put into effect the decree that had just been passed.

Pontius, nicknamed Pilate, was the fifth ruler (procurator) of Judea. He was appointed to this position in the 26th year after R. Chr. from the Roman Emperor Tiberius. A haughty and cruel man, but at the same time cowardly, he despised the Jews and, in turn, was hated by them. The residence of the procurators was in Caesarea (on the Mediterranean coast, 80 kilometers north of Jerusalem). Only on major holidays did the procurators come to Jerusalem to keep order.

The Jews took Jesus to the praetorium, that is, the judicial chamber of the Roman ruler, which was located in the Anthony fortress, adjacent to the temple from the northwest side. The Roman garrison was stationed here. Touching something pagan among the Jews was considered a defilement, so the Jewish leaders did not enter the courtyard of the fortress, so as not to lose the right to celebrate Easter, which began in the evening of the same day.

Pilate, making a concession to the Jewish customs (for the Romans spared the customs of the conquered peoples so as not to excite them against themselves), he himself went out to them on the lifostroton (from the Greek lifos - stone), an open stone platform in front of the procurator's dwelling, and asked: "What are you accuse this person? “If He had not been a villain, we would not have betrayed Him to you,” the leaders replied. They did not want a new trial of the Savior's case and hoped that Pilate would immediately confirm their sentence. Pilate, feeling the infringement of his power here, immediately put the accusers in their place in relation to himself, as the representative of the emperor: "If I do not know what the accusation is, then you take Him and judge according to your law." Realizing that their situation is hopeless, the Jews quickly change their proud tone to a submissive one: "We are not allowed to put anyone to death."

Further, the leaders were forced to state their accusations against Christ: "We found that He corrupts the people and forbids giving tribute to Caesar (emperor), calling Himself Christ the King" (Luke 23:2 The crafty hypocrites, who themselves hate the Romans, invent this slanderous accusation purely of a political nature, in order to more easily achieve the approval of the death sentence. In response to this accusation, Pilate asked Jesus alone inside the praetorium: "Are you the King of the Jews?" - "Do you say this from yourself, or did others tell you about me?" - the Lord asked Pilate again. to know the origin of this question. If Pilate himself came to him, then it was necessary to answer "no," because Christ never declared Himself an earthly king. If Pilate's question is a repetition of what the Jews said, then it was necessary to admit that He really is the King as the Son of God.

Pilate's answer breathes contempt for Judaism: "Am I a Jew? Your people and the chief priests betrayed you to me. What have you done?" He does not admit any royal dignity in Christ, but only wants to know what is His fault. Jesus reassures Pilate that he does not need to fear Him as a contender for earthly power, because "My kingdom is not of this world." Expressing doubt about the possibility of the existence of some other unearthly kingdom, Pilate asked again: "So, you are the King?" Then the Lord explains that He is the King of the spiritual Kingdom and came to earth in order to bear witness to the Truth, to reveal to people the highest spiritual principles. His subjects are those who heed the heavenly teaching. Pilate, like a crude pagan, did not believe in the existence of objective truths or absolute values. "What is truth?" - he dismissively threw and walked away, not wanting to continue the conversation on a useless, as it seemed to him, topic. However, Pilate realized that Jesus did not threaten the Roman dominion in any way, and therefore, going out to the Jews, he announced to them that he did not find any fault in Him.

This statement deeply hurt the vanity of the members of the Sanhedrin, and they, interrupting each other, began to accuse the Lord of many things, wanting to achieve His condemnation at all costs. At this time, the Lord kept complete silence, "so that the ruler marveled greatly." Finally, the Jews began to accuse Jesus of stirring up the people by teaching all over the country. Hearing that Christ had come from Galilee, Pilate sent Jesus to King Herod, who had also arrived in Jerusalem on the occasion of the feast.

It was that Herod, nicknamed Antipas, who beheaded the prophet John the Baptist. Perhaps Pilate hoped to get more certain information about the Accused from Herod. Most likely, he wanted to shift onto the shoulders of Herod a court case that was unpleasant for him. Herod, flattered by Pilate's recognition of his kingship, from that time became friends with him.

Knowing about the miracles of Christ, and thinking that He was John the Baptist resurrected from the dead, Herod hoped to see some miracle from the Lord in order to amuse himself during the holidays. So, when Herod saw Jesus, he rejoiced and began to ask Christ many questions. He hoped to hear something entertaining from Christ, but the Lord kept complete silence to all his questions. Meanwhile, the chief priests and scribes incessantly accused the Lord, proving that His preaching was as dangerous for Herod as for the Roman emperor.

Herod did not take seriously the accusations of the Jewish leaders and, having mocked Christ, clothed Him in white clothes and sent him back to Pilate. According to the custom of the Romans, candidates for any commanding or honorary position were dressed in white clothes (the word candidate, from the Latin candidus, means white, light). Herod thus wanted to show that he looked at Jesus only as a pitiful fanatic who did not threaten anyone.

This is how Pilate understood it. Referring to the fact that Herod did not find anything worthy of death in Jesus, Pilate suggests that the leaders, having punished Christ, let Him go. By this Pilate hoped to satisfy their malice. They vehemently rejected his proposal. Then Pilate remembered that the Jews had a custom before Easter to ask the ruler to release one of those sentenced to death. Realizing that the leaders had betrayed Christ out of envy and hoping to find support from the common people, Pilate asked the people who surrounded the lifostroton: "Whom do you want me to let you go: Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?"

While people began to confer among themselves on whom to ask for, another circumstance happened that influenced Pilate in a direction favorable to the Lord Jesus Christ. While he was sitting in his judge's place, a messenger from his wife appeared to him, who asked him to say: "Do no harm to that Righteous One, because now in a dream I suffered a lot for Him." Ancient Christian writers call her Claudia Proscula and claim that she professed the Jewish faith, and then became a Christian. She probably saw Jesus Christ in a dream as an innocently tormented Righteous One, and was tormented by the thought that her own husband would become His executioner.

But while the messenger was conveying to Pilate the request of his wife, the Jewish leaders hastened to convince the people to ask for Barabbas. When Pilate asked a second time: "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" - people unanimously declared: "Barabbas." "What shall I do to Jesus who is called the Christ?" Pilate then asked. At this they shouted: "Let him be crucified!" Then Pilate, standing up for Christ, inquired: "What crime did He commit?" But the crowd, having nothing to answer, screamed even louder: "Let him be crucified!"

So the people, corrupted by their religious leaders, preferred the robber Barabbas to their Savior, who taught love and performed countless healings among them. Barabbas was a well-known robber who, with his gang, carried out robberies and murders in the city.

Stunned by a furious cry, Pilate was at a loss. He did not want to allow unrest among the people, which would have to be pacified by armed force. He was afraid that the embittered high priests would report to Caesar that he himself had caused unrest by defending the state criminal, as they presented the Lord. Pilate tried to appease their thirst for blood by handing over the Innocent One to be scourged. For scourging, the soldiers took Jesus to the praetorium (the court inside the courtyard), where there was a lot of space, and gathered the entire regiment against Him. They undressed Jesus and began to flog him. Such scourging was prescribed by the Romans for serious crimes, and, moreover, for slaves. Scourges were made from belts, and sharp bone and metal sticks were inserted into their ends. The scourged person was tied to a post in an inclined position, and then the soldiers beat him on his bare back. At the same time, the body was torn from the very first blows and blood flowed profusely from the wounds. The torture was so painful that some died under the blows. Pilate subjected Him to such a terrible punishment, in Whom he did not find any fault, but he did it in order to please the bloodthirsty crowd.

Having finished the scourging, the warriors began to inhumanly mock the Sufferer. They put a purple robe on Him, i.e. a military cloak of red color, similar to the cloaks of high military leaders. Such cloaks did not have sleeves and were thrown over so that the right hand remained free. The scarlet, worn by Christ, ironically depicted the purple of the King of Judah.

A crown woven of thorns was placed on the head of the Lord, and a cane depicting the royal scepter was placed in his hands. Having done this, some of the soldiers began to kneel before the Divine Sufferer and, cursing Him, greeted: "Hail, King of the Jews." Others struck him on the cheeks, spat on him, and struck him on the head with a cane, causing the needles to dig even deeper into his forehead.

With this exclamation, Pilate addressed the judgment of their conscience. See how he would say - here is a lonely man, humiliated, tormented. Does He look like some dangerous rebel; does not He arouse, by His very appearance, more regret than apprehension? At the same time, Pilate involuntarily told the true truth: the Lord, even in His humiliation, more than in glory and royal splendor, showed all the spiritual greatness and moral beauty of a true Man, as he should be according to the Creator's plan. For Christians, Pilate's words mean: this is the model of Man, to which everyone should strive.

But the Jewish leaders and the crowd did not care. As soon as they saw the tormented Christ, they cried out even louder: "Crucify, crucify Him!" Such blind hatred annoyed Pilate and made him say sharply: "Take him and crucify him: for I find no fault in him." - If you are so insistent, then crucify Him to your own responsibility, and I, as a representative of justice, cannot take part in such an unworthy act. But apart from indignation, these words of Pilate did not express anything, and therefore the enemies of Christ continued to seek Pilate's consent to the death sentence, setting up a new accusation: "We have a law, and according to our law He must die, because he made himself the Son of God" (John 19 :5-8).

Hearing this, Pilate was frightened. Of course, he could understand the expression "Son of God" only in a pagan sense, in the sense of demigods-heroes, with which pagan mythology is full, but this was enough to confuse him, taking into account the warning of his wife, who had some kind of mysterious dream. about this mysterious man. And so Pilate takes Jesus with him to the praetorium and in private asks Him: "Where are you from?" Are you really the Son of God? But Jesus did not answer him. It was useless to answer this question. When earlier the Lord wanted to explain to Pilate the purpose of His coming, this only caused him to smile skeptically.

Overcoming fear, Pilate wanted to remind Christ of his great position, and thereby incline Him to answer: "Don't you answer me? Don't you know that I have the power to crucify You and have the power to let You go?" The Lord answers these proud words with Divine wisdom: "You would have no power over Me, if it had not been given to you from above. Therefore, more than a sin on the one who delivered Me to you." In other words, the fact that I am in your hands is by the permission of God. Having given the Jewish people into subjection to the Roman power, God thereby gave you power over Me as a Man. However, you will also be guilty of My crucifixion, for you condemn against your conscience; but a great responsibility falls on those who achieved this lawless sentence - on the Jewish leaders. The wise words of the Lord stirred up his best feelings in Pilate, and he began to look even more insistently for an opportunity to let Him go.

Then the enemies of Christ resorted to a last resort: to threaten to accuse the procurator himself of treason against the Roman Emperor: "If you let Him go, you are not a friend of Caesar." This frightened Pilate, for the emperor at that time was the suspicious and cruel Tiberius, who willingly accepted denunciations. With this threat, the Jewish leaders decided the matter. Pilate sincerely wanted to save Christ from crucifixion, but not at the cost of his career. Then, sitting on the judge's seat, he formally ends the trial. It was the Friday before Easter, about "six o'clock,"—according to our account, about 12 o'clock in the afternoon. (The Evangelist Mark says: "It was the third hour, and they crucified Him" ​​(15:25), and from the sixth to the ninth hour there was darkness over the whole earth (Matt. 27:45). The days were divided into four parts of three hours each. The testament mentions hours 1, 3, 6 and 9. The sixth hour is the period of time between 9 o'clock in the morning and noon.

Taking revenge on the Jews for the forced sentence, Pilate says to them with irritation: "Behold, your King!" With this, he throws a cruel reproach and, as it were, says to them: you dream of regaining your independence, of some kind of high rank among the peoples of the world. No one is able to fulfill this task so successfully as this Man, who calls Himself the spiritual King of Israel. How is it that you, instead of bowing before Him, demand that I, the Roman ruler hated by you, take away your Tsar from you, who can fulfill your cherished dreams?

Apparently, the accusers understood these words, because they cried out with rage: "Take, take, crucify Him. Death, death to Him!" It was a cry from a wound inflicted by him in the most sensitive place. But Pilate, before finally yielding, wants to hurt them once more and ironically asks: "Will I crucify your king?" At this, the leaders, in their blindness with malice, uttered fatal words that decided the subsequent fate of the Jewish people: "We have no king but Caesar!" The Jews used to say: "We have no other King but God." Now, only in order to achieve the crucifixion of Christ, they renounced everything, declaring that they did not want to have another king, except for the Roman emperor. Only then did Pilate decide to satisfy their desire and betray Jesus to them for crucifixion.

Taking water and washing his hands, Pilate declared before everyone: "I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One, you see" (Matt. 27:24). The Jews had a custom to wash their hands as a sign that the one who washes considers himself innocent in shedding the blood of the accused (Deut. 21:6-8).

Pilate took advantage of this custom to emphasize to everyone that he disclaims responsibility for the execution of Jesus, whom he considered innocent and righteous. "Look at you," - that is, you yourself will be responsible for the consequences of this unjust murder. In order to force the procurator's consent to the approval of the death sentence, the Jews agree to everything, without thinking about any consequences. "His blood is on us and on our children," the Jews shouted. If this is a crime, then may God's punishment befall us and our offspring.

St. John Chrysostom says on this occasion: "Such a reckless rage, such an evil passion! Let it be that you have cursed yourself. But why do you bring a curse on children?" This curse, which the Jews themselves had brought upon themselves, was soon fulfilled. In the 70th year after R. Chr. During the siege of Jerusalem, the Romans crucified a huge number of Jews on crosses around the city. It was also fulfilled in the further history of the Jews, scattered since then in many countries - in those countless "pogroms" to which they were subjected, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses in Deuteronomy (ch. 28:49-57; 64-67).

"Then Pilate released Barabbas to them. Jesus, having beaten him, betrayed him to be crucified." In other words, having approved the verdict of the Sanhedrin, Pilate gave them soldiers to carry out the death penalty by crucifixion on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Having washed his hands, Pilate, of course, could not relieve himself of responsibility either before the impartial opinion of mankind, or before the judgment of God. The expression "wash your hands" has since become proverbial. More than a year later, God's punishment befell Pilate for cowardice and unjust condemnation of the One whom he himself called the Righteous. He was sent into exile in Gaul, and there, two years later, exhausted by longing, tormented by remorse and despair, he ended his life by suicide. (In 1961, on the site of ancient Caesarea, a slab was found with the name of Pilate carved in Latin: "Caesarianis Tiberium Pontius Pilatus Prefectus Iudaeae debit," that is: Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea, presented the inhabitants of Caesarea [this theater named after] Tiberius. Pilate is here called "prefect," which means military ruler. The title of procurator was applied to civil rulers. Perhaps Pilate combined both positions.

Way of the Cross of the Lord

After beating and bullying, the soldiers removed the purple robe from Jesus Christ, dressed Him in ordinary clothes and led Him to be crucified. When they were going to Calvary, they met a certain Simon, called the Cyrenean, who was returning from the field to the city, and forced him to carry the cross of Christ to the place of execution. It was customary for those condemned to be crucified to carry their own cross. But the Lord was so exhausted by the Gethsemane inner struggle, and the sleepless night spent, and the inhuman torture, that he was unable to continue to carry His cross. Not out of compassion, of course, but out of a desire to complete the work begun as soon as possible, the enemies forced Simon to bear the cross of the Lord. (Simon was a migrant from Cyrene (a city in Libya, on the northern coast of Africa). His sons, Alexander and Rufus, were known to Christians, and the Apostle Paul mentions them in his letter to the Romans.

Jesus Christ was followed by a great multitude of godly men and women who wept for Him. The compassion expressed by them was so deep and sincere that the Lord considered it necessary to address them with consolation. This happened, probably, during a stop at the laying of the cross of Christ on Simon of Cyrene. "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children" (Luke 23:28). Here the Lord, forgetting about his own sufferings, turns with His spiritual gaze to the future of the Jewish people - to the punishment that will befall them for the terrible oath that the Jews themselves so frivolously brought upon themselves, shouting: "His blood is on us and on our children." For the days are coming when the blessing of childbearing will turn into grief, and the childless will be considered blessed. "Then they will begin to say to the mountains: Fall on us." - so great will be the disasters. Here again we are talking about the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 AD. "For if they do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry one?" This seems to be a popular saying. Under the "green tree" full of life, the Lord understands Himself, and under the "dry tree" - the Jewish people. If He, the Innocent, was not given mercy, then what will happen to the guilty people? "Fire is coming to Judea," the prophet Ezekiel predicted, "if the green tree is burned, then with what force will it destroy the dry?" (Ezek. 20:47).

crucifixion

They brought the Lord to a place called Golgotha, which means "the place of the skull," and there they crucified Him in the midst of two thieves who were brought along with Him. Calvary - it was a small hill, located at that time outside the city walls of Jerusalem to the northwest. It is believed that this hill had the name "frontal place" because the skulls of the executed often lay at its foot. The Apostle Paul in Hebrews 13:11-12 points out the special meaning of "Jesus suffered outside the gate." When Jesus was brought to Golgotha, they gave Him wine with myrrh (or vinegar mixed with gall) to drink. It was wine, to which myrrh (one of the types of resin) was added to darken the convict's consciousness and thus alleviate his torment. The Romans called this wine soporific. Smyrna gave wine a bitter taste, which is why Saint Mark calls it gall, and wine, probably already sour, vinegar. "And, having tasted the vinegar, Jesus did not want to drink," - desiring in full consciousness to endure His cup of suffering to the end.

That "was the third hour," and the sixth hour was just beginning (in the sense of the second quarter of the day). (Day and night each was divided into four watches. If we assume that Pilate's sentence was pronounced around the third hour (in our opinion, 9 o'clock in the morning), then the apostle John could well say that Christ was crucified at the sixth hour. Thus, there is no contradiction in the testimony of the Evangelists. "And they crucified Him." They crucified him in different ways: sometimes they nailed him to a cross lying on the ground, after which they raised the cross and set it vertically in the ground; sometimes they first erected a cross, and then they raised the condemned man and nailed him or tied him with ropes "Sometimes they crucified upside down (so the Apostle Peter was crucified of his own free will). Hands and feet were sometimes nailed with nails, sometimes they were tied. The body of the crucified person hung helplessly. In terrible convulsions, all the muscles were cramped with a painful cramp; ulcers from nails were torn under the weight of the body; the executed tormented unbearable thirst due to the heat aroused by wounds and loss of blood. The sufferings of the crucified were so great and painful, and besides, flax (sometimes the crucified hung on crosses, not dying for three days or more), that this execution was applied only to the most dangerous criminals. It was considered the most terrible and shameful of all types of execution. So that the arms would not burst prematurely from wounds, a crossbar was sometimes nailed under the legs, on which the crucified could stand. Above the head of the crucified was nailed a plaque indicating guilt.

In the midst of indescribable suffering, the Lord did not remain completely silent. The Lord's first words were a prayer for those who crucify Him: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." None of the crucifying soldiers knew that He was the Son of God. "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:8), says the apostle Paul, and even to the Jews he says when healing a lame man: "You did it out of ignorance" (Acts 3:17). However, such ignorance of the Jews does not justify their crimes, for they had the opportunity and the means to know who He was. The Lord's Prayer testifies to the greatness of His spirit and serves as an example for us, so that we do not take revenge on our enemies, but pray for them.

By order of Pilate, a plaque was nailed to the cross indicating the guilt of the Lord. Wanting to hurt the members of the Sanhedrin once again, Pilate ordered to write: "Jesus of Nazarene, King of the Jews." - The Jewish King was crucified at the request of the representatives of the Jewish people. The inscription was made in three languages: Hebrew - local, Greek - common and Roman - the language of the winners. Pilate wanted everyone to know why the leaders condemned Christ. But at the same time, Pilate involuntarily fulfilled the highest goal: at the moment of His most extreme humiliation, the Lord Jesus Christ was proclaimed King of the whole world. The accusers of the Lord took this inscription as an evil mockery and demanded that Pilate change it, but the proud Roman sharply refused them, reminding them that he was the boss.

"Those who crucified Him, divided His clothes, casting lots, who should take what ..." The Roman law gave the property of the soldiers who executed the execution, the belongings of the executed. There were four who performed the crucifixion. The outer clothing, having been torn into four parts, was divided among the warriors, and the lower clothing (tunic) was self-woven entirely from top to bottom and without seams. If such a chiton is torn apart, then its parts will lose all value. Therefore, the warriors decided by lot the question of who would get the chiton. By this, they unconsciously fulfilled the ancient prophecy of David about the crucifixion of the Messiah: "They divided my garments and cast lots for my clothes" (the entire 21st psalm is dedicated to the sufferings of the crucified Lord).

Having achieved the crucifixion of the Lord, the high priests with the scribes and Pharisees could not calm down and continued to mock Him. While mocking Jesus, they mocked everything He ever did and said. For example, remembering how He had previously saved others, they reproached Him for his present helplessness and mockingly suggested that he come down from the cross, hypocritically promising in this case to believe in Him. They reproached Him even for the fact that He always hoped in God: "May God save Him, if He is pleasing to Him."

At first, the robbers who hung on the sides of the Savior, hearing how the surrounding leaders blasphemed the Lord, joined them and also blasphemed the Lord. Moreover, one of them, suffering, became more and more embittered and more and more bitterly reviled Christ. Then his friend, whose spark of goodness had obviously not completely died out, began to reproach his comrade, saying: “Or are you not afraid of God when you yourself are condemned to the same thing? And we are justly condemned, because we received what was worthy according to our works; and He did nothing wrong." Obviously he was impressed by the reproaches of the rulers that Christ had saved others before, and also by the fact that Christ meekly prayed for His crucifiers and addressed God as His Father. One way or another, but his conscience spoke strongly in him, and amidst the blasphemy and ridicule of the crowd, he openly spoke in defense of the Lord. Such a decisive turning point took place in his soul that, having believed in the crucified Jesus as the Messiah, he turned to Him with repentant words: "Remember me, Lord, when you come into Your kingdom!" When you come to the Father in Your Kingdom of glory, then remember me, the unfortunate one, who shared these terrible torments with You.

The robber did not ask for reward or glory, but only begged for mercy in the world where he was going to soon go. Since then, the repentance of the prudent thief has become an example for all believers in Christ. Great must have been his faith. Suffering, tormented, dying, he recognized as the King, who returns to His Heavenly Kingdom. This is a confession that was beyond the power of even the closest disciples of the Lord, who could not contain the thought of the suffering Messiah. Undoubtedly, there is also a special effect of the grace of God, which illumined the thief in order to make him an example for all sinners. This confession of his deserved a great reward, more than the thief dared to expect. "Today you will be with me in paradise," the Lord told him. Thus, the prudent robber was the first to be saved.

When the enemies began to gradually disperse, the Most Holy Theotokos, Mary Cleopova, Mary Magdalene and "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (as John the Theologian calls himself) approached the cross, standing at a distance. With the departure of Christ from this world, His Most Pure Mother was left alone, and there was no one to take care of Her, and therefore with the words addressed to the Virgin Mary: "Woman! Behold your son," - and to the Apostle John: "Behold your mother," - the Lord entrusts His Most Pure Mother to His beloved disciple. "And from that time on, this disciple took Her to himself," taking care of Her, like a loving son. (This event is important in the following respect. Sectarians who do not believe in the virginity of the Mother of God say that after Jesus Christ She had other children born naturally from Joseph and that these were the “brothers of the Lord,” which are mentioned in the Gospel But the question arises: if the Theotokos still had her own children, then why entrust Her to St. John the Theologian?).

Death of Christ

The death of the Lord was preceded by darkness that covered the earth. "From the sixth hour, darkness was over all the earth until the ninth hour," that is, according to our time - from noon to three o'clock in the afternoon the sun went dark. It could not have been an ordinary solar eclipse, since on the Jewish Passover on the 14th day of the month of Nisan there is always a full moon, and a solar eclipse occurs only at a new moon. It was a miraculous eclipse, which testified to an extraordinary event - the death of the beloved Son of God. This unexpected eclipse of the sun, in which the stars were even visible, is evidenced by the Roman astronomer Phlegon, as well as the Greek historian Phallus. Deonysius the Areopagite also remembers him in his letters. Apparently, the darkness that followed the mockery and mockery of the Lord stopped these mockeries and aroused in the people regret about what had happened: “And all the people that had come down to this spectacle, seeing what was happening, returned, beating their breasts” (Luke 23:48).

"At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: My God, My God! Why did You leave Me?" The word "God," in Aramaic is pronounced "Eloi," or "Or," as the evangelists give it. This cry was an expression of the deepest grief of the God-man. In order for the atoning sacrifice to be accomplished, it was necessary that the God-man drink to the end the entire cup of human suffering. This required that the crucified Jesus temporarily cease to feel the joy of His union with God the Father. All the wrath of God, which should have been poured out on sinful humanity, now focused on one Christ, and God the Father, as it were, left His beloved Son. Among the most grievous bodily and spiritual sufferings, this abandonment was the most painful, which is why it vomited this painful exclamation from the lips of Jesus.

When Jesus groaned "thirst," one of the soldiers immediately took a sponge, filled it with vinegar and, putting it on a cane, gave it to Him to drink. The warrior put a sponge on a cane, as those hanging on the cross were quite high from the ground. The psalmist in Psalm 68, v. 22 predicting the sufferings of the Messiah, he speaks on His behalf: "In my thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink." Having tasted the vinegar, the Lord proclaimed: "It is finished," that is: My work, predetermined in the Council of the Holy Trinity and foretold by the prophets, is completed - the reconciliation of the human race with God through My death has taken place. Following this, the Lord exclaimed: "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit" and, bowing His head, betrayed the spirit.

At that moment, the veil that separated the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Since it was the time of the evening sacrifice (our time is 3 o'clock in the afternoon), the priests could not fail to see this event. It symbolized the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament.

At this time, an earthquake occurred, so that the rocks on the neighboring hills split and the burial caves opened. By crucifying the Son of God, people committed such a terrible crime that even soulless nature shuddered. After that, as a sign of the Lord's victory over death, "many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were resurrected," and on the third day after the Lord's resurrection they appeared in Jerusalem to people who knew them. These miraculous signs had such an amazing effect on the Roman centurion that he exclaimed: "Truly, He was the son of God!" According to legend, this centurion, named Longinus, became a Christian and later suffered as a martyr for Christ. All the people who still remained on Golgotha ​​were shocked, they "returned, beating their breasts." Such abrupt transitions from one mood to another are natural in an excited crowd.

Witnesses of the death of the Lord and all the events were many women who followed Jesus from Galilee. Among them were: Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Josiah) and Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee (the apostles James and John). Since it was Friday - in Greek "paraskevi," which means cooking, i.e. the day before Saturday, and that Saturday was a “great day,” since it coincided with the first day of Easter, then, in order not to leave the bodies of the crucified on the crosses, the members of the Sanhedrin asked Pilate to “break their legs” (a bone below the knee).

Of all the types of execution, crucifixion was the most painful. The crucified could not die immediately, but suffered for many days, pulling themselves up on their pierced arms and legs in order to breathe air. In the end, as a rule, they died of suffocation, having no more strength to pull themselves up on the cross. To hasten death, the crucified were interrupted by the shins. Having received Pilate's permission, the soldiers broke the legs of the robbers, who were still alive. "But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water."

Obviously, this flow of blood with water was caused by the feverish state experienced by those who die through the crucifixion. Nevertheless, the apostle John sees a miraculous phenomenon in this event, emphasizing that "he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true" (John 19:35). The purest body of the God-man was not subjected to the law of decomposition of an ordinary human body. From the very moment of death, it began to enter that state that ended with His Resurrection in a new, glorified, spiritualized form. The Holy Fathers explain that the outflow of blood and water symbolically means the renewal of believers in the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist: “We are born with water, but we are nourished by blood and body” (Apostle John recalls this in his epistle: “This is Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood and by the Spirit... There are three that bear witness on earth: the spirit, the water, and the blood" (1 John 5:6-8).

In the fact that the soldiers did not break the legs of Jesus, the apostle John sees the fulfillment of the commandment of Scripture regarding the slaughter of the Paschal lamb: "Let not his bone be broken" (Exodus 12:46). The Passover lamb, which represented the Lord Jesus, was to be eaten without breaking the bones, and whatever was left was to be put into the fire. The apostle also cites the prophecy of Zechariah regarding the perforation of the Savior's ribs: "They will look at the One whom they pierced" (Zechariah 12:10). In this place, Jehovah the Messiah appears as a pierced Jewish people. The people will then bring repentance before the Impaled One with weeping and sobbing. These words were fulfilled at the moment of Christ's death and will be fulfilled a second time before the end of the world, when many Jews will turn to Christ. (See the apostle Paul's prediction in Romans 11:25-26).

Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ

The burial of the body of Christ took place in the early evening, before the start of the Easter holiday. Joseph came to Pilate from Arimathea (a city near Jerusalem), a member of the Sanhedrin, a pious man, a secret disciple of Christ, who did not participate in the condemnation of the Lord. He asked Pilate for the body of Jesus for burial. According to the custom of the Romans, the bodies of the crucified remained on the crosses and became the prey of birds. Pilate was surprised that Jesus had already died. the crucified hung sometimes for several days, but after checking through the centurion, who certified the death of Jesus, he ordered that the body be given to Joseph. Nicodemus, who once visited Jesus at night, also came for burial. He brought with him about 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes. Joseph also bought a shroud - a long and expensive piece of cloth. Joseph and Nicodemus removed the Body, anointed it with incense according to custom, wrapped it in a shroud, and laid it in a new burial cave in Joseph's garden, not far from Golgotha.

The sun was already declining to the west, and everything was done, although diligently, but very hastily. Rolling a stone against the door of the coffin, they departed. All this was observed by women who had previously stood on Golgotha.

Liturgies of Holy Week

The 40 day fast is over. The sounds of weeping for our sins are silenced to give way to another sorrow - the remembrance of the expiatory sufferings of the God-man for us sinners. The Church does not miss a single moment in the successive development of the sacred events of the last days of the Lord's earthly life. She leads us in His footsteps from Bethany (the place of the resurrection of Lazarus) to Jerusalem, to the Mount of Olives, to the Upper Room of Zion (where the Last Supper is celebrated), to Gethsemane, to the courtyard of the high priest and to Pilate's praetorium, to the Place of the Skull (Golgotha) and, finally , to the burial cave of righteous Joseph of Arimathea.

During the first three days of Holy Week before the mental gaze of the worshipers pass the deeds of the Savior, His conversations, parables and instructions that took place from the time of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem until the Last Supper. The Church makes sure that the pilgrims feel all the salutary sufferings of Christ and His infinite compassion for man.

The services of these three days consist of Matins, Hours and Vespers, combined with the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. At the beginning of Matins, the following troparion is sung, which is based on the parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt. 25:1-13):

After the canon, a luminary (or "exapostillary") is sung, based on the parable of the wedding feast (Mt. 22:1-14).

Great Monday. On this day, the Church invites believers to accompany Christ, for His sake, as it were, to die for life's pleasures, in order to come to life with Him in spirit. Bringing together the events of the Old and New Testaments, the Church shows the believers the suffering of the Savior in the Old Testament prototype of the righteous Joseph, who was innocently sold and humiliated through the envy of his brothers, but later restored by God in great glory (Genesis, chapters 37-41). On this day, the story of the barren fig tree and the parable of the evil vinedressers are read from the Gospel. The barren fig tree, cursed by the Lord, depicts the Jewish people, who only looked pious, but inside were callous and unspiritual. By evil vinedressers are meant the Jewish rulers, who only for personal gain use the property of God and destroy the prophets sent by Him (Mt. 21:18-43; Mt. 21:3-35).

On Maundy Tuesday the Gospel Readings contain the Savior's conversations about the resurrection of the dead and the Second Coming, the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, and the Last Judgment (Mt. 22:15; 23:39; Mt. 24:36; 26:2).

Great Wednesday. The Lord spent Wednesday night in Bethany (Mt. 26:6-17). Here, in the house of Simon the leper, a certain woman poured precious ointment on the head of the Savior and thereby prepared Him for burial. In liturgical prayers, the selfless act of a woman is contrasted with the ingratitude of Judas, who planned to betray Christ to the Jewish leaders for money. The morning Gospel contains the prediction of the Savior about His forthcoming death on the Cross and about the foundation of the Church among the Gentiles (John 12:17-50). On Great Wednesday, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served for the last time and the penitential prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian "Lord and Master of my life..." is read for the last time.

Maundy Thursday

The hymns of Holy Thursday are full of deep feelings and thoughts in connection with a number of Gospel events of that day. Here is the admiration for the humility of the Savior, which was manifested in the washing of the feet of the disciples; reverence for the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ; the glorification of the infinite self-denial of Christ; sorrow for His sufferings; indignation against the bitterness of the Jews and the treachery of the traitor Judas.

At the beginning of Matins (which is served on Wednesday evening), a troparion is sung about how Judas, blinded by the love of money, left the Last Supper.

In the canon of Matins, which begins with the words "The Red Sea is cut through the cut" (the Red Sea is cut with a carved rod), the meaning of the Last Supper is explained and the spiritual union of the Lord Jesus Christ with His disciples is depicted.

Thursday morning is Liturgy of Basil the Great, preceded by the evening. The Gospel reading tells of the Last Supper, the washing of the feet, and prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Instead of the Cherubim, it is sung:

Instead of Worthy to eat, the 9th irmos of the canon is sung:

On this day, when the Savior established the sacrament of Communion and communed the apostles with His own hands, one should approach the Chalice with a special tremulous feeling, reflecting on the greatness of Christ's love and one's own unworthiness.

12 Gospel Service

On the evening of the same day, Good Friday Matins, or 12 gospel service, as this worship is usually called. All this divine service is dedicated to the reverent remembrance of the saving sufferings and death on the cross of the God-man. Every hour of this day there is a new feat of the Savior, and the echo of these feats is heard in every word of the service. In it, the Church reveals to the faithful the full picture of the sufferings of the Lord, from the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane to the crucifixion at Golgotha. Carrying us mentally through the past centuries, the Church, as it were, brings us to the very foot of the cross of Christ and makes us quivering spectators of all the torments of the Savior. Believers listen to the gospel narratives with lit candles in their hands, and after each reading through the lips of the singers thank the Lord with the words: " Glory to Your patience, Lord!"After each reading of the Gospel, the bell is struck accordingly.

Passion Gospels:

1) John 13:31-18:1 (Farewell conversation of the Savior with the disciples and His prayer at the Last Supper).

2) John 18:1-28 (The arrest of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and His suffering at the High Priest Annas).

3) Matthew 26:57-75 (The suffering of the Savior at the high priest Caiaphas and the denial of Peter).

4) John 18:28-40, 19:1-16 (The suffering of the Lord at the trial of Pilate).

5) Matthew 27:3-32 (Despair of Judas, new sufferings of the Lord at Pilate and condemnation to crucifixion).

6) Mark 15:16-32 (The Lord's way to Golgotha ​​and His suffering on the Cross).

7) Matthew 27:34-54 (On the suffering of the Lord on the Cross; miraculous signs that accompanied His death).

8) Luke 23:23-49 (The Savior's prayer for enemies and the repentance of the prudent thief).

9) John 19:25-37 (The words of the Savior from the cross to the Theotokos and the Apostle John, death and perforation of the rib).

10) Mark 15:43-47 (The removal of the body of the Lord from the cross).

11) 19:38-42 (Nicodemus and Joseph bury Christ).

12) Matthew 27:62-66 (The setting of guards at the tomb of the Savior).

In the intervals between the Gospels, antiphons are sung, which express indignation at the betrayal of Judas, the iniquity of the Jewish leaders and the spiritual blindness of the crowd. “What reason made you, Judas, a traitor to the Savior?” it says here. “Did He excommunicate you from the apostolic person? Or did He deprive you of the gift of healing? "Oh, how many blessings you, ungrateful, have been rewarded with." And then, as if on behalf of the Lord, the choir addresses the ancient Jews: “My people, what have I done to you or offended you? they repaid: for manna - gall, for water [in the wilderness] - vinegar, instead of loving Me, they nailed Me to the cross; I will not endure you anymore, I will call My peoples, and they will glorify Me with the Father and the Spirit, and I will give them eternal life ."

After the sixth Gospel and the reading of the "blessed ones" with troparia, the canon of three hymns follows, conveying in a compressed form the last hours of the Savior's stay with the apostles, the denial of Peter and the torment of the Lord, and is sung three times voluminous. We present here the irmos of this canon.

Song one:

Song Eight:

Song nine:

After the canon, the choir sings a touching eszapostilary, which recalls the repentance of the robber.

For every breath of stichera:

Before the end of the service (vacation), the choir sings the troparion:

Thou redeemed us from the oath of the law (You delivered us from the curses of the [Old Testament] law) with Your honest blood, nailed to the cross and pierced with a copy; You exuded immortality by man, our Savior, glory to Thee.

There is an ancient custom after the last Gospel not to extinguish one's candle, but to bring it home burning and with its flame make small crosses at the top of every door of the house (to keep the house from all evil, Ex. 12:22). The same candle is used to light the lampada in front of the icons.

Good Friday

On Good Friday, on the very day of the death of the Savior, as a sign of special sorrow Liturgy not celebrated. Instead, the Royal Hours are served, which are completely devoted to the events of this day.

About three o'clock in the afternoon is made Vespers with the removal of the shroud(image of the Savior taken down from the cross). At the beginning of Vespers, after the 103rd Psalm, stichera are sung on "Lord, I have called":

During the entrance with the censer, the choir sings:

After entering, three proverbs are read. The first of them tells about the appearance of the glory of God to the prophet Moses (Ex. 33:11-23). Moses, who prayed for the sinning Jewish people, served as a type of the universal Golgotha ​​Advocate, Jesus Christ. The second proverb tells how God blessed Job for his patient endure of suffering (Job 42:12-16). Job served as a type of the innocent Divine Sufferer Jesus Christ, who returned the blessing of the Heavenly Father to people. The third proverb contains Isaiah's prophecy about the expiatory sufferings of the Savior (Isaiah 53:1-12).

The reading of the Apostle speaks of Divine Wisdom revealed in the Cross of the Lord (1 Cor. 1:18-2:2). gospel reading, compiled from several Gospels, tells in sequential order about the events in connection with the crucifixion and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. After the litanies the choir sings verses on verse. During the last stichera below, the priest censes the shroud lying on the throne three times.

After "Now you let go" and "Our Father" the clergy perform removal of the shroud from the altar symbolizing the burial of the Savior. They lift the shroud from the throne and carry it out through the northern gate to the middle of the temple. The servants go ahead with candles, the deacon with a censer, and the worshipers meet the shroud with lighted candles in their hands. The shroud is laid on a special "tomb" standing in the middle of the temple and decorated with white flowers. At this time, the choir sings the funerary troparion in a special chant:

"The noble-looking (noble) Joseph from the tree will take down Your Most Pure Body, wrapping it in a clean shroud, and covering it with stench (fragrances) in a new tomb, covering it, put it."

“An angel appeared to the myrrh-bearing wives at the tomb crying out (called): the world is worthy of the dead, but Christ is alien to corruption” (the dead are smeared with fragrant ointments, Christ is completely inaccessible to corruption).

After burning the shroud everyone kneel and kiss the image of the sores on the body of the Savior, thanking Him for His infinite love and long-suffering. At this time, the priest reads the canon "Lamentations of the Virgin." The holy shroud is left in the middle of the temple for three incomplete days, recalling the three-day stay in the tomb of the body of Christ. From this time on, the bell ringing stops until the beginning of the Easter service in order to observe reverent silence, while the Body of the Savior rests in the tomb. On this day, the Church prescribes complete abstinence from food.

In the evening of this day is served Great Saturday Matins with the rite of burial of the Savior and procession around the church. At the beginning of the service, during the singing of the troparion "Noble Joseph", the faithful light candles, and the clergy from the altar go to the shroud and incense the shroud and the entire temple. The rite of burial is performed in the middle of the temple. The chanters sing verses from the 118th psalm, and the next priest reads the troparion after each verse. The troparions of the rank of burial reveal the spiritual essence of the redeeming feat of the God-man, recall the sorrow of the Most Pure Mother of God and confess faith in the Savior of mankind. The rite of singing the 118th psalm with funerary troparia is divided into three parts, called articles. Small litanies are inserted between articles.

After the third part, anticipating the upcoming resurrection of the Savior, the choir sings "The Cathedral of the Angels was surprised ..." - a hymn that is sung at the vigils on Sunday.

The choir sings irmos of the canon "Sea Wave", in which the horror of all creation is depicted at the sight of the Creator in the tomb. This canon is one of the most perfect creations of Church Christian poetry. At the end of the pamphlet is a Russian translation of this canon. The ninth irmos "Do not cry for Me, Mati" ends the funeral song.

At the end of the Great Doxology, the shroud, while singing "Holy God," accompanied by lamps, banners - and with the burning of incense, rises from the tomb and reverently, with rare strokes of the bell, is carried around the temple in remembrance of the burial of Jesus Christ. At the same time, the descent of Jesus Christ into hell and the victory of Christ over hell and death are also depicted here: With His Suffering and Death, the Savior again opened the doors of paradise to us, and the shroud, after bringing it into the temple, is brought to the Royal Doors. After the exclamation of the priest "forgive wisdom" (forgive me - just stand straight), the chanters sing the troparion "Good-looking Joseph," and the shroud relies again on the tomb in the middle of the temple. Before the shroud they read proverb, apostle and gospel. Paremia contains Ezekiel's prophetic vision of the revival of dry bones (Ezek. 37:1-14). The Apostolic Reading calls to celebrate Pascha "not in the old leaven of malice and deceit, but in the unleavenedness of purity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:6-8; 3:13-14). The Brief Gospel speaks of sealing the tomb of the Savior and setting guards (Mt. 27:62-66).

Holy Saturday

Christ in the tomb. Together with Him, the disciples seemed to have buried their hope and faith. They did not want to give up their dreams of a glorious earthly kingdom until the end. But not only did Christ not found this kingdom, but He Himself perished as a criminal. Even if He turned out to be powerless, then evil, obviously, is stronger than everything? Saturday is a day of rest. In this forced inactivity, the horror of what had happened became even clearer: "And we thought that He was the One." How hurried they were to share places and thrones! The evangelists are silent about what the disciples experienced and changed their minds on that Easter Saturday. But their very silence is more eloquent than all words.

Night descends. The guard is dozing at the sealed coffin. Suddenly, an underground shock shakes the hill. The stone falls off with a crash. A flash like lightning throws warriors to the ground. The coffin is empty. The guards flee in terror. Christ descended into the darkness of the underworld was stronger than death.

In ancient times Holy Saturday Liturgy, like other Great Lenten Liturgies, were celebrated at sunset, and therefore it begins with Vespers. Since the evening service always refers to the next day, and the next day is Easter, the Liturgy of Holy Saturday combines two moments: on the one hand, it ends the passionate services, and on the other, it begins the Easter celebration. These opposite features - sorrow and joy, tears and bright jubilation - miraculously combine in the course of worship. In the middle of the temple there is still an image of the buried Savior, and the choir is already singing His victory over death.

At the beginning of the service, after the singing of the stichera on "Lord, I have called" and the small entrance, 15 proverbs are read in front of the shroud. In ancient times, on Great Saturday, the baptism of the "catechumens" was performed - persons prepared for the adoption of Christianity. Prolonged reading of proverbs gave time to perform the sacrament of baptism for many catechumens.

Paremias. 1) Gen. 1:1-13 (creation of the world). 2) Is. 60:1-16 (New Testament Church). 3) Ref. 12:1-11 (establishment of Easter). 4) John ch 1-4 (the story of the prophet John). 5) Jos. Nav. 5:10-15 (celebration of Passover under Joshua). 6) Ref. 13:20-14:32 (crossing the Red Sea). At the end of the proverb, the choir sings many times: "Glorious for you are glorified." 7) Sof. 3:8-15 (calling of the Gentiles to the Church). 8) 3 Kings. 17:8-23 (the prophet Elijah resurrects a young man). 9) Is. 61:10-11, 62:15 (New Testament Church). 10) Gen. 22:1-18 (sacrifice of Isaac). 11) Is. 61:1-9 (preaching of the Messiah). 12) 4 Kings. 4:8-37 (the prophet Elisha resurrects a young man). 13) Is. 63:11-64:5 (prayer of repentance). 14) Jeremiah. 31:31-34 (conclusion of the New Testament). 15) Dan. 3:1-51 (the salvation of the three youths from the Babylon furnace). At the end of the proverb, the choir sings repeatedly: "Sing to the Lord and exalt Himself unto all ages."

For the newly baptized, now standing in the temple in white shirts and with candles in their hands, instead of the Trisagion, the choir sings “You have been baptized into Christ, you have put on Christ” (All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, Gal. 3:27). After this hymn, Vespers passes into the Liturgy.

Apostolic Reading(Rom. 6:3-11) encourages Christians to die to sin in order to live with Jesus Christ. Here comes the turning point from passionate to Paschal worship: the altar is closed and all the vestments in the church are changed from dark to white. "Rise, O God, judge the earth, for you have inherited in all the nations" (Rise, God, judge the earth, because you will inherit all nations, Ps. 81:8). - the choir sings repeatedly in a solemn tune. By the beginning of the reading of the Gospel, which will announce the resurrection of the Savior (Matt. 28:1-20), the temple takes on a bright, Easter look. After reading the gospel continues Liturgy of Basil the Great in the usual way

Instead of the Cherubim, it is sung:

Instead of Worthy, the choir sings the irmos of the 9th ode of the canon of Matins:

The service of Great Saturday serves as a transition to the coming day, which is considered the Feast of Feasts - the Resurrection of Christ. To strengthen their strength at the end of the service, consecrated loaves dipped in wine are distributed to the faithful.

In addition to strict fasting, the celebration of the day of Great Saturday in ancient times was distinguished by a special inner concentration and solemn silence in church life. “What is this?” Saint Epiphanius says in his discourse on Great Saturday. “Today great silence and peace reign on earth. Deep silence, because the Tsar has rested. dead. God died in the flesh, and hell trembles. God rested for a short time to awaken those in hell."

Conclusion

So, Holy Week is the most significant time of the year, elevating the soul of a Christian and setting it up to receive the most exalted thoughts and impressions - a time that provides abundant food for religious Christian thought and heavenly pleasure to the believing heart. Passionate divine services introduce believers to the grace-filled fruits of redemption, give them a deeper sense of the power of His infinite love of compassion for people. St. John Chrysostom sums up the significance of Christ's feat on the Cross in the following way: "The ancient tyranny of the devil was destroyed on the cross, the mighty one was bound and his weapons were plundered, sin was blotted out, death was trampled down and the oath was removed from people, the barrier of separation was taken away and paradise was opened, Heaven became accessible and people drew closer to angels; God reconciled the heavenly and the earthly."

A living feeling of the love of Christ should help us understand how dear we are to God. This realization will help us perk up so that we do not lose heart because of all the sorrows of life. Here is an edification to us: If Christ died for us sinners, then we must be ready to "lay down our souls" for our neighbors. At the same time, one must courageously resist temptations and not be afraid of exploits. The Apostle Peter thus instructs: “As Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourself with the same thought: for he who suffers in the flesh ceases to sin, so that the rest of the time in the flesh will no longer live according to human lusts, but according to the will of God” (1 Pet. 4: one). May the Almighty God help us all in this! Amen.

Application

Canon of Matins Great Saturday

(translated into Russian)

(The same canon is read before the Easter procession)

Canto 1

Irmos: He Who once buried the persecuting tyrant [Pharaoh] under the waves of the sea, is now Himself buried in the earth by the descendants of those saved [from Egypt]. But we, like then young virgins, will sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously glorified (Exodus 13-15 ch.).

Before each troparion say: Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

All heavenly and earthly beings hesitated at Your death, seeing You, my Savior, mountain on the throne and down in the tomb. For incomprehensibly You turned out to be dead, the Head of life.

In order to fill everything with Your glory, You descended into the lower places of the earth. For my being inherited from Adam did not hide from You. Being buried, You, Lover of mankind, renew me corrupted.

Canto 3

Irmos: Seeing You hanging on the place of the forehead, Who hung the whole earth without support in space, the creature trembled in great horror, exclaiming: "There is no Saint but You, Lord!"

Stretching out your hands, you united from the beginning what was divided, but dressed in a shroud, you, Savior, freed those bound by the grave. Therefore there is no saint but Thee, O Lord.

You, incapable, voluntarily enclosed Yourself in a sealed tomb. But by divine power You have shown Your omnipotence to those who sing: There is no saint but You, O Lord, Lover of mankind.

Canto 4

Irmos: Habakkuk, foreseeing Your divine humiliation on the cross, exclaimed in amazement: "You, Good One, being omnipotent, overthrew the power of the strong and preached to those in hell" (Hab. 2 ch.).

Now You sanctify the seventh day, which You blessed in the beginning with Your rest from labor. For you, my Savior, restore and renew everything, and, resting, you yourself set an example.

Thou hast conquered by Thy excellent power: for though Thy soul was separated from the body, yet Thou, God the Word, by Thy omnipotence, has loosed the bonds of death and hell.

Canto 5

Irmos: Isaiah, awake at night, saw, Christ, the unfading light of Your God's coming out of compassion for us. And then he exclaimed: "The dead will rise, and those lying in the tombs will rise, and all who live on earth will rejoice" (Isaiah 26:19).

Having become corporeal, You, the Creator, renew the earthly. The shroud and the tomb point, O Word, to the mystery that is in You. For the noble adviser [Joseph of Arimathea] does the will of Your Parent, who renews me with You.

By death you change the mortal and by burial the perishable. By divine power You renew the nature You have assumed, making it immortal. For Thy flesh, O Lord, did not see corruption, and Thy soul was marvelously not left in hell.

Canto 6

Irmos: Jonah was swallowed by a whale, but not kept in its depths. For, being a type of You, who suffered and was buried, he came out of the beast, as from a bridal chamber, and said to the guard of Your tomb: “You who watch in vain and in vain have forgotten His mercy” (Jonah, ch. 2).

Deadly for people, but not for God, was the fall of Adam. For although Your human nature suffered, the Divinity remained impassive. You transformed your corruptible nature into incorruptible, and by Your resurrection You opened the source of incorruptible life.

Hell reigns, but not forever, over the human race. For, being buried, you, the almighty Savior, with your life-giving right hand broke the shackles of death, becoming the firstborn from the dead, and announced complete deliverance to those who were there from long ago.

Canto 7

Irmos: An inexplicable miracle! Who saved the pious youths from the flames of the furnace, Himself descends into the grave dead and lifeless to save us who sing: "Blessed are You, God, the Redeemer!" (Dan. 3 ch.).

The coffin is rich, having received You as if the Creator had fallen asleep. He became the source of divine life, to the salvation of us singing: Blessed are You, God the Savior.

The life of all, obeying the law of mortals, is placed in a tomb and makes it a source of resurrection, singing to our salvation: Blessed are You, God the Redeemer.

And in hell, and in the tomb, and in Eden, the Divinity of Christ remained inseparable from the Father and the Spirit, singing to us for salvation: Blessed are You, God the Redeemer.

Canto 8

Irmos: Tremble with horror, heaven, and let the foundations of the earth shake, for the One who lives in Heaven is numbered among the dead, and is placed like a wanderer in a cramped coffin. Priests, sing; people, praise Him forever!

The most pure temple is destroyed, but the fallen tabernacle is restored. For the second Adam, who lives in heaven, descended even to the depths of hell to the first [Adam]. Youths bless Him, priests sing praises, people exalt Him forever.

O extraordinary miracles! Oh goodness! O unspeakable patience! He who lives in the highest is voluntarily sealed underground, and God is slandered as a deceiver. Youths bless Him, priests sing praises, people exalt Him for all eternity.

Canto 9

Irmos: Do not weep over Me, Mother, seeing in the tomb of the Son, whom You conceived in the womb without a seed. For I will arise and glorify myself as God, and I will exalt in glory those who always magnify you with faith and love.

O My beginningless Son! Having supernaturally escaped illnesses, I was glorified in Your marvelous Nativity. Now, seeing You, My God, as a lifeless dead man, I am cruelly pierced by the sword of sorrow. But rise, so that I may be exalted.

Let the creature rejoice, let all earthly people rejoice, for the hostile hell has been plundered. Greet Me with fragrances, wives. I will deliver Adam and Eve with all their offspring, and on the third day I will rise.

Missionary Leaflet 59
Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission
Copyright © 2001, Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission
Editor: Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

In the Orthodox Church, this is the most important week of the whole year, dedicated to the last days of Christ's earthly life, His suffering, crucifixion, death on the cross, and burial. Holy Week is no longer Great Lent: it ended on Friday of the sixth week, but fasting these days is observed especially strict and the spiritual life of an Orthodox person is most intense and deep.

The services of Holy Week are especially majestic and solemn, the hymns are especially beautiful and touching, the services of Passion Week are not only the saddest, but also the most beautiful services of the entire church year.

In Passion Week, all days are called Great: because of the great remembrances committed by the Church.

On the first three days of Holy Week, the Church prepares the faithful for heartfelt participation in the Savior's suffering on the Cross.

On Great Monday, the Church remembers the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph the Beautiful. Joseph, the beloved son of the patriarch Jacob and Rachel, was sold by the envious brothers for twenty pieces of silver to Egypt, telling his father that wild beasts had torn him to pieces. In Egypt, he was bought by the courtier Potiphar, whose wife tempted Joseph, but he remained chaste (the event is depicted on the icon). Thanks to the wisdom given to him by God, Joseph soon rose to prominence in the court of Pharaoh, managed to prevent famine in this country, so that one day his brothers came to him to buy bread. They did not recognize the brother they had sold, but he accepted them, was generous, did not reproach them with a word for the old evil. Joseph, sold for twenty pieces of silver, became a type of Christ, valued by the traitor at thirty pieces of silver. His chastity, gentleness and willingness to forgive also resemble the features of the Face of Christ. Finally, the story of his imaginary death and meeting with his relatives clearly points to the death and Resurrection of the Savior.

AT Monday of Holy Week The patriarch makes prayers at the beginning of the rite of chrismation. The rite of chrismation takes place only once a year and only on Holy Week, the primate of the Church heads the rite of chrismation. Miro is brewed for three days: on Maundy Monday until evening, all of Maundy Tuesday and the morning of Maundy Wednesday. All this time, the priests take turns reading the Holy Gospel, and the deacons stir with oars. The consecration of the world is performed by His Holiness the Patriarch on Maundy Thursday at the Divine Liturgy. The consecration takes place after the Eucharistic Canon with the Holy Doors open.

Miro is a special mixture of vegetable oils, fragrant herbs and fragrant resins (50 substances in total). In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle, high priests, prophets and kings were anointed with it. The myrrh-bearing women went to the tomb of Jesus with such peace. Chrism is anointed during the performance of the Sacrament of Chrismation: baptism, in cases where non-Orthodox Christians join Orthodoxy. Miro is also used to consecrate new thrones in churches.

AT Maundy Tuesday Christ came to the temple in Jerusalem and taught a lot in the temple and outside the temple, the chief priests and elders, hearing His parables and understanding what He was saying, tried to seize Him and kill Him. But they did not openly dare to attack Him, being afraid of the people who revered Him as a prophet.

AT Great Wednesday I remember the sinful wife who washed with her tears and anointed the feet of the Savior with precious ointment when He was at the supper in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, and thereby prepared Christ for burial. Here Judas decided to betray Christ to the Jewish elders for 30 pieces of silver (an amount sufficient at the then prices to acquire a small plot of land even in the vicinity of Jerusalem).

These days, Patriarch Alexy II reminds the flock, “We must remember the lessons of Great Lent. Chief among them is moral purity, humility of mind, when we do not exalt ourselves, but in our hearts we keep humility before God. The Patriarch calls despondency one of the main sins. “How often it seems to us that life's trials are unbearable for us, and we fall into despondency, but the Lord does not send the cross beyond our strength”, “we must try to overcome the sins we are used to, see our shortcomings and not condemn our neighbors.” “Only then,” says His Holiness, “the special Paschal joy will come.”

“We are already approaching the very Passion of the Lord. The Lord can forgive everything, purify everything, heal everything. Only two barriers can stand between us and Him. love is the loss of hope in Him, it is the fear that God may not have enough love for us ... Peter denied Christ; Judas betrayed Him. Both could share the same fate: either both be saved or both perish. But Peter miraculously retained confidence that the Lord, who knows our hearts, knows that, despite his renunciation, cowardice, fear, oaths, he retained love for Him - a love that now tore his soul with pain and shame, but love. Judas betrayed Christ, and when he saw the result of his action, he lost all hope; it seemed to him that God could no longer forgive him, that Christ would turn away from him just as he himself had turned away from his Savior, and he left... Let us draw near to Christ as a harlot: with all our sin, and at the same time, responding with all our soul, with all our strength, with all our weakness to the holiness of the Lord, let us believe in His compassion, in His love, let us believe in His faith in us, and let us hope with such a hope that nothing can be crushed, because God is faithful and His promise is clear to us: He did not come to judge the world, but to save the world...". Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh

The Orthodox are trying to make every effort to attend all the services performed in the temple, starting from the evening of Great Wednesday, believers know that without Passion Week it is impossible to fully experience the joy of the Resurrection of Christ.

On Great Wednesday, at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is said for the last time with three great prostrations. On Wednesday evening, the Lenten Divine Service ends, the sounds of weeping and lamentations of the sinful soul fall silent in hymns, and days of another weeping come - weeping from the contemplation of the horrific torments and sufferings on the Cross of the Son of God Himself.

At the evening service, the Sacrament of Confession is performed: on this day, all Orthodox confess.

AT Thursday of Holy Week the most important gospel event is remembered in the service: the Last Supper, at which Christ established the New Testament sacrament Holy Communion (Eucharist). "Jesus took bread, and having blessed it, broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said: Take, eat: this is My Body. And, taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said: Drink everything from it, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, poured out for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28). As the Church teaches, a Christian, taking Holy Communion - the Body and Blood of the Lord, is mysteriously united with Christ: in every particle of Communion, the whole Christ is contained. On Maundy Thursday of the Holy Mysteries of Christ all Orthodox take communion.

At the liturgy in cathedrals during the hierarchal service, a touching rite of washing the feet is performed, which resurrects in memory the immeasurable humility of the Savior, who washed the feet of His disciples before the Last Supper. The bishop washes the feet of the 12 priests sitting on both sides of the place prepared in front of the pulpit, representing the disciples of the Lord who have gathered for the supper, and wipes them with a ribbon (a long cloth).

On Maundy Thursday preparations for Easter begin. To the question of how to properly prepare for the Feast, Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, Candidate of Theology, Deacon Andrey Kuraev, answers as follows: “One poem by Boris Pasternak says: “People have cleaning before the holiday, aside from this crowd, I wash Your Most Pure Feet with peace from a bucket”. I think that it is really better to prepare for the holiday away from the crowd. Do not strive to prepare the table tastier, do the tidying up in the house. Maundy Thursday is not Maundy Thursday because on this day they make a bath or wash furniture from dust, but because people come, confess and take communion. Great Saturday is by no means just a time of pre-holiday fuss, but this is a time of secret silence about the mystery of God, who descended into hell for us. And, of course, Good Friday is, again, not the time for trips to the cemetery or buying vodka, but this is the time when a Christian, if possible, should spend the whole day in the temple, contemplating Christ, His suffering, remembering that, in general, It was not the Romans and not the ancient Jews who hammered nails into the hands of Christ, but the sins of each of us."

Day Great heel dedicated to the memory of condemnation to death The Passion and Death of the Savior. In the divine service of this day, the Church, as it were, stands at the foot of the Cross of Christ. At Matins of the Great Heel (it is served on Thursday evening), the 12 Gospels of the Holy Passion are read - 12 passages from the New Testament, which tell about the betrayal of Judas, the trial of Christ and the Crucifixion of Christ.

On Good Friday morning, the Royal Hours are served. There is no liturgy on this day - out of reverence for the Calvary sacrifice, brought on the day of the Great Heel by the Son of God Himself. This is a day of strict fasting (no food is eaten until the shroud is taken out) and great sorrow.

At the end of Vespers on Good Friday, the rite of taking out the Shroud of Christ is performed - an icon depicting His position in the tomb, after which the canon is read about the crucifixion of the Lord and the cry of the Most Holy Theotokos, then the faithful venerate the Shroud.

AT Great Saturday 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 victory over death there and the deliverance of souls who with faith awaited His coming, and the introduction of the prudent thief into paradise. At the end of the Liturgy of Holy Saturday, the Paschal troparion is sung.

The strict rest prescribed by law on the great day of Paschal Sabbath, as we have seen, was bound by the inaction of the most ardent admirers of Jesus, but could not stop the unfortunate activity of His bitter enemies. Anger in this case showed that it is sometimes more memorable than love: if in the minds of the disciples of Jesus, as if by some miracle, His repeated predictions about His Resurrection from the dead were forgotten, then the Pharisees and scribes did not forget this and took measures against so that the prediction does not actually come true.

Accustomed to acting impurely, inspired by passions and profits, Caiaphas and his slanderers imagined that the disciples of Jesus, in vengeance for the death of the Teacher, would certainly take advantage of such a prediction, that is, they would secretly carry away the body of the Teacher from the tomb, tell the people that He had risen from the dead, and thus raise a dangerous excitement for the Sanhedrin. His burial by a member of the Sanhedrin in his own garden and coffin seemed to open up all the possibilities for such an act. Therefore, in a secret council, Caiaphins immediately decided to take all necessary measures and for this to surround the tomb of Jesus for three days of guards. The high priests had no shortage of such watch; nevertheless, they did not dare to act on their own and considered it best to turn again to the procurator, no matter how hard a new meeting with him after the events of the previous day seemed difficult. In addition to the fact that this removed responsibility for the consequences of the new measure, the Roman guard was much more reliable than the Jewish one because of strict discipline and complete non-participation in popular unrest because of Jesus. Appearing to Pilate, the chief priests and scribes, as before, assumed the appearance of zealous guardians of public peace and the benefits of the Roman government: “We remembered,” the hypocrites said, “that This flatterer, while still alive, said: after three days I will rise from the dead. Therefore, command that the tomb be guarded until the third day, lest His disciples come at night and steal Him away and tell the people that He has risen from the dead. In this case, the last deception may be worse than the first.

The proud Roman horseman, who had recently been so cruelly humiliated by these same people in front of the whole people, was least of all disposed to believe their concern for the public good, but clearly resisting the proposal, which seemed to be the fruit of far-sighted caution and tireless concern for the peace of the people, was not in the spirit of Roman power. . Therefore, Pilate immediately agreed to the proposed measure, expressing, however, his distrust of the sincerity of the Sanhedrin by the fact that he himself did not take any direct part in it.

“You have a custodian,” answered Pilate (that was the name of the military guard at the temple), go ahead, take from it as much as you like, and guard the coffin, as you know.”

There was nothing to object to such an imaginary trust, and the high priests, taking the required number of soldiers, set off for Joseph's garden. Here, no doubt, they carefully examined the entire interior of the burial cave in order to make sure that the body of Jesus was intact and that there was no other way out of the cave, except for the one that was littered with a huge stone. After examination, this stone was again rolled up to the entrance and, for greater safety from any attempt to enter the cave, was sealed with the seal of the Sanhedrin. The posted guard, no doubt, was properly instructed, having received the order to guard vigilantly that on which, as the high priests said, depended the tranquility of the whole of Judea, Pilate's Praetorium, and Caesar himself.

Thus, the malice of the enemies of Jesus did, for its part, everything that was necessary to testify before the whole world of the truth of the Resurrection of Christ! the very people who go brazenly contrary to his holy determinations

The disciples and admirers of Jesus, except, perhaps, Joseph, who owned the garden, did not know at all about the custodian placed by the Sanhedrin at the tomb of Jesus; otherwise, after the Sabbath day, they would not have been going to this tomb to anoint His body with fragrant ointments, because now it was no longer possible.

“It is time for God to act: for thy law is ruined” (Ps. 119:126)! So from an excess of sorrow, David once exclaimed, seeing how the cup of iniquity was overflowing in the hands of some people. A hundred times it was necessary to repeat this exclamation to the one who was at the tomb of Jesus. Here it was especially time for God, God Himself, to act, for - not only the law was devastated, the Legislator himself was desecrated! Mankind has never seen so much great, beautiful, divine as seen in the short time of Jesus' ministry. And everything great, beautiful, divine - was now enclosed in a coffin, sealed with the seal of Caiaphas! What would have happened to mankind if this seal had not melted from the fire of the truth of God, if the flesh of the Righteous had seen decay (Acts 2:31)? The divine world, which opened for a while, would close again - forever. The kingdom of God, brought down to earth, would again soar into heaven. After divine illumination, an even darker night would come.

Private acts of good could remain. Zacchaeus would probably continue to be merciful, the pardoned sinner would continue to be chaste, Joseph and Nicodemus could keep the confidence that the Teacher came from God (John 3:2). But the great work of human salvation would have remained buried with Jesus. Desperate were the words of the disciples: there is a third day over all of these, from this former (Luke 24:21). But how terrible these words would be if it were necessary to say: “There is a third day over all of these, apart from this former” (Luke 24:21). But how terrible these words would be when they sounded like this: “there is a third year over all of these, a third age, a third millennium, apart from this former!”

Without Jesus: "Rejoice!" (Matthew 28:9) - there would be no joy in the heart of the apostles; without Jesus: "Peace be with you!" (John 20:19) - the world would not have spread over the face of the earth. It was necessary first to say to the resurrected Teacher: Lord and my God! (John 20:28) - and then die for the Lord and their God. The Resurrection confirmed the disciples in the faith, "giving birth to them," as St. Paul, the hope is alive. And without this, the voice of the apostolic sermon would not have been heard, and the world would have been left without a cross - with their idols, Athens and Rome - with their "unknown God" (Acts 17:23).

So, it was time for God, God Himself, to act! It was the most decisive moment not only for all mankind, but also for the Divine world government itself - the moment when it was necessary to solemnly show in the face of the whole world of angels and men that "there is not one end to good and evil, righteous and wicked" - that "there is a God judge the earth!” So, “Rise God! Judge the earth! Like You" - you are one - "inherit in all the nations!"