Holy Week: a guide to the week. Holy Week

14.10.2019

On the Holy Week(from April 22 to April 27, 2019) a believer must definitely visit the temple. And, of course, these days cannot be spent without prayers. Christians should be distracted from worldly, everyday affairs and devote themselves to spiritual concerns.

What prayers to read during Holy Week?

If you have not yet read the entire Old and New Testaments, catch up on the days of Great Lent. Try to read these books in a calm environment, and then reflect on what you have read.

In addition to morning and evening prayers you can read the psalms of King David, as well as Lenten prayers - Great penitential canon St. Andrew of Crete and the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.

And what prayers are read during Holy Week? All four Gospels should be read for the first three days. On Maundy Thursday, at the service in the church, believers co-present at the Last Supper and receive communion, and in the evening the Gospels of the Passion of the Lord are read in churches.

Prayer to the Lord Jesus crucified

“Nailed on the Cross for us, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of God the Father, the Son, mercy, love and bounty, an inexhaustible abyss! We know, for the sake of my sins, from inexpressible philanthropy, Thou hast deigned to shed Your Blood on the Cross, even though I am, unworthy and ungrateful, hitherto filthy my deeds are trampled and not in any way. Moreover, from the depths of my iniquity and impurity, with my intelligent eyes, I gazed at the Crucified Thee on the Cross of my Redeemer, with humility and faith in the depths of the ulcers filled with Your mercy, I cast myself down, asking for the sins of forgiveness and the filthy life of my correction. Be merciful to me, my Master and Judge, do not reject me from Your presence, but by Your all-powerful hand turn me to You and guide me on the path of true repentance, so that from now on I will lay the beginning of my salvation. Tame my carnal passions by Thy divine sufferings; With Your poured out Blood, cleanse my spiritual filth; crucify me with your crucifixion to the world with its temptations and lusts; With Your Cross, protect me from invisible enemies that catch my soul. Thy pierced hands, my hands, from every deed that is not pleasing to You, hold back. Nailed to the flesh, nail my flesh to Your fear, so that having evaded evil, I do good before You. Having bowed Your head on the Cross, incline my exalted pride to the land of humility; with your crown of thorns, protect my ears, in a hedgehog do not hear except what is useful; tasting bile with your mouth, put storage with my unclean mouth; Have a heart open with a copy, create a pure heart in me; With all your ulcers, hurt me all sweetly in your love, so that I may love you, my Lord, with all my soul, with all my heart, with all strength and with all my mind. Give yourself a strange and poor, where to bow your heads; give me the All-good One, who delivers my soul from death; give me the All-Sweet One, who delights me in sorrow and misfortune with His love, but I hated Him first, angered Him, exiled Him from myself and nailed to the Cross, now I will love him, rejoicing I will receive and sweetly His Cross until the end of my life I will bear. From now on, O my all-good Redeemer, do not give me a single will to be done, there is evil and indecent, but I will not fall into the hard work of sin that reigned in me; but Your good will, wanting to save me, may it always be done in me, even handing me over to You, my Crucified Lord, with the smart eyes of my heart I represent and pray from the depths of my soul, and even in my separation from my mortal body, You are One on the Cross I will see yours, in the hand of my protection I will accept, and from the air spirits of malice, I will instill sinners who have pleasing you with repentance. Amen".

Holy Week dedicated to the memory of the last days of the earthly life of the Savior, His suffering on the Cross, death and burial. According to the greatness and importance of the events that took place, each day of this week is called holy and great. These sacred days are perceived by believers as a Divine feast, illuminated by the joyful consciousness of salvation received through the suffering and death of the Savior. Therefore, on these holy days, neither the memory of the saints, nor the commemoration of the dead, nor prayers are performed. As on all major holidays, the Church even on these days calls on the faithful to take a spiritual part in the divine services and become partakers of sacred remembrances.

Since apostolic times, the days of Holy Week have been in deep reverence among Christians. Believers spent Passion Week in the strictest abstinence, fervent prayer, in deeds of virtue and mercy.

All the services of Passion Week, which are distinguished by the depth of pious experiences, contemplation, special tenderness and duration, are located in such a way that they vividly and gradually reproduce the history of the Savior's suffering, His last Divine instructions. For each day of the week, a special remembrance is assimilated, expressed in hymns and gospel readings of matins and liturgy.

Participating in the sufferings of the Savior, “being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3, 10), the Holy Church takes on a sad image this week: sacred objects in temples (throne, altar, etc.) and the clergy themselves dress in dark clothes and worship takes predominantly the character of sadly touching contrition, compassion for the Passion of Christ. In modern liturgical practice, they usually perform Lenten services in black vestments, changing them to bright ones on Holy Saturday. In some monasteries and temples, the service is performed on Fortecost, in accordance with more ancient practice, in purple vestments, and on Holy Week - in scarlet - burgundy, the color of blood - in remembrance of the Blood of the Savior poured out on the Cross for the salvation of the world.

On the first three days of Passion Week, the Church prepares the faithful for worthy contemplation and heartfelt participation in the Savior's suffering on the Cross. Already at the Vespers on the Week of Vay, she invites the faithful to flock from the highest and most sacred Divine Feast of the Vay to the Divine Feast of the honest, saving and mysterious remembrance of the Passion of Christ, to see the Lord accepting voluntary suffering and death for us. In the hymns of the Triodion these days, the Church encourages believers to follow the Lord, to be crucified with Him, and with Him to be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In the divine services of the first three days of Passion Week, a general penitential character is still retained.

On Great Monday, the Church in her hymns invites to meet the beginning of the Passion of Christ. In the divine service on Monday, the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph the Beautiful is remembered, out of envy, sold by his brothers to Egypt, foreshadowing the suffering of the Savior. In addition, on this day, the Lord desiccates the richly leafed but barren fig tree, which serves as an image of the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, in whom, despite their outward piety, the Lord did not find the good fruits of faith and piety, but only the hypocritical shadow of the Law. Every soul is like a barren, withered fig tree that does not bring forth spiritual fruits—true repentance, faith, prayer, and good deeds.

On Great Tuesday, we remember the denunciation by the Lord of the scribes and Pharisees, His conversations and parables, spoken by Him on this day in the temple of Jerusalem: about tribute to Caesar, about resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, about ten virgins and about talents.

On Great Wednesday, we remember the sinful wife who washed 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, with imaginary concern for the poor, revealed his love of money, and in the evening he 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).

On Great Wednesday at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, after the prayer behind the ambo, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is said for the last time with three great prostrations.

On Thursday of Holy Week, four most important evangelical events that took place on that day are commemorated in divine service: The Last Supper, at which the Lord established the New Testament sacrament of Holy Communion (Eucharist), the washing of the feet of His disciples by the Lord as a sign of deepest humility and love for them, the prayer of the Savior in the garden Gethsemane and the betrayal of Judas.

In remembrance of the events of that day after the ambo prayer at the liturgy in cathedrals during the hierarchal service, a touching rite of washing the feet is performed, which resurrects in our memory the immeasurable condescension of the Savior, who washed the feet of His disciples before the Last Supper. The rite is performed in the middle of the temple. When the protodeacon reads the corresponding place from the Gospel, the bishop, having taken off his vestments, 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 (long cloth).

In the Patriarchal Cathedral in Moscow, at the Liturgy of Great Thursday, after the transfer of the Holy Gifts, His Holiness the Patriarch performs the consecration of the holy world as needed. The consecration of the world is preceded by its preparation (the rite of chrismation), which begins on Holy Monday and is accompanied by the reading of the Holy Gospel, the prescribed prayers and hymns.

The Day of the Great Heel is dedicated to the remembrance of the condemnation to death, the suffering on the Cross and the death of the Savior. In the worship of this day, the Church, as it were, sets us at the foot of the Cross of Christ and before our reverent and trembling eyes depicts the saving sufferings of the Lord. At Matins of the Great Heel (usually served on Thursday evening), the 12 Gospels of the Testament of the Holy Passion are read.

At the end of Vespers on Good Friday, the rite of taking out the Shroud of Christ is performed with the image of His position in the tomb, after which there is a reading of the canon about the crucifixion of the Lord and the cry of the Most Holy Theotokos, then the dismissal of the evening service follows and the application to the Shroud (kissing of the Shroud) is performed. Nothing is said in the current Typicon about the removal of the Shroud on Good Friday. It is only spoken of carrying it out on Great Saturday after the great doxology. There is no mention of the Shroud in the Friday service and in the most ancient Greek, South Slavic and Old Russian charters. Presumably, the custom of wearing the Shroud at Great Vespers on Good Friday began with us in the 18th century, later than 1696, when the editing of the Typicon in our Church was completed under Patriarchs Joachim and Adrian of Moscow.

On 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.

Divine services on this Sabbath, unprecedented and unforgettable in all the ages of human life, begin in the early morning and continue until the end of the day, so that the last Saturday songs of the so-called Paschal Midnight Office merge with the beginning of the solemn Paschal hymns - at Paschal Matins.

On Holy Saturday, the liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated, beginning with the liturgy. After a small entrance with the Gospel (near the Shroud), 15 paramias are read before the Shroud, which contain the main prophecies and types relating to Jesus Christ, as having redeemed us from sin and His death death on the cross and His Resurrection. After the 6th Parimia (about the miraculous crossing of the Jews across the Red Sea), the chant is sung: "Gloriously glorified." The reading of parimias concludes with the song of the three youths: "Sing to the Lord and exalt unto all ages." Instead of the Trisagion, “They were baptized into Christ” and the Apostle is read about the mysterious power of Baptism. This singing and reading serve as a remembrance of the custom ancient church to baptize the catechumens on Great Saturday. After the reading of the Apostle, instead of "Alleluia", seven verses selected from the psalms containing prophecies about the Resurrection of the Lord are sung: "Rise, O God, judge the earth."

During the singing of these verses, the clergy change into bright clothes, and then the Gospel of Matthew, ch. 115. Instead of the Cherubic Hymn, the song "Let all human flesh be silent" is sung. The Great Entrance takes place near the Shroud. Instead of "Rejoices in you" - irmos of the 9th song of the canon Great Saturday"Do not cry Mene, Mati." Involved - "Get up, as if sleeping, Lord, and rise again, save us." The Prayer beyond the ambo is read behind the Shroud. Everything else happens according to the order of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. After the dismissal of the liturgy, the blessing of bread and wine is directly performed. This rite recalls the ancient pious custom of Christians to wait for the onset of Easter in the temple, listening to the reading of the Acts of the Apostles. In view of the strict fast that was observed for a whole day until the Easter holiday, and the impending vigil, the Church strengthened the strength of the faithful with blessed bread and wine.

The sufferings of Christ are remembered by St. Orthodox Church the week before Easter. This week is called Passionate. Christians should spend this entire week in fasting and prayer.

Events before Passion Week: Lazarus Saturday

Saturday in week 6 Matins and Liturgy commemorate the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus Christ. This Saturday is called Lazarus Saturday. At Matins on this day, the Sunday "troparia for the Immaculate" is sung: "Blessed be Thou, Lord, teach me Thy justification," and at the Liturgy, instead of "Holy God," "You are baptized into Christ, clothed in Christ. Alleluia."

Events before Passion Week: Palm Sunday

sixth Sunday Great Lent is the great twelfth feast, on which the solemn Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem to free suffering. This holiday is called Palm Sunday, Week of Vay and Flower-bearing. At Vespers, after reading the Gospel, the "Resurrection of Christ" is not sung ... but the 50th psalm is read directly and is consecrated by prayer and sprinkling of St. water, blossoming branches of willow (vaia) or other plants. The consecrated branches are distributed to those who pray, with whom, with lit candles, the faithful stand until the end of the service, marking the victory of life over death (resurrection).

From Vespers on Palm Sunday, the dismissal begins with the words: "The coming Lord on our free passion for the sake of salvation, Christ our true God" ... etc.

All four evangelists tell about Christ's entry into Jerusalem a few days before the suffering on the Cross (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19). When, after the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, Christ went to Jerusalem to celebrate Pascha, a multitude of people who had gathered from everywhere for the feast, having heard about the miracles that Christ had performed, with jubilation and joy greeted the Lord entering the city on a donkey with solemnity, with which in ancient times times in the East accompanied the kings. The Jews had a custom: the victorious kings entered Jerusalem on horses or donkeys, and the people greeted them with solemn cries, with palm branches in their hands. So in these days, the Jerusalemites took palm branches, went out to meet Christ and exclaimed: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord, King of Israel!” Many spread their clothes under His feet, cut branches from palm trees and threw them along the road. Having believed in the mighty and good Teacher, the simple-hearted people were ready to recognize in Him the King who had come to set them free. But just a few days later, those who sang "Hosanna!" will shout, “Crucify Him! His blood is on us and on our children!”

Passion Week Events

Great Lent consists of Great Fortecost and Holy Week. Divine services during Passion Week are of particular importance.

V Holy Week the post is especially strict.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week are dedicated to remembering the last conversations of the Lord Jesus Christ with the people and disciples.

Great Monday

Great Monday, Holy Monday - Monday of Holy Week. On this day, the Old Testament patriarch Joseph, sold by his brothers to Egypt, is remembered as a prototype of the suffering Jesus Christ, as well as the gospel story about Jesus cursing a barren fig tree, symbolizing a soul that does not bear spiritual fruit - true repentance, faith, prayer and good deeds.

The service of Great Monday is permeated with memories of the Old Testament Joseph. In his sufferings from his brothers who hated him, his chaste abstinence and undeserved imprisonment in prison, the Church sees a prototype of the sufferings of Christ. In the final triumph of Joseph and his exaltation in Egypt, the resurrection of Christ and His victory over the world are foreshadowed. Like Joseph, who forgave his brothers and nourished them with earthly goods, Christ reconciles fallen humanity with Himself and nourishes the faithful with His Body and Blood. The story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife is symbolically opposed to the fall of the forefathers: Potiphar's wife, like Eve, became the vessel of the crafty serpent, but Joseph, unlike Adam and like the coming Savior, was able to resist the temptation and remain pure from sin; sinning Adam was ashamed of his nakedness before God, and the chaste Joseph preferred to remain naked in order to preserve his moral purity. The tradition of seeing in the story of Joseph a type of gospel events can be traced back to apostolic times and can be found in Acts (Acts 7:9-16).

In the morning, returning to the city, he became hungry; And when he saw a fig tree on the way, he went up to her, and finding nothing on it but only leaves, he said to her, Let there be no fruit from you forever.

(Mt. 21:18-19) The interpreters of the Gospel compare this barren fig tree with the modern Israel of Christ. When the Lord approached the tree, only it, unlike the other fig trees, was covered with leaves. So among all peoples ancient world only the Israelites had a divinely revealed religion, the Law and the prophets - that is, they knew what fruit the Lord was expecting from them. And if for the rest of the nations the time of fruitfulness had not yet come, the news of salvation through the God-man Jesus Christ had not yet spread throughout the world, then Israel had to bear fruit, had to recognize in Jesus their long-awaited Messiah.

Approaching the fig tree, Christ did not find fruit on it - it simply misled, deceived the traveler with its beauty, but was absolutely useless, because it could not satisfy hunger. So Christ "came to his own, and his own did not receive him" (Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 11). In the Jerusalem Temple, beautiful and magnificent services continued to be performed, the blood of sacrificial animals flowed in streams. But after the coming of the God-man to earth, after His sacrifice on the cross, these rituals became absolutely useless for those who yearn to satisfy the hunger of God-forsakenness. Indeed, if Jesus is God, then no sacrificial rams are needed anymore.

After that, Jesus came to the Temple in Jerusalem where he told the parables about the two sons and the evil vinedressers.

The Parable of the Two Sons

Then, turning to them, he asked: “Will you answer me another question? One man had two sons, and he sent them to his vineyard to work: one of them refused to go, but then he felt ashamed, he repented and went; the other said, "I am going," but he did not go. Which of the two carried out the will of the father?

Not understanding what purpose Jesus was pursuing in speaking this parable, they answered: “Of course, the first one (Mt. 21:31); can there be any doubt about it?

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus told them. Listen to what this parable means. The Lord, through John, called you to repentance, which is necessary for entering the Kingdom of God, and demanded from you worthy fruits of repentance; in a word, he called you to work in His vineyard. He also called publicans and harlots. It seemed that you, proud of the knowledge of the Scriptures, would respond to His call rather than open sinners; besides, with your outward piety, you have always tried to present yourself as exact executors of the will of God; you always said: "I'm coming, Lord!", although you didn't move. You did not go to the call of John. And the publicans and harlots, who, indulging in sin, refused to do the will of God, having heard John, changed their minds, repented and went to work in God's vineyard. And you saw this, but still you did not repent, you did not believe John. So know that publicans and harlots are ahead of you on the way to the Kingdom of God; many of them will even enter it, and you will be rejected!”

The members of the Sanhedrin came to the temple as accusers, and now they silently stood before Jesus and all the people as condemned.

Parable of the Evil Tenants

“Hear another parable,” Jesus told them. — One man planted a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, set up a winery and built a watchtower; but since it was necessary for him to leave for another place, he gave the vineyard to the management of the tenants with the obligation to deliver to him a part of the fruits. When the time came to gather the fruits, he sent a servant to the vinedressers to receive their fruits; but the vinedressers beat him and gave him nothing. He sent another servant; but even this one the vine-growers sent away empty-handed, breaking his head with stones. The owner of the vineyard sent a third servant, but the vinedressers killed him too. He sent many more servants, but all to no avail: the vine-growers did not give fruit, and the sent servants were sometimes beaten, sometimes completely killed. It would seem that the time has come to take away the vineyard given to them for management from the evil vinedressers; but the host was so kind that he decided to try one more last resort: “I have,” he said, “a beloved son; I will send him; it cannot be that they reject him too; they will probably be ashamed of him and give him his due.” The owner's son went to the winegrowers; but when they saw him from afar, they recognized him as a son and heir, and, fearing that he would take away the vineyard from them, they conspired to kill him. "Let's kill him," they said, "and then the vineyard will be ours forever." Having decided so, they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.”

This parable made a strong impression on the people; When Jesus said that the vine-growers had killed their son and thrown him out of the vineyard, the people, indignant at the evil vine-growers, shouted with one voice: “Let this not be!” (Luke 20:16).

The high priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders of the people looked angrily at everyone, like convicted criminals. The closing words of Jesus concerning the first parable left no doubt in them that the second would also expose their iniquities; the content of this second parable was so transparent that the leaders and corrupters of the Jewish people had to recognize themselves in the evil vinedressers; they should have guessed that Jesus knew and their decision to kill him. Yes, they undoubtedly understood that under the vineyard of the parable, they mean the Jewish people chosen by God, the care of which is entrusted by the Owner of the vineyard, God, to the high priests and leaders of the people (vine growers); they understood that God sent to them His servants, the prophets, to demand the fruits of their management of the people, to admonish them that this management was entrusted to them not for their personal benefit, but so that they would take care of the fruitfulness of the vineyard and give its fruits to the Owner, then there is to educate the people in the spirit of exact fulfillment of the will of God; At the same time, they had to remember that these prophets were persecuted and even killed, that the last Prophet and Baptist John was rejected by them, and that they had already decided to kill Jesus, who called Himself the Son of God, but had not yet had time. In a word, the meaning of the parable was clear to them, as it is now to us; but if they had given the people the slightest hint that they would recognize themselves in the face of evil vinedressers, then this people would probably seize stones and beat them all. It was this fear of the people that redoubled their shamelessness and impudence, and they, in order to show everyone that the parable has nothing to do with them, to the question of Jesus - so, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these vinedressers? - they answered: "It is certain that he will betray these villains with a fierce execution, and will give the vineyard to other vinedressers, who will give him the fruits in time."

These villains themselves pronounced a sentence on themselves, which was soon fulfilled: the government of the Jewish people was taken away from them; the right to be conductors of the will of God among the Jews and the pagans who came to the Jerusalem temple was also taken away, since the temple was destroyed, and the people scattered throughout the earth ceased to exist as a people.

Maundy Tuesday

On Tuesday morning Jesus came from Bethany to Jerusalem and taught the people. On this day, they told the disciples about the second coming (Matt. 24),

When it will be? (Matthew 24:3) - the disciples asked. But the Lord answered them that no one knows about that day and hour, not even the angels in heaven, but only My Father alone (Matt. 24:36). In this way Holy Bible keeps in deep secrecy and does not reveal to us the exact time of the Second Coming, so that we always keep ourselves clean and pure and ready to meet the Lord at any time.

That is why the Lord warns the disciples: Watch therefore, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come. But as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. So it will be on the day when the Son of Man appears. So, be awake (Mt. 24:42; cf. Luke 17:26 and 27:30; Mt. 25:13).

the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13), the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30). The chief priests and elders tempted him with questions (Mk. 11:27-33), wanted to arrest him, but were afraid to do it openly because of the people who revered Jesus as a prophet (Mt. 21:46), admired his teachings (Mk. 11 :18) and listened attentively to him (Mark 12:37).

From the gospel instructions uttered by Jesus Christ on Tuesday, the Church chose for the edification of believers on this day mainly the parable of the ten virgins, as especially appropriate for the time of the Great Week, in which we should be most awake and pray. By the parable of the ten virgins, the Church inspires the everlasting readiness to meet the Heavenly Bridegroom by chastity, almsgiving and the immediate performance of other good deeds depicted under the name of oil prepared by wise virgins.

Archpriest G.S. Debolsky,

"Days of worship of the Orthodox Church", v.2

the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30)

For He will act like a man who, going into a foreign country, called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them: and to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his strength; and immediately set off. The one who received the five talents went and put them to work and acquired another five talents; in the same way, he who received two talents acquired the other two; but the one who received the one talent went and dug it in the ground and hid his master's money.

After a long time, the master of those servants comes and demands an account from them. And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought another five talents and said, Sir! you gave me five talents; behold, five other talents I have acquired with them. His master said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant! you have been faithful in a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.

The one who had received two talents also approached and said: Sir! two talents

gave me; behold, two other talents I have acquired with them. His master said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant! you have been faithful in a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.

The one who had received one talent also approached and said: Sir! I knew you that you are a cruel man, you reap where you did not sow, and gather where you did not scatter, and being afraid, you went and hid your talent in the ground; here's yours. And his master answered and said to him: Crafty and lazy servant! you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter; wherefore it behooved thee to give my money to the merchants, and when I came, I would have received mine with a profit; Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents, for to everyone who has it will be given and it will be multiplied, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. but cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Having said this, he proclaimed: He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Great Wednesday

On Great Wednesday of Holy Week, the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot is remembered.

The night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Jesus Christ spent the last time before his death in Bethany. Here, in the house of Simon the leper, a supper was prepared for the Savior. The sinful wife, having learned that He was reclining in the house of the Pharisees, approached Him with an alabaster (alabaster) vessel of whole precious peace and poured it on His head, as a token of her love and reverence for Him (Luke 7, 36-50). His disciples were sorry for the waste of the world: God, they said, be sold to save three hundred penyas and be given to the poor. But Jesus Christ forbade embarrassing the wife and praised her: for she did a good deed for Me, He said. Always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good to them: But do not always have me. Pouring this ointment on my body, create me for the burial. Amen, I say to you: if this gospel be preached, in all the world, it will be said and done this, in her memory. So, according to the word of Christ, not only doing good to those in need should be considered a good deed, but also a feasible expression of love for God and neighbors; not only a good deed to our neighbors, whom we see, but also an offering to God Himself, Whom we do not see, who is gracefully present in churches!

While Jesus Christ was reclining in the house of Simon, the chief priests, scribes and elders of the Jews, constantly watching the Lord, gathered at the high priest Caiaphas, consulted how to take Jesus Christ by cunning and kill him. But they said: only not on a holiday, so that there would not be indignation among the people. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, comes to the lawless gathering and offers: what do you want to give me, and I will deliver him to you? With joy, the unrighteous judges accepted the insidious intent of Judas, infected with greed, and set him thirty pieces of silver. Hence, the ungrateful disciple seeks a convenient time to betray the Savior of the world (Mt. 26:3-16; Mk. 14:1-11). Fulfilling the words of the Lord about the wife, two days before His death, who anointed Him with myrrh: it is said all over the world and do this, in her memory, the Orthodox Church on Great Wednesday remembers mainly the sinful wife, who poured myrrh on the head of the Savior, preaching to the world, hedgehog do this, in her memory, and together expose the betrayal of Judas. The Synaxarion for Great Wednesday begins with the verses:

The wife of the believer of the body of Christ, Nikodimov's myrrh, is undertaking myrrh.

“This is a crafty council,” the Church lamentably sings on Great Wednesday, “truly gathered furiously: as a condemned judge, condemn the mountain of the Sitting One, and the Judge of all God. “The sinner brought her head to the feet of Christ,” as St. Chrysostom also says, “Judas stretched out his hands to the lawless; she sought the remission of sins, and this one took silver. The sinner brought myrrh to anoint the Lord: the disciple agreed with the lawless, she rejoiced, spending precious myrrh: this one cared to sell the Invaluable; she knew the Master, and this one moved away from the Master; she was freed from sin, and this one became his prisoner.

The Church remembers the sinful wife and the betrayal by Judas on Great Wednesday from ancient times. In the 4th century, Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, John Chrysostom spoke on Great Wednesday about a sinful wife who anointed Jesus Christ with myrrh. Equally, Isidore Pelusiot mentions her in his writings and refers her significant expression of faith and love for the Savior to the Great Wednesday. In the 8th century Cosmas of Maium, in the 9th century the Monk Cassia composed many stichera for worship on Great Wednesday, which are now performed on this day. St. Chrysostom, in his 80 discourse on the Gospel of Matthew, speaks of a sinful wife: this wife, apparently, is the same for all Evangelists: but no. The three evangelists seem to me to be talking about the same thing; but John - about another, some wonderful wife - the sister of Lazarus. The evangelist did not just mention Simon's leprosy, but to show the reason why the woman boldly approached Jesus. Since leprosy seemed to her an unclean and vile disease, and meanwhile she saw that Jesus healed a man and cleansed leprosy, otherwise she would not want to stay with a leper: then she had hope that Jesus would easily cleanse her spiritual impurity.

What Christ foretold about the sinful woman was fulfilled. Wherever you go in the universe, everywhere you hear what is announced about this woman; although she is not famous and did not have many witnesses. Who proclaimed and preached this? The power of the One who foretold it. So much time has passed, and the memory of this incident has not been destroyed; and the Persians, and the Indians, and the Scythians, and the Thracians, and the Sarmatians, and the generation of the Moors, and the inhabitants of the British Isles tell what the sinful wife did secretly in the house.

Judas was also indignant, seeing how costly myrrh was poured out on the head of the Savior. This time his behavior is in no way distinguished by the Evangelist Matthew from the background of other disciples, but earlier in a similar situation he was the first to begin to resent an unreasonable, from his point of view, waste (John 12, 4-5). Evangelist John explains that this happened not because he cared for the poor, but because there was a thief. He had a money box with him and wore whatever was put in it (John 12:6). Money became an idol, the focus of Judas' life, and his greedy heart could not stand it: it was simply physically painful for him to see such a generous disinterested spending of what he considered the main thing in his existence. From burning all-consuming envy and resentment traitor immediately rushed to do his job. Covetousness, as both the Gospel and church service that day, was the main driving force behind Judas' betrayal, but the underlying motives for this monstrous act, if you look closely at them, were even more complex and terrible. The story itself is not surprising.

He was chosen by the Savior among the twelve apostles, the closest disciples. And this election was not accidental and undeserved. Like all the apostles, Judas left everything he had: his native city, house, property, family, and followed Christ. He was indeed one of the most the best people in Israel, ready to accept the gospel message. Judas then had an undoubted faith and determination to serve the Lord all his life. Judas was not deprived of anything in comparison with the other apostles. Together with other disciples, he was sent to preach the word of God in the cities and villages of Judea, while he also performed miracles: he healed the sick and cast out demons. Judas heard the same words of the Savior as other disciples, even before the Last Supper, Christ, among the other apostles, washed the feet of Judas, who had already agreed to betrayal.

Hear all the lovers of money who suffer from the Judas disease, hear and beware of the passion of the love of money. If one who was with Christ worked miracles, made use of such a teaching, fell into such an abyss because he was not free from this disease: then all the more you, who have not even heard the Scriptures and are always attached to the present, can conveniently be caught by this passion, if you do not apply unceasing care.

How did Judas become a traitor, you ask, when he was called by Christ? God, calling people to Himself, does not impose necessity and does not force the will of those who do not want to choose virtues, but exhorts, gives advice, does everything, tries in every possible way to induce them to become good: if some do not want to be good, He does not force! The Lord chose Judas as an apostle because he was originally worthy of this election.

At Matins on Great Wednesday, the Orthodox Church proclaims the prophetic words of the Lord about His many-bearing death; about glorifying Him with the voice of God the Father: a voice came from heaven: and I will glorify and again I will glorify, and that he is the light of the world (John 12, 17-50).

On the day of the Lord's surrender to suffering and death for our sins, when He forgave the sins of a sinner wife, the Church, after the Hours have been celebrated, ends, according to the ancient custom, the reading of the prayer: "Master, many-merciful, Lord Jesus Christ God," which she daily during Great Lent , at the service of Compline, with the bowing of the heads and knees of the upcoming ones, he intercedes before God for the grant to us of the remission of our transgressions. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is also served for the last time on Great Wednesday, at which the Church proclaims the gospel of the woman who anointed the Lord with chrism, and of Judas' determination to betray the Lord (Matt. 26:6-16). On Great Wednesday, the great bows made during the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: "Lord and Master of my life" and so on. After Wednesday, it was decided to perform this prayer until the Great Heel only for monks in cells. Thus, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian begins on Wednesday of Cheese Week and ends on Holy Wednesday. The habit of ending the rite of Lenten services on Great Wednesday is ancient. It is mentioned in the 4th century by Ambrose of Milan.

Archpriest G. S. Debolsky

Maundy Thursday

On Maundy Thursday evening, after Vespers (which is Good Friday matins), the twelve parts of the gospel of the sufferings of Jesus Christ are read.

On Good Friday, during Vespers (which is served at 2 or 3 p.m.), a shroud, that is, a sacred image of the Savior lying in a tomb, is taken out of the altar and placed in the middle of the temple; this is done in remembrance of the removal from the cross of the body of Christ and His burial.

On Holy Saturday at Matins, at the funeral ringing of bells and singing the song “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us,” the shroud is wrapped around the temple in remembrance of the descent of Jesus Christ into hell, when His body was in the tomb, and victory Him over hell and death.

We prepare ourselves for Holy Week and Easter fasting. This fast lasts forty days and is called Holy Forty Days or Great Lent.

In addition, the Holy Orthodox Church instituted a fast on Wednesdays and Fridays of every week (except for some very few weeks of the year), on Wednesdays in memory of the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas, and on Fridays in memory of the suffering of Jesus Christ.

We express faith in the power of Jesus Christ's suffering on the Cross for us by the sign of the Cross during our prayers.

Foot washing- the washing of the feet of the apostles described in the Gospel, which Jesus Christ performed before the Last Supper, in the Zion Room in Jerusalem. This rite has become part of the liturgical practice of a number of Christian churches.

The washing of the disciples' feet is only described in the Gospel of John. According to his account, at the beginning of the Last Supper:

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given everything into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, took off His outer garment and, taking a towel, girded himself. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. Approaches Simon Peter, and he says to Him: Lord! Do you wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him: What I am doing, you do not know now, but you will understand later. Peter says to Him, You will never wash my feet. Jesus answered him: unless I wash you, you have no part with me. Simon Peter says to Him: Lord! not only my feet, but also my hands and my head. Jesus tells him: He who has been washed only needs to wash his feet, because he is all clean; and you are clean, but not all. For He knew His betrayer, therefore He said: You are not all pure. When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes, he lay down again and said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you speak correctly, for I am exactly that. So, if I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, then you must also wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. If you know this, blessed are you when you do

On Thursday of Holy Week, the Church remembers the most important gospel event: last supper, on which Christ established the New Testament sacrament of Holy Communion (Eucharist).

This was the last Paschal supper that the Lord could celebrate with His disciples in His earthly life: instead of this Old Testament Pascha, celebrated in memory of the miraculous deliverance of Jewish babies from death during the Egyptian executions, He intended to establish now the true Pascha - the sacrament of the Eucharist (Eucharist - means Thanksgiving).

According to the gospel story, Jesus came for his prayers before arrest in Garden of Gethsemane, located at the bottom of the slope of the Mount of Olives near the Kidron stream, east of the center of Jerusalem. For this reason, in Christianity, the Garden of Gethsemane is revered as one of the places associated with the Passion of Christ and is a place of Christian pilgrimage.

The place where Jesus Christ prayed is currently inside Catholic Church of all nations, built in 1919-1924. In front of her altar is a stone on which, according to legend, Christ prayed on the night of his arrest.

Kiss of Judas(Kissing of Judas) - a plot from the gospel story, when Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, betrayed him, pointing to the guards, kissing him at night in the Garden of Gethsemane after praying for a cup. The kiss of Judas is one of the Passion of Christ in Christianity and immediately follows the Gethsemane prayer of Jesus.

Good Friday

The service of Good Friday is dedicated to the remembrance of the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross, His death and burial.

At Matins (which is served in the evening on Maundy Thursday) in the middle of the temple, twelve Gospel readings are read, chosen from all four Evangelists, telling about the sufferings of the Savior, starting with His last conversation with His disciples at the Last Supper and ending with His burial in the garden of Joseph of Arimathea and the assignment of military guards to his tomb. During the reading of the Gospel, believers stand with lighted candles, showing on the one hand that glory and greatness did not leave the Lord even during His suffering, and on the other hand, ardent love for their Savior.

There is no Liturgy on Good Friday, because on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself, and the Royal Hours are celebrated.

Vespers is celebrated at the third hour of the day, at the hour of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, in remembrance of the removal from the cross of the body of Christ and His burial.

At Vespers, while singing the troparion:

Good-looking Joseph from the tree will take down Your Most Pure Body, wrapping it in a clean shroud and fragrant, laying it in a new tomb.
Glory: When you descended to death, Lifeless Life, then hell killed you with the brilliance of the Divine: when you also resurrected those who died from the underworld, all the powers of heaven cry out: Life-giving Christ our God, glory to Thee.
And now: To the myrrh-bearing women, appearing at the tomb, an angel crying out: the world is worthy of the dead, but Christ is a stranger to corruption

The clergy raise the Shroud (i.e., the image of Christ lying in the tomb) from the Throne, as if from Golgotha, and take it out of the altar to the middle of the temple in the presentation of lamps and while burning incense. The shroud is placed on a specially prepared table (tomb). Then the clergy and all those praying worship before the Shroud and kiss the ulcers of the Lord depicted on it - His perforated ribs, hands and feet.

1) The shroud is a cloth that was wrapped around the body of Jesus Christ during burial.

2) A quadrangular board, usually made of velvet, with a painted or embroidered image of the body of Christ the Savior taken from the Cross. At the end of Vespers on Great Friday, the shroud is taken to the middle of the temple for the worship of the faithful and remains there until the Paschal Midnight Office, at which it is again taken to the altar.

The Shroud is located in the middle of the temple for three (incomplete) days, thus reminiscent of the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the tomb.

Holy Saturday

Having taken it down from the cross and wrapped it in linen with incense, according to the custom of the Jews, Joseph and Nicodemus laid the most pure Body of the Lord in a new stone tomb in Joseph's garden, located not far from Golgotha. A large stone was rolled to the doors of the coffin. At the burial of Jesus Christ was Mary Magdalene, the mother of James and Josiev.

The chief priests and Pharisees knew that Jesus Christ foretold His resurrection, but not believing this prediction and fearing that the Apostles would not steal the Body of Jesus Christ and would not tell the people: He had risen from the dead, - on Saturday they asked Pilate for military guards, put him to the tomb and the tomb itself was sealed (Mt. 27:57-66; John 19:39-42) and thereby brought new confirmation to the truth.

The service of Great Saturday is dedicated to the memory of the stay of Jesus Christ "in the tomb of the flesh, in hell with the soul, like God, in paradise with the thief and on the throne with the Father and the Spirit, fulfilling everything indescribable" and, finally, the resurrection of the Savior from the tomb.

On Great Saturday Matins, after the Great Doxology, the Shroud while singing: "Holy God" ... is carried out by the clergy from the temple on its head, with the participation of the people, and is carried around the temple in remembrance of the descent of Jesus Christ into hell and His victory over hell and death. Then, upon bringing the Shroud into the temple, it is brought to the open royal doors, as a sign that the Savior is inseparably with God the Father and that He, through His suffering and death, again opened the doors of paradise to us. The singers at this time sing: "Good-looking Joseph" ...

When the Shroud is put in place in the middle of the temple, then the litany is pronounced and read: paremia from the book of Prop. Ezekiel about the resurrection of the dead; An apostle teaching believers that Jesus Christ is the true Pascha for us all…; The gospel tells how the high priests, with the permission of Pilate, placed guards at the tomb of the Lord and applied a seal to the stone. At the end of Matins, the faithful are invited to praise the church song of Joseph of Arimathea: "Come, let us bless Joseph of ever-memorable" ...

The Divine Liturgy on this day is later than on all other days of the year and is combined with Vespers.

After a small entrance and singing "Quiet Light ...", the reading of 15 proverbs begins, in which the most important Old Testament types and prophecies about the salvation of people through the Suffering and Resurrection of Jesus Christ are collected.

After paroemias and the Apostle, the feast of the Resurrection of Christ begins. On the kliros, they begin to sing in a long line: “Rise up, God, judge the earth, as if You have inherited in all the nations…”, and in the altar at this time the black clothes of the throne and the clergy are replaced by light ones, and in the temple itself black vestments are replaced by light ones. This is an image of the event that the myrrh-bearing women early in the morning, “still existing in darkness,” saw an Angel in bright robes at the tomb of Christ and heard from him the joyful news of the resurrection of Christ.

After this singing, the deacon in light vestments, like an angel, goes to the middle of the temple and before the Shroud, reading the Gospel, announces to people about the Resurrection of Christ.

Then the Liturgy of Basil the Great continues in the usual order. Instead of the Cherubim song, the song is sung: “Let all human flesh be silent” ... Instead of “It is worthy to eat”, it is sung: “Do not weep for Me, Mother, see in the grave” ... Communion verse: “Get up, as if the Lord is sleeping, and rise up saving us.”

At the end of the Liturgy, there is a blessing of bread and wine to strengthen the strength of the worshipers. After this, the reading of the book of the Acts of the Apostles begins and continues until the beginning of Midnight Office.

At the twelfth hour of the night, the Midnight Office is celebrated, at which the canon of Great Saturday is sung. At the end of the Midnight Office, the clergy silently transfer the Shroud from the middle of the temple to the altar Royal Doors and put it on the throne, where it remains until the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, in memory of the forty-day stay of Jesus Christ on earth after His resurrection from the dead.

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Passion Week is dedicated to remembering the last days of the Savior's earthly life, His suffering on the Cross, death and burial. According to the greatness and importance of the events that took place, each day of this week is called holy and great. These sacred days are perceived by believers as a Divine feast, illuminated by the joyful consciousness of salvation received through the suffering and death of the Savior. Therefore, on these holy days, neither the memory of the saints, nor the commemoration of the dead, nor prayers are performed. As on all major holidays, the Church even on these days calls on the faithful to take a spiritual part in the divine services and become partakers of sacred remembrances.

Since apostolic times, the days of Holy Week have been in deep reverence among Christians. Believers spent Passion Week in the strictest abstinence, fervent prayer, in deeds of virtue and mercy.

On Great Tuesday, we remember the denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees by the Lord, His conversations and parables, spoken by Him on this day in the Temple of Jerusalem: about tribute to Caesar, about the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, about ten virgins and about talents.

On Great Wednesday at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, after the prayer behind the ambo, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is said for the last time with three great prostrations.

In remembrance of the events of this day, after the prayer beyond the ambo at the liturgy in cathedrals, during the hierarchal service, a touching rite of washing the feet is performed, which resurrects in our memory the immeasurable condescension of the Savior, who washed the feet of His disciples before the Last Supper. The rite is performed in the middle of the temple. When the protodeacon reads the corresponding place from the Gospel, the bishop, having taken off his vestments, 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 (long cloth).

On Holy Saturday, the liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated, beginning with the liturgy. After a small entrance with the Gospel (near the Shroud), 15 paramias are read before the Shroud, which contain the main prophecies and types relating to Jesus Christ, as having redeemed us from sin and death by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection. After the 6th Parimia (about the miraculous crossing of the Jews across the Red Sea), the chant is sung: "Gloriously glorified." The reading of parimias concludes with the song of the three youths: "Sing to the Lord and exalt unto all ages." Instead of the Trisagion, “They were baptized into Christ” and the Apostle is read about the mysterious power of Baptism. This singing and reading serve as a remembrance of the custom of the ancient Church to baptize catechumens on Holy Saturday. After the reading of the Apostle, instead of "Alleluia", seven verses selected from the psalms containing prophecies about the Resurrection of the Lord are sung: "Rise, O God, judge the earth."

During the singing of these verses, the clergy change into bright clothes, and then the Gospel of Matthew, ch. 115. Instead of the Cherubic Hymn, the song "Let all human flesh be silent" is sung. The Great Entrance takes place near the Shroud. Instead of "He rejoices in you" - the irmos of the 9th song of the canon of Great Saturday "Do not cry Mene, Mati." Involved - "Get up, as if sleeping, Lord, and rise again, save us." The Prayer beyond the ambo is read behind the Shroud. Everything else happens according to the order of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. After the dismissal of the liturgy, the blessing of bread and wine is directly performed. This rite recalls the ancient pious custom of Christians to wait for the onset of Easter in the temple, listening to the reading of the Acts of the Apostles. In view of the strict fast that was observed for a whole day until the Easter holiday, and the impending vigil, the Church strengthened the strength of the faithful with blessed bread and wine.

In order to conduct Great Lent correctly, it is necessary to engage in daily spiritual cleansing, for which prayers and the Bible serve. Almost every day of Fortecost has its own special readings.

Every day, except weekends and until Wednesday of Holy Week inclusive, the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read:

Lord and Lord of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, arrogance and idle talk. Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to me, Thy servant. Yes, Lord, King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for you are blessed forever and ever. Amen.

We should not forget that Saturdays 2, 3 and 4 of the week are parental, when the souls of deceased relatives are commemorated. The best way to do this is to submit a note with the names of deceased relatives in advance and be present at the liturgy.

First week

In the first week of Great Lent, the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read for four days: it is divided into four parts, one per day Monday to Thursday. Also at this time, Psalm 69 is read:

O God, seek my help, Lord, seek my help. Let those who seek my soul be ashamed and put to shame; May the Abies return ashamed, saying to me: good, good. May all who seek You, O God, rejoice and rejoice in Thee, and may they speak out, may the Lord be exalted, who love Thy salvation: but I am poor and wretched, O God, help me: Thou art my helper and my Redeemer, O Lord, do not stagnate.

V Friday the troparion and kontakion are read to St. Theodore Tyron. Saturday is dedicated to communion, the prayer of St. Basil the Great is read. Sunday is the Triumph of Orthodoxy, therefore they perform the "Following on the Week of Orthodoxy"

Second week

parent saturday second week of Great Lent, liturgies are held in the church. Sunday the second week of Great Lent is associated with the name of St. Gregory Palamas. The Troparion and Kontakion of Gregory Palamas and the life of the saint himself are read.

third week

Parental Saturday of the third week of Great Lent. Sunday third week - Holy Cross Week. Troparion and Kontakion to the Cross are read.

fourth week

V Monday the troparion of the triode is read:

Fasting is overwhelmed, we dare in spirit for the future youthful, prosperous with God, brethren, as if Pascha will joyfully see the Risen Christ.

Tuesday:

Thou hast redeemed us from the lawful oath of Thy honest Blood, nailed on the cross, and pierced with a spear, exuded immortality by man, our Savior, glory to Thee!

Parental Saturday of the Fourth Week of Great Lent. Read the verse:

What worldly sweetness is uninvolved in sorrow; what kind of glory stands on the earth is immutable; the whole canopy is weaker, the whole dormouse is more charming: in a single moment, and this whole death accepts. But in the light, Christ, of Your face and in the delight of Your beauty, whom thou hast chosen, rest in peace, like a Lover of mankind.

Sunday the fourth week is named after St. John of the Ladder. The Troparion and Kontakion of John of the Ladder are read, as well as the life of the saint.

Fifth week

Monday- the “Ladder” of John of the Ladder is read, word 9 (about memory of malice)
Tuesday - read the word 12 (about lies) and 16 (about the love of money) from the "Ladder" of John of the Ladder.

Wednesday- the canon of Andrew of Crete is fully read, Maryino Standing is performed in the church.

Saturday dedicated to the Akafest of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Sunday The fifth week of Great Lent is dedicated to the Monk Mary of Egypt, her life is read.

sixth week

Sunday the sixth week is dedicated to the resurrection of the righteous Lazarus. The Gospel of John, chapter 11 and the festive troparion are read:

The general resurrection, before your passion, assuring you, raised Lazarus from the dead, Christ God. The same and we, like the youths of the victory of the sign bearing, We cry to you the conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

seventh week

Monday: read the parable of the barren fig tree found in Luke 13:6.

Tuesday: dedicated to the parable of the ten virgins described in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 25).

Wednesday: in the Gospel of Matthew (26:6), it speaks of the betrayal of Judas and the woman who anointed the Lord with myrrh. This chapter has been chosen by the Church for the Wednesday of Holy Week.

Thursday: remember the Last Supper, the description of which is in the Gospel of Matthew (26:21).

Friday: 12 passionate gospels are read about what happened after the betrayal of Judas and before the burial of the Lord.

Saturday: read the Gospel of Matthew (28:1-20)

Sunday: Easter day, the Easter canon is read.

By observing the prescriptions of the Church and Fasting, you can lighten your soul and accomplish a small spiritual feat for yourself. All the best, and don't forget to press the buttons and

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