Holy Week is the last week before Easter. A Christian tries to spend these days with special piety and a prayerful attitude, which is facilitated by special divine services in churches.
In most Orthodox parishes, Holy Week services begin on Wednesday evening (Matins on Maundy Thursday). In cathedrals and temples where church services are held daily, special services are held Monday through Wednesday. On these days, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served, and passages from the Gospel are read on the clock.
On Wednesday evening of Holy Week, Matins is celebrated in all Orthodox churches, at which the establishment of the sacrament of communion by the Lord Jesus Christ is commemorated. The service begins at five or six o'clock in the evening. At the end of the service, believers begin confession in order to partake of the Holy Gifts the next day.
On Thursday morning (8:00 or 9:00) the reading of the hours, pictorial and Vespers, which turns into the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, is performed. At this time, Orthodox churches are full of people, because every Christian, whenever possible, tries to receive Holy Communion on Holy Thursday. That is why the people call this day "Maundy Thursday" - if possible, participation in the holy sacraments that cleanse the soul of a Christian from sin and make it worthy of union with Christ in the Eucharist.
On Thursday evening (17:00 or 18:00), the service of Matins of the Great Heel (Good Friday) is performed. This is a special service. during which 12 passages from the Gospel are read, telling about the sufferings of Christ on the cross.
On the morning of Good Friday, the Tsar's clock is set off. The name comes from the fact that in ancient times, this special service was attended by the kings and rulers of both the Byzantine Empire and the Russian state. At the end of the hours, vespers are also pictorial.
On Friday afternoon (approximately in the period from 13:00 to 15:00), a small supper is sent to the temples, during which the Savior's shroud is taken out of the altar for worship. The shroud depicting the position in the tomb of Christ is installed in the middle of the temple. In front of this shrine at Little Compline, the priest reads the canon "to the lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos", reflecting the grief of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, who saw the crucifixion of her Son and God. According to the established Christian tradition on Good Friday, it is forbidden to eat any food until the end of the service with the removal of the holy shroud.
On the evening of Good Friday (17:00 or 18:00), the rite of burial of the Lord Jesus Christ, consisting of the service of Matins and the first hour, is sent to Orthodox churches. At this special service, the 17th kathisma with statues (special short troparions dedicated to the burial of Christ) is read. At the end of Matins, the holy shroud is accompanied by the singing of the funeral Trisagion, with a procession of the cross around the church.
On the morning of Great Saturday, you can partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ for the last time during Great Lent. From eight or nine o'clock in the morning, the reading of the hours, pictorial and vespers begins, turning into the liturgy of St. Basil of Cappadocia (the Great). Fifteen Old Testament readings (paremias), as well as passages from the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament (91st conceived the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, 115th conceived the Gospel of Matthew) are inserted into the succession of the Vespers service on Great Saturday. Further, the liturgy is celebrated in its own rite, but with certain hymns instead of "Cherubim" and "It is worthy to be." The choir performs the liturgical work "Let all human flesh be silent …" and "Do not weep for Me, Mati …". These texts are sung only at the liturgy of Great Saturday and reflect the trembling of a person before the accomplished event of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, as well as the grief of the Virgin Mary about the burial of the Savior with the hope of a future resurrection.
The Divine Services of Holy Week are concluded with the Liturgy of Great Saturday. It is worth especially mentioning that on Saturday afternoon, various Easter foods (products) begin to be consecrated.
The time of the beginning of the services of Holy Week may vary, since it is determined with the blessing of the rectors of specific parishes.
