All Orthodox Christians strive to spend the last week before Easter in strict fasting and prayer. This is no coincidence, because at this time the Church remembers the last days of the Savior's earthly life. Good Friday is a day of special mourning and commemoration of the great event of a cosmic scale - the crucifixion of Christ.
Good Friday is the strictest fasting day of the year for Orthodox Christians. On this day, the church charter prescribes abstinence from food. Only water is allowed. As an indulgence, you can use a little food in the form of dry food after dinner, when the holy shroud of the Savior has already been brought out in the temples.
Good Friday is a remembrance of the terrible events of the crucifixion of the Lord. An Orthodox person must be imbued with a special understanding of the cost at which the salvation of all mankind, the whole world was achieved. The price is incredibly high - the death of the Son of God. On this day, the One who has not committed a single sin dies. God himself leaves his life in order to grant the possibility of eternal life in paradise to everyone. Salvation by Christ was accomplished not only for people who lived in those days, but for all ancestors and descendants. That is why every Orthodox seeks to fast strictly on Good Friday and to raise his mind to remembering terrible historical events. It is necessary to pass them through your heart, to feel the whole tragedy of what is happening.
Holy Scripture tells us that at the moment of the crucifixion of Christ, the sun darkened. Nature shuddered at what the creature did to its Creator. An earthquake was observed. These natural phenomena were confirmed by further data from astronomers and other scientists. So, it is known that on the day of Christ's death, the darkness that enveloped the earth was a solar eclipse.
Good Friday is the culmination of God's love for man. The Bible says so that God's love for people is so strong that He gives His Only Begotten Son to die. This was decided by the pre-eternal counsel of the Trinity before the creation of man. On Good Friday, the divine plan for the suffering of God for the sins of people is embodied, and in this the top of the Creator's love for creation is manifested.
Therefore, Orthodox Christians all over the world strive to keep this day holy and pure.
