Orthodox calendar for Passion Week. Passion Week. Maundy Thursday - Maundy Thursday

April 2(March 20 according to the "old style" - church Julian calendar). Great Monday, the first day of Holy Week. According to the Church Charter, today at the meal is blessed xerophagy- uncooked lean food without vegetable oil. Next, we will briefly talk about today, and also mention the saints, whose memory is celebrated on April 2.

Great Monday. On the last Monday before Easter, the most mournful period for Christians begins: Holy Week.

Days when special services are held in all Orthodox churches, reminiscent of the path of Christ to Golgotha, where the Savior made a redemptive sacrifice for all mankind. Every day of Holy Week is deeply symbolic, and these are not just memories of the events of two thousand years ago, but their direct empathy by believers. On this day, at the divine service, the Old Testament patriarch Joseph the Beautiful, sold by his brothers into Egypt, is remembered as a prototype of the suffering Christ; as well as the gospel story about the curse by the Lord of a barren fig tree, symbolizing a soul that does not bear spiritual fruit - true repentance, faith, prayer and good deeds.

In the morning, returning to the city, [the Savior] was hungry; And when he saw a fig tree on the way, he went up to her, and, finding nothing on it, except some leaves, he said to her: let there be no further fruit from you forever ... "

(Matthew 21:18-19)

In Orthodox churches on Great Monday, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated, a unique service of Great Lent and Holy Week, during which Christians partake of the Holy Gifts, consecrated before. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia always celebrates this Liturgy with special, mournful solemnity, in whose sermons the key themes of Passion Week sound especially deep:

On the eve of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, it is important to devote your time to a greater extent than usual to prayer, whether at home or, if possible, through a visit to the holy temple. And for monastics, Passion Week, just like the first week of Great Lent, is a spiritual feast, it is a great joy and a great celebration. And every day gives new strength to those who have dedicated their lives to serving God, who have the happiness to be in the church in the morning and in the evening, pray, hear these wondrous words and nourish their souls... Passion Week should not pass somehow in passing, without spiritual understanding of those gospel events. It must pierce his mind and his heart. Then the meeting of the Bright Resurrection of Christ will be a truly spiritual event. To this holy day we all aspire ... "

And although it is not easy for most believers to visit the temple these weekdays, it is very important for each of us to find an opportunity to take Holy Bible. To read about the events of Passion Week and open your heart to the great sorrow of the Crucifixion and the joy of Christ's Bright Resurrection.

Saints John, Sergius, Patricius and others slain in the monastery of Saint Sava. Holy sufferers who were martyred for Christ and His Church by the impious Muslim Saracens in 796 year.

Martyr Photina (Svetlana) Samaritan, her sons martyrs Victor, named Photin, and Josiah; and sisters of the martyr: Anatolia, Photo, Photis, Paraskeva, Kyriakia, Domnina and the martyr Sebastian. The same Samaritan woman with whom the Lord spoke at the well. Suffered for Christ under Emperor Nero in Rome in 66 from Christmas. Together with her, both of her sons, sisters and the martyr Domnina suffered for Christ.

Martyr Photina. Photo: pravoslavie.ru

Virgin Martyrs Alexandra, Claudia, Euphrasia, Matrona, Juliana, Euphemia and Theodosia. Early Christian martyrs who died during the persecution of the pagan emperor Maximian Galerius in 310 from Christmas.

Saint Nikita the Confessor, Archbishop of Apolloniades. Saint of the Church of Christ, who suffered during the reign of the iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian ( 813-820 years from the Nativity of Christ) he firmly stood for Orthodox veneration holy icons, for which he was exiled and died in exile.

Venerable Martyr Euphrosynus of Sineozersk, Novgorod. Russian saint XV- startXVItable ty, the founder of the Trinity Sineozerskaya desert, near Ustyuzhna. He died at the hands of the Polish-Lithuanian invaders in 1612 from Christmas.

Martyr Euphrosynus of Sineozersk, Novgorod. Photo: pravoslavie.ru

Hieromartyr Vasily Sokolov, deacon. An Orthodox clergyman who suffered for his fidelity to Christ during the Soviet atheist persecution. He took the crown of martyrdom during the so-called "Great Terror" in the bloody 1938. He was glorified as a saint in the many thousands of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.

Congratulations to Orthodox Christians on Great Monday - the beginning of Holy Week and the memory of today's saints of God! By their prayers, Lord, save us and have mercy on us all!

Holy Week (April 6 - 11), so named in memory of the last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, is the week of the strictest fast, the time when we prepare for the feast of holidays - Easter, the Bright Resurrection of Christ (April 12). Each of the days Holy Week received the name Great - this emphasizes both the unusualness of this day for people, and the greatness of what the Savior did for us.

"The Passion of the Christ", as the events are called last days the earthly life of Christ, the fact is that in the Church Slavonic language the word "passion" can mean "suffering", and it is this meaning that gave the name to this very important period for all believers. Twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, the most intense services are held in churches, passages from the Gospel are read, immersing us in the tragic events of those days: the last communion with the disciples, the betrayal of Judas, the unrighteous judgment, Golgotha, the Crucifixion, death on the Cross and burial. During Holy Week, fasting is especially strict, believers try to observe it strictly - in order to feel the meaning and feat of Christ. The purpose of Holy Week is to bring people as close as possible to understanding what Christ has done for us, to spiritually prepare people for the joy of Christ's Resurrection.

Holy Week Calendar

Maundy Monday (April 6). The first three days of Holy Week are devoted to recollections of the conversations of Jesus Christ with the people and disciples. On Great Monday, during the service, they remember a barren fig tree, withered to the root - as an image of a person who perishes in impenitence. Maundy Monday also has an event that happens only once a year. On this day, the Patriarch reads prayers for the beginning of the rite of chrismation. Miro is a special mixture of vegetable oils, fragrant resins and fragrant herbs (50 substances in total), which is used during the Sacrament of Confirmation (performed after Baptism), as well as during the consecration of new thrones in the temple. Miro is boiled during the first three days of Holy Week and is accompanied by the reading of special prayers. The brewed myrrh is consecrated by the Patriarch on Maundy Thursday. Every baptized person remembers that immediately after the Sacrament of Baptism was performed on him, the priest anointed him with myrrh on his forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, chest, palms and feet, while saying "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen." During this Sacrament of Confirmation, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are communicated to a person. So, myrrh, which will later be used at the baptism of new members of the Church and at the consecration of new thrones in churches, begins to be brewed on Great Monday, the first day of Holy Week.

Maundy Tuesday (April 7). On this day, the Church remembers the parables told by Christ to the disciples shortly before the suffering on the Cross. The Savior revealed spiritual truths to His disciples, dressing them in the form of a parable - a short allegorical story taken from ordinary life. The fact is that the disciples of Christ were ordinary people, and the parable, on the one hand, is easy to understand and remember, and on the other hand, it contains the deepest spiritual meaning, illustrates the Divine laws on the examples of our earthly, everyday life. So, during the service on Good Tuesday, they remember the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents, and Christ's story about the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment. Taken together, these Gospel readings call believers to spiritual vigilance, to ensure that we do not "dig into the ground" the talents bestowed upon us, and, finally, that we do not get tired of doing works of mercy. The Lord says that the Kingdom of Heaven will be inherited by those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and welcome the wanderer. Because, says the Lord, "Because you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me."

Great Wednesday (April 8). On the third day of Holy Week, during the service, they remember how in the house of Simon the leper, where Christ came to visit, the sinner washed Jesus' feet with her tears and poured precious ointment on His head. In those days, they not only anointed royal persons with peace, but also anointed the bodies of the dead before burial. So, the sinner, without knowing it herself, prepared Christ for burial. On the same day, Judas Iscariot went to the high priests and asked them what they would give if he betrayed Christ. The chief priests offered Judas "thirty pieces of silver, and, as it is said in the Gospel, from that time on he sought an opportunity to betray Him." In addition to these passages from the Gospel, on Great Wednesday during the Liturgy, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read for the last time, with three great prostrations. From this day, until the Feast of the Holy Trinity, bows in the temple are canceled, and this has a deep meaning. The prostration of the earth shows that we, the people, have fallen to the ground by sin. And the abolition of prostrations during Divine services emphasizes that the Lord has atoned for our sins and reminds us that the Resurrection of Christ has become a type of the future age.

At the Wednesday evening service, believers try to confess.

Maundy Thursday (April 9). On this day, the Church brings us back to the Last Supper. An event that happened before Christ was taken into custody. The Last Supper is the last supper, the meal of Christ with His disciples on the eve of His suffering on the Cross. During the service in the temple, four gospel events that took place on Thursday are remembered. The first event is Christ's washing of the feet of His disciples before the Last Supper. This washing was a sign of Christ's deepest humility and His love for His disciples. During the same supper, as it is said in the Gospel, "the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot" the idea of ​​betraying Christ. And Jesus, seeing the heart of the traitor, said this at the supper, as if giving Judas the opportunity to stop. This gospel episode is also spoken of during the service.

The third event, which we remember during worship, is very important for every believer. The fact is that it was during the Last Supper that Christ established the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Greek word "eucharist" means "thanksgiving". In Christianity, the Eucharist is the Sacrament of communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Sacrament of grace-filled (that is, accomplished by the influence of grace), the union of the believer with God. Established by Christ during the Last Supper, the Sacrament is still performed in every church during every Divine Liturgy. Many believers try to take communion on Maundy Thursday.

And, finally, the fourth gospel event, which is remembered during the Liturgy on Maundy Thursday, is the prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus knew what was ahead of Him, "His soul grieved to death," and, as it says in the Gospel, He prayed "until a bloody sweat." This prayer of Christ is often called the “prayer for the cup,” because, invoking God the Father, Christ asked that, if possible, “this fate pass from Him”: “Abba, Father! but then he added the words of complete humility before the coming fate and the will of God the Father: "However, not as I want, but as You."

These four most important evangelical events are remembered in churches on Great Thursday of Holy Week during the Divine Liturgy.

During the evening service on Maundy Thursday, twelve gospel passages are read that tell of suffering death on the cross Christ, the words of Christ on the cross, His crucifixion and burial are remembered.

According to the old Orthodox tradition during the reading of the twelve gospels, believers stand in the temple with lighted candles. And then, after the service, this light is brought home, and on the window bindings, on door jambs the cross is smoked. This custom has been going on since the Old Testament Passover. Believers who come to the temple in the evening on Maundy Thursday prepare in advance to bring a candle that has not been extinguished to the house, placing it in a special lamp for this.

Maundy Thursday is also called Maundy Thursday. On the one hand, this is a day of spiritual cleansing - on this day everyone tries to confess and take communion, and on the other hand, it means the everyday side of our life. It is on Maundy Thursday that believers try to prepare their home, their clothes, Easter cakes and Easter for the Great Bright Resurrection.

Good Friday (April 10). The saddest day in church calendar, it was on Friday that the crucifixion and death of Christ on Calvary took place. On Good Friday, the Divine Liturgy is not served, since on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself.

For six long hours the Lord suffered painfully on the cross, redeeming all mankind from slavery to sin by His sufferings. The crucifixion of Christ took place according to the Gospel at the ninth hour (about three o'clock in our time). Therefore, it is at this time that the shroud is carried out in churches - an embroidered image of the crucified Body of the Savior taken from the Cross. The shroud is taken out of the altar and placed on a specially prepared table in the center of the temple - the tomb, and then the clergy and all the worshipers bow before it.

The shroud is located in the middle of the temple for three incomplete days, reminding us of the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the tomb.

On Good Friday, before the removal of the shroud, no food is eaten at all, this is the day of the strictest fast of the year.

Great Saturday (April 11). This is the day when "let all flesh be silent", that is, this is the day of inner concentration, when we are in a state of spiritual expectation of the Resurrection of Christ. Holy Saturday is the day when the body of Jesus Christ is in the tomb. As you know, the handsome Joseph removed the body of the Savior from the Cross and, wrapping it in a shroud, laid it in the tomb. But, remaining with His body in the tomb, with His soul the Lord descended that day into hell, where, waiting for salvation, the souls of all the dead languished, even the souls of the saints who lived before Christ. Jesus Christ descends into hell - this is called "descent into hell" - and brings out the souls of the righteous.

On Holy Saturday, the liturgy of Basil the Great is performed (it is served only a few times a year), during which biblical prophecies are read before the shroud. As you know, long before the birth of the God-man, the prophets predicted both the coming of the Savior into our world and the fact that by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection He would redeem us from the power of sin and death.

During the Divine Liturgy of Good Friday there is an amazing moment - this is the changing of the priests from black clothes to white. This is a symbol of the fact that "Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling death by death and bestowing life on those in the tombs." The meaning of this hymn, performed at Easter in churches, is as follows: By His feat of the Cross and death, and then the resurrection that followed death, the Lord transformed human nature and opened the way of resurrection to all people. So, from now on, there is no place for mourning in the world.

A special sign that the Resurrection of Christ and His victory over death has taken place is a miraculous fire blessed fire in the cave of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This kindling of fire occurs without the efforts of a person, but only through a prayer that the Patriarch of Jerusalem reads in front of a huge gathering of believers. The very event of the descent of the Holy Fire takes place every year on the day of Great Saturday and is one of the visible evidence of the presence of Christ in our world.

All the days of Holy Week, in parallel with intense divine services, there is also preparation for the meeting of the Risen Christ. On Saturday, everyone strives to consecrate Easter cakes, Easter and brashno (that is, meat and eggs), so that later, after the festive Easter service, they break the fast. In itself, the consecration of food means that we receive a blessing to eat it.

April 12 - the long journey of Holy Week is over, the Feast of Holidays, Easter, the Bright Resurrection of Christ is coming!

The last, seventh week of Great Lent - Holy, Holy, Great - includes six days; it starts on the Monday and ends on the Saturday preceding Easter Sunday. All days in Holy Week are called Great. And the whole week is Holy: the week when Christ was betrayed, condemned, elevated to Golgotha, crucified and resurrected.

Since in 2018 Easter will be celebrated on April 8, Holy Week falls on April 2-7.
Holy Week is the seven strictest days of the year. Eat right, in accordance with the recommendations of the church, to cure many diseases and cleanse your soul from sins.

• Holy week 2018: what you can eat by day
  • Holy Week: Proper Diet meals for a week
• Holy Week (before Easter): what not to do
• Prohibitions and recommendations for Holy Week
• Holy Week: customs and signs
• Holy Week 2018: Orthodox calendar

The last week before Easter is the most difficult and strict compared to the rest of the days. This period is very important for Orthodox people, because we remember the last days of Jesus' life on earth and his sufferings. It is advisable to spend Holy Week in prayers that will help you better understand yourself.

In Holy Week, each person is spiritually cleansed. And this depends not only on abstinence in food, but also on the abandonment of all evil intentions. At this time, you can not settle cruelty in your heart, commit evil deeds and utter poisonous words. These are the same sins as gluttony, eating meat and drinking alcohol. Read on the site poleznue-soveti.ru what you can and cannot do before Easter.

Good to know! What is eaten on Palm Sunday: On this day, it is allowed to eat fish, hot food, with vegetable oil and wine. Then the Great Days begin.

• Monday: the busiest day of Holy Week.

In addition to the fact that food can only be eaten once in 24 hours, it must be eaten raw. Therefore, for most of us it is difficult and unusual. Righteous people who firmly believe in God try to refuse food altogether on this day.

For beginners, it is permissible to include flour products, in particular bread and vegetables, in the Monday diet. They can be consumed in any form: dried, fried and pickled.

This day is also characterized by the use of fruits and mushrooms for food. In unlimited quantities, you can drink water, cool compotes and fruit drinks. It is important to know that you can eat only in the evening.

• Tuesday: On Tuesday, you can eat whatever you cook.

However, remember that during Lent we exclude sweet, flour, meat, fish, dairy and eggs from the usual diet. It is permissible to eat vegetables and fruits on Tuesday, but only in limited quantities. Food should be taken, as on Monday, in the evening and only once a day.

• Wednesday: On this day, people remember Judas, who betrayed Christ.

You should visit the church and repent of your sins. It is known that this is the best time to cleanse your soul. Dry food is served at the table, it is advisable to refuse food altogether, so that nothing interferes with cleansing the body and thoughts on this day.

• Thursday: Easier than the previous days, because from now on you can eat twice a day.

Hot food, which was previously banned, and vegetable oil appear in the daily diet. Active preparations for Easter begin: people bake Easter cakes, paint eggs, prepare treats for festive table.

Thursday is characterized by various rituals to expel evil spirits and evil from the house. One of them is that when cleaning the home, you need to throw a handful of little things into a basin of water. This will attract prosperity and wealth in the future.

Water on Maundy Thursday has magical powers, so you can bless the apartment and, after washing, rid yourself of diseases for a whole year.

• Friday: is a time of grief for Orthodox people.

It was on the fifth day of the week that Jesus Christ was crucified. On Good Friday, it is forbidden to eat any food, the exception applies only to babies and infirm people. Any household chores should be postponed. By doing something on this day, you show your disrespect for God. It is necessary to gain strength and try to endure this day, honoring Christ, who gave his life for our sins.

• Saturday: Only one day left before the holy feast.

On Saturday you can eat the same as on Thursday. The daily diet includes dishes such as: honey, bread, dry and raw fruits, vegetables. All day until the next morning, people must consecrate the food that they put on the table. The Church allows you to bring any food that you deem necessary to celebrate Easter.

Before the end of the evening, you must prepare all the treats, as Easter services are held at night. Even on this day, parental Saturday.

• Sunday: bright day of Easter.

You can only eat what you have consecrated, if this is not done, then in the morning they still consecrate their products in the Temple, hurry up. Be sure to have eggs, bacon, cheese, sausage and Easter cakes on the table. You must taste these foods first, and then everything else that is from the treats.

On Sunday, everyone should rejoice and celebrate the resurrection of the Son of God. On Easter, you need to visit the church for communion, and also learn about the traditions and folk omens this Orthodox holiday.

Holy Week is very important for people: these days, a rethinking of life comes to many. During this time, a person is spiritually cleansed and meets Easter with pure and bright thoughts. It is imperative to keep all the commandments, pray and not denigrate yourself with sinful deeds and thoughts. It is known that if you repent on the Bright Resurrection of Christ with a pure heart and firm faith, then God will surely forgive you for everything.

Monday.

On this day begins a big tidy. The house is cleared of old, bulky things.

Buying food for Easter. Women prepare medicinal infusions. Men should not even touch herbs, tinctures, powders.

This is the day of washing and all sorts of rubbing. On Wednesday, it is advisable to thoroughly wash, scrape the floors, knock out the carpets.
On Wednesday during Holy Week, they remembered a special rite against any bodily infirmity. It was necessary to scoop up a mug of water from a well or from a barrel on the street or draw water from a river. Crossing themselves three times, they covered the mug with a clean or new towel, and at 2 o'clock in the morning, crossing themselves again three times, they poured this water on, leaving a little in the mug. After that, they put on clothes on a wet body, without wiping themselves, and the water that remained in the mug was poured up to 3 hours on a bush or flowers. It is said that a body washed in this way is reborn.

Maundy Thursday advised to cut hair for the first time one year old baby(up to a year, cutting was considered a sin), and for girls - the tips of the braids so that they grow longer and thicker. All livestock were also advised to cut a tuft of wool for health and well-being.

On this day, Thursday salt is prepared: it is calcined in a pan, and the salt acquires medicinal properties. It is desirable to consecrate this salt in the Temple.

Maundy Thursday is traditionally called “clean”, and not only because on this day every Orthodox person seeks to cleanse himself spiritually, to take communion, to accept the sacrament established by Christ. On Maundy Thursday was widely distributed folk custom cleansing with water - bathing in an ice hole, river, lake or dousing in a bath before sunrise.

There are many traditions associated with this day. On Maundy Thursday, they cleaned the houses, washed and cleaned everything. It was customary to collect and burn juniper branches to fumigate dwellings and stables. It is believed that the healing juniper smoke protects the person and the "animal" from evil spirits and diseases.

1. There was also a belief that eggs laid on Good Thursday, eaten at Easter, protect against illness, and egg shells buried in the ground in a pasture reliably protect livestock from the evil eye.
2. Starting from Maundy Thursday, they prepared for the festive table, painted and painted eggs. According to ancient tradition, colored eggs were laid on fresh sprouted greens of oats and wheat.
3. On Thursday morning they started baking Easter cakes, women, small products made from wheat flour with the image of crosses, lambs, doves, larks, as well as honey gingerbread. Easter was being prepared in the evening.
4. On Clean Thursday, money should be counted three times, so that money is “carried” all year.
5. Everyone in the family should take a handful of salt and pour it into one bag. This salt is removed and stored, and it is called "Thursday salt", i.e. Great Thursday. You can treat yourself with it, as well as your family and friends. This salt is used to make amulets for the family, livestock, garden, home, etc.
6. On Holy Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, it was customary to wash all domestic animals - from cows to chickens - with water melted from snow, and burn the salt in the oven, which, according to popular belief, acquired healing properties from this.
7. In some villages, at midnight on Maundy Thursday, women were also instructed to douse themselves with water to protect themselves from disease.
8. If you wash your face before dawn on Great (Clean) Thursday, you need to say at the same time: “I wash off what they let on me, then what the soul and body toils with, everything is removed on Clean Thursday.”
9. On Easter morning, they wash themselves with water left from Maundy Thursday. It is good to put a silver little thing or a spoon in it, you can use a coin. Wash for beauty and wealth.

If a girl cannot get married, she needs to give the towel with which she dried herself on Maundy Thursday to people for Easter, those who beg for alms, along with krashenka and Easter cake. After that, they soon get married.

There was also a custom to burn crosses on doors and ceilings with a candle to protect the house from the invasion of evil spirits.

Passionate candles were given into the hands of seriously ill or suffering from difficult childbirth, they have healing power. From Maundy Thursday it was forbidden to sweep the floor in the house until Easter itself.

Cooking on this day is argued, all housewives bake Easter cakes and Easter cakes on this day. They continued to bake and prepare for the celebration of Easter. “Angels help,” say pious people.

On Friday they sweep the corners with a rag, this rag will help get rid of lower back pain if you tie yourself with it. The same rag is used to wipe the feet in the bath after washing, so that the feet do not hurt. Ash, taken on Friday before Easter, will help to recover from alcoholism, black shaking, from the evil eye and from mortal anguish.

Last (quiet) tidy. You can also dye eggs. On this day, common festive dishes are prepared. On Saturday, they brought painted eggs, Easter cakes, Easter cakes and other products to the church to consecrate. And before going to the service on Easter night, they left refreshments on the table so that later they could break the fast. True, they ate a little - only symbolically, after which they went to bed. But late Sunday morning, a real feast began, which lasted all week.

Of course, everything preparatory work: cooking, painting eggs must be completed before Bright Sunday.

The church charter prescribes the following rules:

• in the first and last (Holy Week) weeks - a particularly strict fast;
• it is completely forbidden to eat - products of animal origin;
• on weekdays they eat once a day, in the evening; on Saturdays and Sundays twice - at lunchtime and in the evening;
• on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - cold food without oil;
• on Tuesdays and Thursdays - hot food without butter;
• on Saturdays and Sundays, you can use vegetable oil and, if desired, a little grape wine (except for the Saturday of Holy Week);
• on Great Saturday, many believers also do not eat until Easter.

Holy Week is characterized by its own signs and customs, which have always had the ability to come true. Here are a few of them:
On Wednesday, the rest of the snow was collected along the ravines in order to add last year's Thursday salt to the melt water and sprinkle the livestock. This is a true protection of living creatures from damage and the evil eye.

On the night from Saturday to Sunday, the day when Orthodox Easter comes, they tried not to sleep. For girls, such wakefulness promised marriage, for guys - success in work, and for older people - health.

Very effective and effective in the last week of Lent were conspiracies to get rid of drunkenness, depression and feeling unwell, from envious people and enemies, as well as from health problems. The purpose of Holy Week, which crowns the Great Lent before Easter, is to complete the stage of spiritual and physical purification of a person.

This is a period that is associated not only with restrictions on food intake, but also with the cessation of smoking and other bad habits. Holy Week gives every believer an opportunity to rethink their lives and take the path of righteousness, which Jesus Christ walked for thirty-three years.

Passion Week - the last week before Easter. AT Orthodox Church this is the most important week of the whole year, dedicated to the last days of Christ's earthly life, His sufferings, crucifixion, death on the cross, burial.

Holy Week is no longer great post, although fasting these days is observed especially strict.

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

Media news

Partner news

With no-del-no-ka-great-glorious ka-len-dar from-ro-va-et che-re-du-sad-chal-nyh and solemn-days, im -well-e-myh in-sla-vyan-ski "Passionate about th seventh and tsey”, i.e. “Week of suffering” by Jesus Christ. For each of the days for-creep-le-but re-em-in-on-the and bo-go-service-re-record-about-from-ve-de-nie-to-from-to-respect -y-th-so-being of the gospel is-to-rii. Reading and pro-heavy songs-no-singing lead christian-an in the footsteps of the Lord-yes, coming to free death.

Passion-noy-no-del-nick

Close suffering and death -vet-no-go-great-weed-no-Jose-fa in Egypt for twenty silver-re-ni-kov (ch.). In the gospel parable about the barren smo-kov-ni-tse, who didn’t bear fruit, but in a certain way about damn, iso-bra-zha-et-sya gi-bel-nost pu-ti du-hov-noy le-no-sti. Te-mu-continues the parable about evil vi-no-gra-da-ryah, someone-ry should-we-not-sti-for-service-for-ka-za -ing(). About this terrible ka-re, someone-paradise-lives to-net bib-ley-sky-Iz-ra-i-lu, without understanding the meaning of his e-go-ty in yes-ro-van-noy to him by God Holy history, go-vo-rit mournful pro-ro-che-stvo of the Lord-yes-yes near-com-raz-ru-she-nii Jeru-sa-li-ma ().

Passion Tuesday

G. Grönning. Parable about tal-lan-tah.
Fragment (2nd half of the 16th century)

AT Passion Tuesday The Lord invites us to a hundred-yan-no-mu wakefulness and to increase our own yes-ro-va-ny, in-yas -nya this is a parable about de-sya-ty de-wahs (wise and non-zoomous) and about talents (in the direct and trans-nose-nose sense- le), some-rye are given to us at all not in order to bury them in the ground. Otherwise, there is no excuse for the Terrible Court ().

Passion Wednesday

Approaching the tra-gi-che-sky raz-vyaz-ka, and the semantic center Passion Wednesday one hundred-but-vyat-sya two mutually-but about-ty-in-in-false-by-the-meaning-of-existence: for-ka-i-ne sinful wives, b-go-gift-but-living-shey dra-go-valuable world-ro on the feet of Jesus-co-you, and the terrible for-we-village of Judas, one of the Two -on-dtsa-ti apo-hundred-loving, before-lo-alive-she-th-go-to help the authorities tai-but are-to-vat your-th Teach-te-la for thirty sreb -re-ni-kov ().

Good Thursday

On-stu-pa-et Passionate, or Maundy Thursday. Having washed the feet of the disciples and thereby taught them the lesson of humbleness, the Lord tastes His last in the earthly life of Easter tra-pe-zu and usta-nav-li-va-et ta-in-stvo Ev-ha-ri-stii (letter-val-no “Bla-go-da-re-niya”) - ta-in- the property of His-e-eternal unity and communion with all of us. It continues the miracle-to Beth-le-e-ma, the miracle-to-incarnation and in-che-lo-ve-che-God, bless- go-yes-rya something-ro-mu pro-iso-went re-al-noe union of two worlds - Divine and human-lo-ve- something. Turning to the Father, Christ prays for us: “May they all be one (one); as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You, so may they be one in Us ”(). People, in a way, edi-no-go Ada-ma, sta-but-vyat-sya “so-te-les-ni-ka-mi” Bo-go-che-lo-ve-ka Jesus -sa Christ and through this - one-but-blood-we-mi brothers-tya-mi.

From-me-nya-et-sya and ha-rak-ter bo-ho-serving. You can’t hear more than no-no-no-th-fore-fore-waiting “Behold, they are coming ...”, for He has already come and in the holiday-nothing cleaned mountain- no-tse co-ver-sha-et ve-li-kuyu Ve-che-ryu Love-vi. A double feeling - ra-do-sti and pe-cha-li - about-nick-well-go-go-service cha-whether about the beginning of the cross-resurrection of the Lord-yes on Gol-go-fu and ra-do-sti about that great Ra-do-sti , whom the Lord has treated to everyone who loves Him. This “joy of the cross” is that true spiritual joy, which is now given to us. As a sign of her sacred-but-serve-te-whether on Li-tur-gyi, they are-re-ob-la-cha-yut-sya in light clothes. What is this Thursday night for? What does the Lord and all of us, His spiritual co-partners, expect at the Secret Ve-che-re, on Friday?

Night over Ieru-sa-li-mom. In the Si-on-sky mountains-ne-tse measure-tsa-yut sve-til-ni-ki. In the mournful silence, two-on-twenty are reaping. “One of you will betray Me,” the chat sounds confirming the dvi-ga-yu-shche-sya tragedy of the words of the Lord-on-yes. Whisper, is-pu-gan-nye-voices: “Isn't it me?” Judas gets up and slips away into the darkness of the night. The members of Si-ned-ri-o-na do not sleep either. Ar-hi-heres from-yet secret order to-and-us ...

Apo-hundred-ly once-de-li-whether the sacred Chalice and Bread. The Lord speaks of suffering, some are waiting for Him. Peter, with ardor, promises to go with Him to death. He doesn’t even-mature-was how close she is.

“For-because I give you a new one: yes l Yu bi-te each other; as I loved you, so you love and those each other "().

Tra-pe-for-con-che-on. Qui-ho on-pe-way pas-khal-ny dog-crowbar, they-ki-da-yut house, you-go-dyat for the city gates and deepen-la-ut- Xia in the mas-personal garden of Gath-si-ma-nii. Darkness reigns there. The apostles are sleeping, only three of them, the closest disciples, Christ asks to de-pour prayer with Him. But their eyes are merging, and through forgetfulness they hear His voice: “Father! If you want, pro-don't-si this cup mi-mo Me-nya! However, not Mine, but Your will, yes, full of it ”().

The tragic finale is close. The guard is already re-re-se-ka-et along the tro-pin-ke ravine. Following is the salutary kiss of Judas, pointing to the One Who exactly must be are-sto-van; inappropriate torture of Peter with a sword in his hands to protect Teach-te-la, soon change-niv-sha-ya-sya just as-is-roll-him three -multiple from-re-che-no-eat; ma-lo-soul-shie and flight of students; interrogation at the ar-khi-herey in a hurry but with the call of Si-ned-ri-one, lies-for-ka-for-niya, from de-va-tel-stva che-la- di. The last terrible question of Kai-a-fa, in some-rum the meaning of the whole ve-ho-for-vet-noy history is: “God Zhi -I call upon You, tell us: “Are you the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God?” Jesus says to him: “You [yourself] said hall. More than that, I say to you: from now on at see Sy-on Che-lo-ve-che-go, rise-seven-she-go on the right hand of the Si-ly and the six-stvo-yu-sche-go on the ob-la- kam celestial". Then the first priest tore apart his clothes and said: “He is out of god-blasphemy! For what else do we need to see? Now, now you [yourself] have heard bo-ho-blasphemy. What do you think? "They said to him in response:" He must die! "" ().

In the memory of all these events, crowned with the death of the Cross, in our temples there are two Matins with a reading -na-dtsa-ty Evangelion of the Holy Passion (Stra-da-ny) Lord-yes-on-she-go Jesus Christ. "Passionate s e Evangel-ge-liya, as they are usually called-zy-va-yut, are fragments from all four-you-rekh Evangel-ge-liy, races-pre-de-lyon according to chron-no-lo-gi-che-sko-go-princi-chi-pu and coverage-you-va-yu-thing-being from Tai-noy Ve-che-ri to gre-be- nia Spa-si-te-la. The number of two-on-twenty sim-vo-li-zi-ru-is half-but-that biblical no-chi, consisting of two-on-dza-ti-cha- owls. The number of scrap-strike-ditch ko-lo-ko-la voz-ve-shcha-et-sya in a row-to-vy no-mer about-chi-you-va-e-mo-go Evangel-he-liya . Mo-la-shchi-e-sya stand in a dark temple with candles lit by us; sounds-chat quiet and lingering p-pe-you: “Glory to the Passion of Your Go-o-ospo-di”, “Glory to long-ter-pe-nyu Your-e-mu Go-o-ospo-di. According to the voice of the hod-sky tradition, this service is co-ver-sha-et-sya on-ka-nun Good Friday, that is, ve-che-rum Passionate Thursday.

Good Friday

On-stu-pa-et Good Friday- the center of ve-li-ko-post-noy mourning, the day of the Cross of death and the grave of our Lord. In the right-of-glorious temples, there are readings and songs about the last hours of His earthly life.

We present to ourselves the early morning of the day on the ka-nun of the Jewish Passover. Jesus Christ is brought to pre-to-ryu, and from Pon-tia Pi-la-ta tre-bu-yut confirms the death-no-go-go-in-ra . That disdain-liv and under-in-flax. Some de-lo of the Roman-go-gu-ber-na-to-ru before the Jewish re-li-gi-oz-ditch disputes about the Messian-an-kingdom, all the more -Lee - about the kingdom "not of this world" ?! He sincerely co-feels masculine-no-mu Che-lo-ve-ku, obviously okle-ve-tan-no-mu vra-ga-mi, and ho-chet from-pu-stit Uz-no-ka. Christos for Pi-la-ta is a harmless scholarly sword-ta-tel, similar to the countries of the ancient philosophers, to ko -that-eye “health-in-mys-la-shchie” Roman-lyans from-but-si-li-skep-ti-che-ski-to-funny-li-vo, as to eternal children.

“Why did you come here,” ask Christ the pre-fect. - “I was born for that and came into the world to be the witness of is-ti-na,” he hears in response and sar-ka-sti -che-ski smile-ha-et-sya: " What is there is-ti-na? Rude soldier, he doesn't believe in her. He believes in si-lu-zo-lo-ta and Roman le-gi-o-nov. Save the thread of bless-go-in-le-gloomy-but-go-im-pe-ra-to-ra Ti-be-riya, giving him power over this demon-quite-noy pro-win-qi-ey, everything is important for him. And Pi-lat, despite the pre-du-pre-waiting of the wife (), little-lo-double-but minds-va-et ru-ki.

Al-brecht Du-rer.
Ras-fifth of Christ. (1508)

About-lo-on-the-day from-mu-chen-no-go Christ is brought to the place of a hundred executions and ras-pi-na-yut between two times-battle-no- cov. The world is co-dro-ga-et-sya. The sun hid its face and incomprehensible darkness on the move-ha-et-xia on Gol-go-fu. In loneliness, with you, Kre-hundred, He meets darkness. And below - people, deaf-my-shchi-e-sya and met-in-women, equal-hearted and crying. He dies, de-lives with everyone, re-lives-she-mi-mu-ki and death, the horror of the next few minutes ... Jesus loudly rises click-zero: "Father! Into Your hands I commit My spirit!

In the morning in the temples chi-ta-yut-sya Royal Hours, sacred sunrises-on-mi-na-niyu mi-nuv-shey no-chi and on-stu-beer- the sixth day of death Spa-si-te-la. (Hours are bo-ho-services of the su-toch-no-go cycle; “royal-ski-mi” they are called-zy-va-yut-sya in this case in a way, that sometime in Kon-stan-ti-no-po-le they have a presence-va-whether they-pe-ra-to-ry with the whole yard. ) Divine Li-tour-gia, on some swarm co-ver-sha-is-a bloodless Ev-ha-ri-sti-che-sacrifice, not serves, for “sacrifice on this day is not-se-na on Gol-go-fe” (prot.). (The only exception is in the case of co-pas-de-niya Good Friday with the holiday of Bla-go-ve-shchenie; then -when co-ver-sha-is-sya Li-tur-giya of St. John-on-Evil-to-mouth.)

About two o'clock in the afternoon, sacred-but-serve-are you-but-syat from the al-ta-rya Cloak-ni-tsu - a large icon-well, on which then the swarm of the deceased Jesus Christ is depicted in full growth, lying in the tomb. She is la-ga-et-sya in the middle of the temple-ma on a special voz-vy-she-ni (ka-ta-fal-ke), and with-not-sen-ny ve-ru -yu-shchi-mi flowers surround her from three sides. There is only a place left for those who come in a close thread Spa-si-te-lyu mi-ra and about-lo-be-for-zat His most-pure but- gi.

The evening is coming, and with it - “The rite of gre-be-niya”. Ve-ru-yu-shchie-but-vyat-sya participate-no-ka-mi in a gre-ball-noy pro-cession and, with candles in their hands, co-pro- the leader-da-yut about-but-si-muyu around the temple-ma s oh God." Sounds mournful-but-for-that-en-ny pe-re-ringing ko-lo-ko-lov and keeps silent, when Cloak-ni-tsa again for-no-ma- has its place in the temple, among white flowers.

Yuri Ruban,
cand. ist. on-uk, Ph.D. bo-go-word-via

Archpriest Andrey Tkachev.

Hegumen Nektary (Morozov).

Hieromonk Irenaeus (Pikovsky). 24 lecture. (Orthodox educational courses)

Hieromonk Dorotheos (Baranov).

Deacon Vladimir Vasilyk.

Anna Saprykina.(mother's notes)

Yuri Kishchuk. . Thoughts for Holy Week

Days of Holy Week

worship

Liturgical features of the Passion

• Nikolai Zavialov.
• Hermogenes Shimansky.
• Priest Mikhail Zheltov.

Iconography

• . PHOTO GALLERY

Passion Week, or Holy Week, is the last week before Easter, dedicated to memories of the last days of the Savior's earthly life, His sufferings, crucifixion, death on the cross, and burial. This week is especially honored by the Church. “All days,” says the Synaxar, “exceeds the Holy and Great Forty Days, but more than the Holy Forty Days is the Holy and Great Week (Passion), and more than the Great Week itself is this Great and Holy Saturday. This week is called Great, not because its days or hours are longer (others), but because great and supernatural miracles and extraordinary deeds of our Savior took place in this week ... "

According to the testimony of St. John Chrysostom, the first Christians, burning with the desire to relentlessly be with the Lord in the last days of His life, in Passion Week intensified their prayers and aggravated the ordinary feats of fasting. They, imitating the Lord, who suffered unparalleled suffering solely out of love for fallen humanity, tried to be kind and forgiving to the infirmities of their brothers and do more works of mercy, considering it indecent to pronounce judgment on the days of our justification by the blood of the Immaculate Lamb, they stopped all lawsuits, courts these days. , disputes, punishments, and even released for this time from the chains of prisoners in dungeons who were not guilty of criminal offenses.

Every day of Holy Week is great and holy, and on each of them special services are performed in all churches. especially majestic, decorated with wisely arranged prophetic, apostolic and gospel readings, the most exalted, inspired hymns and a whole series of deeply significant, reverent rites. Everything that in the Old Testament was only foreshadowed or said about the last days and hours of the earthly life of the God-man - all this the Holy Church brings into one majestic image, which is gradually revealed to us in the Divine Services of Passion Week. Remembering in Divine Services the events of the last days of the Savior’s earthly life, the Holy Church follows every step with an attentive eye of love and reverence, listens to every word of Christ the Savior coming to the free passion, gradually leads us in the footsteps of the Lord throughout His entire way of the cross, from Bethany to the Execution Ground. places, from His royal entry into Jerusalem and until the last moment of His expiatory suffering on the Cross, and further - until the bright triumph of Christ's Resurrection. The entire content of the services is aimed at bringing us closer to Christ through reading and singing, enabling us to spiritually contemplate the sacrament of redemption, for the remembrance of which we are preparing.

The first three days of this week are devoted to intense preparation for the Passion of Christ. In accordance with the fact that Jesus Christ, before His sufferings, spent all his days in the temple, teaching the people, the Holy Church distinguishes these days with a particularly long Divine service. Trying to gather and focus the attention and thoughts of believers in general on the entire Gospel story of the incarnation of the God-Man and His service to the human race, the Holy Church on the first three days of Passion Week reads the entire Four Gospels on the clock. The conversations of Jesus Christ after entering Jerusalem, addressed now to the disciples, now to the scribes and Pharisees, are developed and revealed in all the hymns of the first three days of Passion Week. Since on the first three days of Holy Week various significant events took place that are most closely related to the passions of Christ, these events are reverently remembered by the Holy Church on the very days in which they took place. Thus, the Holy Church in these days leads us relentlessly after the Divine Teacher, with His disciples, now to the temple, now to the people, now to the publicans, now to the Pharisees, and enlightens us everywhere with the very words that He Himself offered to His listeners in these days. days.

In preparing the faithful for the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross, the Holy Church imparts the character of sorrow and contrition over our sinfulness to the divine services of the first three days of Passion Week. On Wednesday evening, the Lenten Divine Service ends, the sounds of weeping and lamentations of the sinful human soul are silenced in church hymns, and the days of another weeping, penetrating the entire Divine Service, come - weeping from the contemplation of the terrifying torments and sufferings on the Cross of the Son of God Himself. At the same time, other feelings - indescribable joy for their salvation, boundless gratitude to the Divine Redeemer - overwhelm the soul of a believing Christian. Weeping over the innocent suffering, outraged and crucified, shedding bitter tears under the cross of our Savior, we also experience inexpressible joy from the realization that the Savior crucified on the cross will resurrect us who are perishing with Himself.

Being present in Holy Week at church services, representing all the events of the last days of the Savior as if taking place before us, we mentally go through the whole majestically touching and immeasurably edifying history of the sufferings of Christ, with our thought and heart “we descend to Him and are crucified with Him.” The Holy Church calls us this week to leave everything vain and worldly and follow our Savior. The Fathers of the Church composed and arranged the services of Holy Week in such a way that they reflect all the sufferings of Christ. The temple these days alternately represents either the Zion Upper Room and Gethsemane, or Golgotha. The Divine Services of Passion Week were furnished by the Holy Church with a special external grandeur, sublime, inspired hymns and a whole series of deeply significant rites that are performed only in this week. Therefore, whoever constantly abides these days at worship in the temple, he apparently follows the Lord, who is coming to suffer.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week are dedicated to remembering the last conversations of the Savior with the disciples and the people. On each of these three days, the Gospel is read at all services, it is supposed to read all four Gospels. But whoever can, he must certainly read these passages from the Gospel at home, both for himself and for others. An indication of what to read can be found in the church calendar. When listening in church, due to the large amount of reading, much can escape attention, and home reading allows you to follow the Lord with all your thoughts and feelings. At careful reading The Gospels of the suffering of Christ, coming to life, fill the soul with inexplicable tenderness... Therefore, when reading the Gospel, you involuntarily transfer your mind to the place of events, take part in what is happening, follow the Savior and suffer with Him. Reverent contemplation of His sufferings is also necessary. Without this reflection, the presence in the temple, and hearing, and reading the Gospel will bring little fruit. But what does it mean to meditate on the sufferings of Christ, and how to meditate? First of all, imagine in your mind the suffering of the Savior as vividly as possible, at least in the main features, for example: how He was betrayed, judged and condemned; how He carried the cross and was lifted up on the cross; how he cried to the Father in Gethsemane and on Golgotha ​​and gave up his spirit to Him: how he was taken down from the cross and buried... Then ask yourself why and why He suffered so much suffering, Who had no sin, and Who, like the Son of God , could always abide in glory and bliss. And also ask yourself: what is required of me so that the death of the Savior does not remain fruitless for me; what must I do to truly participate in the salvation gained at Calvary for the whole world? The Church teaches that this requires the assimilation of the mind and heart of all the teachings of Christ, the fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord, repentance and imitation of Christ in a good life. After that, the conscience itself will already give an answer whether you are doing this ... Such reflection (and who is not capable of it?) Surprisingly soon brings the sinner closer to his Savior, closely and forever by the union of love connects with His cross, strongly and vividly brings into the participation of the one who what happens at Calvary.

The path of Passion Week is the path of fasting, confession and communion, in other words, fasting, for worthy communion of the Holy Mysteries on these great days. And how can one not fast in these days when the Bridegroom of souls is taken away (Matt. 9:15), when He Himself is hungry at the barren fig tree, thirsting on the Cross? Where else to lay down the weight of sins through confession, if not at the foot of the cross? At what time is it better to take communion from the Cup of life if not in the coming days, when it is served to us, one might say, from the hands of the Lord Himself? Truly, whoever, having the opportunity to approach the Holy Meal these days, evades it, evades the Lord, flees from his Savior. The Path of Holy Week is to render, in His name, help to the poor, sick and suffering. This path may seem distant and indirect, but in fact it is extremely close, convenient and direct. Our Savior is so loving that everything that we do in His name for the poor, the sick, the homeless and the suffering, He appropriates for Himself personally. At His Last Judgment, He will demand from us especially deeds of mercy towards our neighbors, and upon them He will establish our justification or condemnation. Keeping this in mind, never neglect the precious opportunity to alleviate the sufferings of the Lord in His lesser brethren, and especially take advantage of it during the days of Passion Week - by dressing, for example, the needy, you will act like Joseph, who gave the shroud. This is the main thing and accessible to everyone, with which an Orthodox Christian in Holy Week can follow the Lord coming to suffering.