![]() ![]() Returning into the church, the priest places the Holy Shroud into a prepared tomb and incenses it on all sides while the people sing the troparion of the Ointment-bearing Women, ” The Angel stood by the grave. When an outdoor procession is not possible, it is held inside the church. The procession with the Holy Shroud is taken outside around the church and, since it symbolizes the funeral procession of Christ to the grave, is made only ONCE. The people, with lighted candles in their hands, follow the priest and repeatedly sing the troparion, ” The Noble Joseph. If there is a deacon participating in the service, he incenses the priest carrying the Holy Shroud during the entire procession. He is preceded by two candlebearers and an incense bearer. Meanwhile, the faithful light their candles and prepare themselves for the procession which symbolizes the funeral procession of Christ.Īs the faithful begin singing the troparion, ” The Noble Joseph … ,” the priest takes the Holy Shroud on his shoulders and holding it above his head begins the procession. ,” the priest places the Holy Shroud on the altar and incenses it three times. Toward the end of the Vespers for Good Friday, as the people begin singing the canticle of Simeon “Now You can dismiss. “The Noble Joseph took down Your most pure body from the cross and, anointing it with fragrant spices, he wrapped it in a clean linen and put it in a new tomb.”Ģ The Holy Shroud (Plaschanicja) which is used for this service is an artistically decorated and richly embroidered canvas depicting the burial of Christ. During this time, the faithful repeatedly sing the troparion, which could be considered the theme song of Good Friday : The Vespers of Good Friday, consequently, end with the procession of the Holy Shroud and its placement into the tomb. In order that the burial scene be more deeply impressed on our souls, the Fathers decided to insert a liturgical re-enactment of this ceremony into the Vespers immediately after the sticheras. These scriptural words inspi red the hymnologists to describe the burial of Christ in a poetical way in the moving sticheras that follow. ![]() He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away.” (Mt. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen and put it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock. Pilate thereupon ordered it to be handed over. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ![]() The Gospel ends with the following words: ” When it was evening, there came a rich man of Arimathea, called Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. The Gospel reading at this service is combined from the three Evangelists, Mt. The Vespers of Good Friday in the Byzantine Rite are the re-enactment of the crucifixion and death of our Saviour as described to us in the Holy Gospels. Symbolically, the ritual commemorates the removal of the Body of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from the cross, together with His burial, which followed immediately after His redeeming death.Īlthough the ceremony reflects an ancient liturgical tradition of the Byzantine Rite, nevertheless the ritual, as such, came to us relatively late, not sooner than at the end of the XIV century.Īmong the Ruthenians, depending on the Kievan tradition, the present ritual developed during the XVI century, when it was introduced into general practice. One of the most impressive rituals of Holy Week in the Byzantine Rite is the Ritual of the Holy Shroud (Plaschanicja) which is taken during the Vespers of Good Friday. ![]()
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