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Lenten Messages

Holy Saturday Orthros (sung Holy Friday evening): The Lamentations

4/30/2021

 
Good Friday evening
This service is really the Orthros for Holy Saturday.  It is also called the Lamentations.  It is basically set up as a typical Orthros.  However, more than 50 verses of hymns are added.  We call these hymns the lamentations.  These are sung when the priest is on the solea in front of the Epitaphion.  During one of the hymns, the priest sprinkles the Epitaphion, and then the people, with rosewater, symbolizing the actions of the myrrh-bearing women.  He starts sprinkling the rosewater after the verse: “The myrrh-bearing women came very early in the morning and sprinkled the tomb with myrrh.”  Following the lamentations are other hymns based on the acts of the myrrh-bearing women, Christ’s entombment, and His descent into Hades.  Shortly after that, there is the procession of the Epitaphion around the church.  When the procession is over there is a reading from the prophecies, and an epistle and gospel reading.

Themes: Christ’s descent into Hades and the tomb as life-giving
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Holy Friday Great Vespers – the Apokathelosis (The Unnailing)

4/30/2021

 
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Good Friday afternoon - Apokathelosis
This is the Vespers of Good Friday.  It is also called the Apokathelosis – or “unnailing from the cross.”  We remember that at this time, Christ “gave up His Spirit.”  During the service, the icon of Christ is taken down from the cross and wrapped in a white cloth, which symbolizes His burial garment.  The icon of the body is taken into the altar and remains there until after the Feast of the Ascension.  This is symbolic because the altar, in particular the Altar Table/Holy Table, is symbolically the tomb of Christ.  What comes from the tomb of Christ?  Life and the Risen Lord.   What comes from the Altar?  Life and the Risen Lord in the Holy Communion that is prepared and of which we can partake.  As Christ came forth from the tomb giving Life, so does the priest come forth from the altar and offer life when he says, “with the fear of God, faith and love draw near” as he brings forward the Holy Communion for the people.  Also, the priest processes with the Epitaphion.  The Epitaphion is the icon that is placed in the beautifully decorated wooden tomb.  The Epitaphion is not the wooden tomb that is decorated with all of the flowers – that is called the kouvouklion.  The priest places the Epitaphion in the kouvouklion at the end of the procession.

Theme:  salvation granted to us through His “awful Passion, the Cross, and condescension to voluntary entombment in the flesh.

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Holy Friday: The Royal Hours

4/29/2021

 
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Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As we continue with the services of Holy Friday, we remember that on Thursday night, the service of the 12 Gospels, is really the Orthros service for Holy Friday.

Holy Friday Morning – The Royal Hours
This service is actually a group of services put together in one form.  These services are called the Great Hours, or Royal Hours.  On Good Friday morning, the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th hours are combined into this one service.  The Hours are a service that are common in the daily liturgical schedule but offered daily almost exclusively in monasteries.  There are a number of Psalms and prophecies, an epistle and gospel lesson, and hymns associated with Great Friday which are sung or read during this service.

Themes and importance:  each hour has its own particular theme

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Holy Friday - Orthros*

4/29/2021

 
*(Sung on Thursday evening – the 12 Gospels)

Themes:   Christ’s trial, passion, death, and burial
Gospel Readings: #1(John 13:31-18:1), #2(John 18:1-28), #3(Matthew 26:57-75), #4(John 18:28-19:16), #5(Matthew 27:3-32), #6(Mark 15:16-32), #7(Matthew 27:33-54), #8(Luke 23:32-49), #9(John 19:25-37), #10(Mark 15:43-47), #11(John 19:38-42), #12(Matthew 27:62-66)
 
This is really the Orthros for Great Friday.  During this service, we hear the 12 readings from the Gospel.  There is also the procession of the icon of the crucified Christ.

In the hymns and gospel lessons of this moving service we learn how much Christ loved us and the entire world.  He loved us so much that He endured a villainous trial, pain, suffering, and even death to save the world from sin and death.

The first gospel reading describes the Last Supper.  The next ten all describe the passion, or sufferings of Christ after Judas betrayed Him.  The final Gospel lesson is an account of His burial and the sealing of His tomb.  After the fifth gospel reading, the icon of the crucified Christ is processed around the church.  In one of the most important hymns of our Church, during this procession we hear:
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Holy Thursday: Vesperal Divine Liturgy – The Mystical Supper

4/29/2021

 
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Themes: The Mystical (Last) Supper; Jesus washing the feet of the Disciples, the Garden of Gethsemane
Gospel Reading:  Matthew 26:2-20, John 13:3-17, Matthew 26:21-39, Luke 22:43-45, Matthew 26:40 – 27:2

Remember, even though this service takes place in the morning, it is really part of a Great Vespers service for Thursday evening.  The Mystical Supper took place in the evening on a Thursday.  Today, we remember Mystical Supper on Thursday, but in the morning instead of in the evening.

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Holy Wednesday: The Sacrament of Holy Unction

4/29/2021

 
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Themes: Healing of soul and body, forgiveness.
Gospel Readings: #1Luke 10:25-37), #2(Luke 19:1-10), #3(Matthew 10:1, 5-8), #4(Matthew 8:14-23), #5(Matthew 25:1-13), #6(Matthew 15:21-28), #7(Matthew 9:9-13)

On this night, we are able to partake of one of the sacraments of our Church – Holy Unction.  Holy Unction is oil that has been consecrated by the Holy Spirit.  After it has been consecrated, we can be anointed with it to help cleanse of sicknesses in our spiritual lives as well as help cure us from bodily ailments.  There are 7 prayers for the consecration and blessing of the oil.  They are magnificent prayers that recall the healing power of Christ.  Throughout these prayers, we are constantly seeking God’s forgiveness for our sins and for God to restore our spiritual and bodily health.  It is important to note that in every single sacrament of the Church (Baptism, Chrismation, Communion, Confession, Unction, Marriage and Ordination – and even other services like the funeral, blessing of the waters, etc.) asks for the remission of our sins and, therefore, the healing for our souls and bodies.

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Holy Wednesday*

4/29/2021

 
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*(Sung on Tuesday night)

Themes:
The faithful woman who anointed the head of Jesus with costly, fragrant oil; the selfishness and greed of Judas; Jesus as a suffering servant.
Gospel Reading: John 12:17-50
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, On this day, we remember the woman who used very expensive oil to anoint the head of Jesus (Mt. 26:6-13).  Christ says that she did this “For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.”  This was done shortly before Jesus’ passion, or just before He was to suffer for all of mankind.  Christ even says, “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”  Of course, these words are true today.  Throughout the world, her gift to Christ has been made known.  In fact, on Tuesday night, we hear the Hymn of Kassiani, which describes this selfless act of love towards our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Even the disciples thought the money she used on the oil would be better used if given to the poor.  But Jesus says she did a great thing because we will always have a chance to help the poor around us, but we may not always get the chance of helping Christ Himself.

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Holy Tuesday

4/27/2021

 
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Holy Tuesday*  (Taking place on Monday night)

Themes: Parable of the 10 Virgins, Alertness/Attentiveness, the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, Second Coming of Christ

Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:15-46, 23:1-39

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Fathers of the Church who put together the services over time, especially the services of Hoy Week, have really done an extraordinary job.  In fact, only through the Holy Spirit could such a task have been accomplished.  Each service connects with the previous one and continues the demonstrative, pedagogic, edifying, beautiful, agonizing, and glorious recounting of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.  If we are paying attention to the hymns and readings, we will be taken through Jesus’ final discourses to His disciples and the people.  It will be as if we were present at the Last Supper and Garden of Gethsemane.  We become witness to the betrayal, arrest, and mock trial of Jesus.  We agonize with Jesus’ passion and sing gloriously upon His resurrection.

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Holy Monday

4/26/2021

 
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Themes: Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church (the Church is the Bride), alertness, steadfast faith, Joseph the son of Jacob who pre-figures Christ, and the withering of the fig tree.
Gospel Reading:  Matthew 21:18-43
The service takes place on the evening after the celebration of the Divine Liturgy for the Triumphal Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem (the Palm Sunday Liturgy).

First of all, some words need definition:

Orthros:  This is a worship service that can be held every morning in the church.  In general, an Orthros contains readings from the Psalms, a list of the saints or events remembered on that day, petitions of the priest as we pray to God to keep us safe, healthy, on the right path, for peace in the world, and readings from the Epistles (sometimes) and Gospels.  It also contains many hymns associated with the saint(s) remembered that day, hymns associated with a particular day of the week or time of year, and hymns associated with a certain type of musical tone.  There are 8 types of tones in our tradition, and each week we sing in a particular tone – say the 1st tone.  The next week, we sing in the 2nd tone, etc.

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Palm Sunday: Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem

4/25/2021

 
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Have you ever heard of a triumph?  I do not simply mean a victory, but a Roman-style triumph.  When the Romans were victorious over another nation or peoples, the army would return to Rome.  In the days of the Roman Republic, a triumph was granted to a great general by the senate (in Imperial Rome, the Emperor reserved the triumph only for himself as the “savior of Rome”).  During such a procession/parade, the people would gather at the Campus Martius, enter the city through the Triumphal Gate, and slowly make its way to the Capitoline Hill and to the temple of Jupiter with prayers offered to the gods.  The procession could take hours or even days!  The procession was led by the leaders and peoples captured by the Romans, usually in chains.  Some would be in cages and mocked, others would be publicly executed.  After the captured people would come the loot gained from the conquest and any exotic treasures, art or beasts captured.  At this point, artistic renderings of the battles and conquests would often be processed.  Then came the senators and magistrates followed by the general drawn by a four-horses chariot and wearing a laurel (bay leaves) crown (representing victory).  Finally, the soldiers, dressed as civilians, unarmed, and wearing laurel crowns as well, would bring up the rear of the triumph singing ribald songs (songs of crude and vulgar nature) to the general.  The procession was met by the citizens of Rome with singing and flowers being strewn in the path.  A triumph was an incredible public spectacle for all the people in Rome. 

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