EVENING SERVICE ON GOOD THURSDAY AT SRETENSKY MONASTERY
Duration 2:55:38 min.
And on the evening of Maundy Thursday in all Orthodox churches The reading of the twelve Gospels is heard among the candles shedding tears. Everyone is standing with large candles in their hands.
This entire service is dedicated to the reverent remembrance of saving suffering and death on the cross God-man. Every hour of this day there is a new deed of the Savior, and the echo of these deeds is heard in every word of the service.
In this very special and mournful service, which occurs only once a year, the Church reveals to the believers the full picture of the Lord’s suffering, starting from the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane to the Calvary crucifixion. Taking us mentally through past centuries, the Church, as it were, brings us to the very foot of the cross of Christ and makes us reverent spectators of all the torment of the Savior.
Believers listen to the Gospel stories with lighted candles in their hands, and after each reading through the mouths of the singers they thank the Lord with the words: “Glory to Your long-suffering, Lord!” After each reading of the Gospel, the bell is struck accordingly.
Here are collected the last mysterious speeches of Christ and compressed into a short space all this suffering of the God-man, to whom the soul listens, “confused and marveling.” The earthly is in contact with the heavenly eternity, and everyone who stands with candles in the temple this evening is invisibly present at Calvary.
We will clearly see how the night of prayer arrived in that very Garden of Gethsemane, the night when the fate of the whole world was decided for all time. How much internal torment and what near-death exhaustion He must have experienced at that time!
It was a night, the like of which has not been and will not be among all the days and nights of the world, a night of struggles and sufferings of the most fierce and indescribable kind; it was a night of exhaustion - first of the most holy soul of the God-man, and then of His sinless flesh. But it always or often seems to us that it was easy for Him to give His life, being God who became man: but He, our Savior, Christ, dies as a Man: not by His immortal Divinity, but by His human, living, truly human body...
It was a night of cries and tearful kneeling prayer before the Heavenly Father; this sacred night was terrible for the Celestials themselves...
In between the Gospels, antiphons are sung that express indignation at the betrayal of Judas, the lawlessness of the Jewish leaders and the spiritual blindness of the crowd. “What reason made you, Judas, a traitor to the Savior? - it says here. – Did He excommunicate you from the apostolic presence? Or did he deprive you of the gift of healing? Or, while celebrating the Supper with the others, he did not allow you to join the meal? Or did he wash the feet of others and despise yours? Oh, how many blessings have you, ungrateful one, been rewarded with.”
“My people, what have I done to you or how have I offended you? He opened the sight of your blind, you cleansed your lepers, you raised a man from his bed. My people, what did I do to you and what did you repay Me: for manna - gall, for water [in the desert] - vinegar, instead of loving Me, you nailed Me to the cross; I will not tolerate you any longer, I will call My peoples, and they will glorify Me with the Father and the Spirit, and I will give them eternal life.”
And now we are standing with lit candles... Where are we in this crowd of people? Who are we? We usually avoid answering this question by placing blame and responsibility on someone else: if only I had been there that night. But alas! Somewhere in the depths of our conscience we know that this is not so. We know that it was not some monsters who hated Christ... in a few strokes the Gospel depicts poor Pilate to us - his fear, his bureaucratic conscience, his cowardly refusal to act according to his conscience. But doesn’t the same thing happen in our life and in the life around us? Isn’t Pilate present in each of us when the time comes to say a decisive no to untruth, evil, hatred, injustice? Who are we?
And then we see the crucifixion: how He was killed with a slow death and how He, without one word of reproach, surrendered to torment. The only words He addressed to the Father about the tormentors were: Father, forgive them - they do not know what they are doing...
And in memory of this hour, when the human heart merged with the suffering heart of the Divine, people bring burning candles with them, trying to bring them home and place them burning in front of their home icons, so that, according to pious tradition, they can consecrate their homes with them.
Crosses are drawn with soot on the door frames and on the window.
And these candles will then be kept and lit at the hour of separation of the soul from the body. Even in modern Moscow on the evening of Maundy Thursday you can see streams of fire from burning candles that Orthodox parishioners carry home from church.
Passion Gospels:
1) John. 13:31 -18:1 (The Savior’s farewell conversation with his disciples and His high priestly prayer for them).
2) John. 18:1-28 . (The capture of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and His suffering at the hands of the High Priest Anna).
3) Matt. 26:57-75 . (The Savior’s suffering at the hands of the high priest Caiaphas and the denial of Peter).
4) John. 18:28-40 , 19:1-16 . (The Lord's suffering at Pilate's trial).
5) Matt. 27:3-32 . (The despair of Judas, the new suffering of the Lord under Pilate and His condemnation to crucifixion).
6) Mar. 15:16-32 . (Leading the Lord to Golgotha and His Passion on the Cross).
The Service of the Twelve Gospels is a Lenten service held on the evening of Holy Thursday.
The reading of the Passion Gospels has some peculiarities: it is preceded and accompanied by singing corresponding to their content: “Glory to your long-suffering, Lord,” announced by the gospel, listened to by believers with lit candles.
In the evening at Maundy Thursday Good Friday Matins, or the service of the 12 Gospels, as this service is usually called, is celebrated. This entire service is dedicated to the reverent remembrance of the saving suffering and death on the cross of the God-Man. Every hour of this day there is a new deed of the Savior, and the echo of these deeds is heard in every word of the service. In him The Church reveals to believers the full picture of the Lord’s suffering, starting from the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane to the Calvary crucifixion. Taking us mentally through past centuries, the Church, as it were, brings us to the very foot of the cross of Christ and makes us reverent spectators of all the torment of the Savior.
Its content is the gospel of the suffering and death of the Savior, selected from all the evangelists and divided into twelve readings, according to the number of hours of the night, which indicates that believers should spend the whole night listening to the Gospels, like the apostles who accompanied the Lord to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Believers listen to the Gospel stories with lighted candles in their hands, and after each reading through the mouths of the singers they thank the Lord with the words: “Glory to Your long-suffering, Lord!” After each reading of the Gospel, the bell is struck accordingly.
Before showing Christ bloodied, naked, crucified and buried, the Holy Church shows us the image of the God-man in all His greatness and beauty. Believers must know Who is being sacrificed, Who will endure “spitting, and beating, and strangulation, and the cross, and death”: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him... (John 13:31). To comprehend the depth of Christ’s humiliation, one must understand, as far as this is possible for a mortal man, His height and His Divinity.
Cross of Christ
First Gospel of the Holy Passion- there is therefore, as it were, a verbal icon of God the Word, reclining on the “Easter of the crucifixion” and ready to die. Seeing the immeasurable humiliation of her Lord and Savior, the Church at the same time beholds His glory. Already the first Gospel begins with the words of the Savior about His glorification: Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. This glory, like a kind of light-like cloud, envelops the exalted Cross now standing before us. Like once Mount Sinai and the ancient tabernacle, it surrounds Golgotha. And the stronger the sorrow that the gospel story tells about, the stronger the glorification of Christ sounds in hymns.
The essence of God is love, therefore she is glorified even in the suffering of the Savior. The glory of love is its sacrifice. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Christ lays down His life for His friends and calls them: You are My friends (John 15:14). The Lord brought people complete knowledge. The fullness of the Divine living in Him bodily through the unity of those who love in Him reveals knowledge about the most important and valuable thing - about God. Loving friend friends in Christ receive a revelation of the essence of God. For, abiding in Christ's love, they thereby abide in the Trinitarian Godhead. He who loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him (John 14:23). With the coming of the Father, the Holy Spirit is sent down, who proceeds from the Father and bears witness to the Son (cf. John 15:26).
However, it is impossible to love when you are alone. That's why the image of God is reflected in human society- in the Church of Christ. The chants call us to common prayer and to the general glorification of the Lord in order to receive together “the burning Easter, sacred in us”: “Let us hear all the faithful, convening with high preaching, the uncreated and natural wisdom of God, crying out: taste and understand, like Christ, cry out: gloriously Christ our God be glorified." “Christ established the world, Heavenly and Divine Bread. Come, lovers of Christ, with mortal lips and pure hearts, let us faithfully celebrate Easter, which is celebrated in us.”
So, the unity of God is reflected in the unity of the Church, and vice versa. Jesus Christ prays about this in His hierarchal prayer: That they may all be one: as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us; and the world also has faith, because You sent Me. And I have given the glory to Me, I have given it to them, that they may be one, as We are one. I am in them, and You are in Me: that they may be perfect in one, and that the world may understand that You sent Me and loved them as You loved Me (John 17:21-23). What meaning does the Church give to the reading of this Gospel? This text leads us to recognize the internal connection of the teaching about the personality of Christ as the God-man, about the Church as the body of the God-man and about the nature of the Divinity as the consubstantial (omousia) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In addition, the above prayer is a prayer for salvation, for to abide in the Father and the Son means to be saved.
Emphasizing the importance readable Gospels and the entire service Holy Week, church hymns encourage us to be especially attentive and focused, leaving at least for a while the cares of everyday life: “Let us present our pure feelings to Christ, and as His friends, we will devour our souls for His sake, and we will not be oppressed by the cares of this world like Judas, but in our cages we will cry out. : Our Father in heaven, deliver us from the evil one.”
Having prompted us to pay special attention, the Holy Church again in her hymns glorifies the wife who anointed the Lord with chrism, and cites as an example the betrayal of the wicked money-lover Judas, reminding us that the root of all evil is the love of money(1 Tim. 6:10): “Let us serve the mercy of God, like Mary at the supper, and let us not acquire the love of money, like Judas: that we may always be with Christ our God. With thirty pieces of silver, Lord, and with a flattering kiss, I ask the Jews to kill Thee. But the lawless Judas did not want to understand.”
In the following antiphons, the lesson of humility is again heard, the washing of the Savior’s feet is again recalled: “In Your washing, Christ God, You commanded Your disciples: do this as you see. But the lawless Judas did not want to understand.” Further, the need to stay awake is again spoken of: “Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune, as you said to your disciple, Christ our God. But the lawless Judas did not want to understand,” since the next Gospel will read about the treacherous taking of the Savior into custody. The topic of spiritual wakefulness is very important. Directly these words of the Savior are addressed to His disciples, but through them - to all Christians.
Since Peter turned out to be too bold in his words, as well as the other disciples, Christ exposes their instability as people who spoke rashly, and especially turns his speech to Peter, saying that it will be difficult to remain faithful to the Lord for those who could not stay awake for even one hour . But, having denounced him, he again calms them down, because they dozed off not out of inattention to Him, but out of weakness. And if we see our weakness, we will pray so as not to fall into temptation. All Christians are called to this constant spiritual vigilance; without this constant carrying of our Cross there can be no salvation, for through many sorrows we must enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). That’s why we hear again: “Having laid down thirty pieces of silver, the price of the One Who was Priced, He was valued by the children of Israel. Watch and pray, so that you do not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak: for this reason, watch” (TP. L. 439).
But it's getting closer reading of the second Passion Gospel, which tells about the taking into custody of the Savior. The solemn procession of ancient Christians spending Holy Week in the Holy Land was at that moment approaching the Garden of Gethsemane, where the betrayal took place. Therefore, in order to remind those praying that the Lord suffers for our sake and that everything happened according to God’s ineffable Providence, the Holy Church sings: “At the supper the disciples fed, and knew the pretense of tradition; at it you exposed Judas, for you knew that this was uncorrected: know that Although you have given yourself over to everyone by your will, you may snatch the world away from the alien: long-suffering, glory to You.”
Having thus prepared those praying for a correct understanding of what is being read, the Church offers to our attention the second Passion Gospel, which talks about the capture of the Savior by the soldiers of the high priest under the leadership of Judas the traitor, about the denial of Peter, about the strangulation of Jesus in the courtyard of Caiaphas and about His imprisonment in the praetorium of Pontius Pilate.
The antiphons following the reading of the Gospel again dwell on the fall of Judas: “Today Judas leaves the Teacher, and accepts the devil, is blinded by the passion of the love of money, the darkened Light falls away: how can you see, Selling the luminary for thirty pieces of silver; but to us the One who suffered for peace has risen. Let us cry out to the Unman: you who have suffered and have compassion, O Lord, glory to Thee.” It is obvious that it is no coincidence that so much attention is paid to the vice of the love of money and the act of Judas. The Holy Fathers speak very decisively on this matter. “Whoever began to serve mammon has already abandoned serving Christ.”
That is why this topic arises again and again: “Today Judas feigns piety, and his talents are alienated, this disciple becomes a traitor: flattery covers up in ordinary kisses, and he prefers the Master to love, it is senseless to work for the love of money, a teacher who was a teacher of a lawless congregation; But we who have the salvation of Christ, let us glorify him.”
In contrast to the act of Judas, Christ’s faithful followers are called to virtues that are opposite to his sinful illness: “Let us acquire brotherly love as brethren in Christ, and not as an unmerciful hedgehog towards our neighbors: lest we be condemned as an unmerciful servant, for the sake of penalties, and like Judas, having repented, we take advantage of nothing.” "
Turning the Savior's speech to His disciples, the Holy Church in the following antiphons again encourages and strengthens the followers of Christ in this difficult time; But we, separated from the events described in the Gospel for centuries, are moved to patience and perseverance in temptations: “Today the Creator of heaven and earth said to His disciple: The hour is approaching, and Judas will betray Me, so that no one will deny Me, seeing Me on the cross in the midst of two thiefs.” : For I suffer as a man, and I will save as a Lover of Mankind, those who believe in Me... Lord, having come to free passion, You cried out to Your disciple: Even if you were not able to watch with Me for a single hour, since you promised to die for My sake; See how Judas is not sleeping, but is trying to betray Me to the lawless. Arise, pray, so that no one will deny Me, in vain I am on the cross, long-suffering, glory to You.”
The third Passion Gospel is read, telling about how the Savior in the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas Himself testifies of Himself as the Son of God and accepts being strangled and spat on for this testimony. The renunciation of the Apostle Peter and his repentance are also depicted here. The antiphons that follow the Gospel emphasize that the Divine Sufferer endures these torments voluntarily - for the sake of the salvation of His creation: “When you ate the lawless, while you endured, you cried out to the Lord: if you also smite the Shepherd, and scatter twelve sheep, my disciples, you can imagine greater things than twelve legions.” angels. But I will endure long, that what My prophets have revealed to you, unknown and secret, may be fulfilled: Lord, glory to Thee.”
The seventh antiphon says about the Apostle Peter: “Peter denied three times what was spoken to him in his mind, but bring to You tears of repentance: God, cleanse me and save me.” Here we briefly talk about events that have a very deep, enduring moral significance. Obsessed with fear, Peter forgot about his promises to the Teacher and submitted to human weakness. But there is also a higher meaning in this event: Peter is convicted of a servant, that is, of human weakness, this little slave. The rooster means the word of Jesus, which does not allow us to sleep. The awakened Peter came out of the bishop's courtyard, that is, from a state of blinded mind, and began to cry. While he was in the courtyard of the blinded mind, he did not cry because he had no feeling; but as soon as he came out of it, he came to his senses.
The topic of repentance is very important, and in the hymns of Holy Week it is revealed as clearly as nowhere else. According to the holy fathers, if even the evil Judas could fall before the Cross of Christ and bring sincere repentance for betrayal, he would hear from the most pure lips of the Lord: “Your sins are forgiven.” However, “lawless Judas did not want to understand” God’s mercy. He did not turn, like the Apostle Peter, to the good and merciful Lord. The traitor came to the Pharisees, but did not find sympathy from them. Throwing them pieces of silver, he went and hanged himself - a terrible end!
What lesson can be learned Orthodox Christian from the denial of the Apostle Peter? Many probably asked the question: how could he renounce the Savior? And how do we renounce every minute in word and deed?.. Love of sin keeps us from following Christ and makes our dead soul who does not know Christ.
In the eighth antiphon, the stiff-necked Jews are reproached for not recognizing in Christ their Messiah and Lawgiver: “Cry out the iniquity that you hear from our Savior; shall not lay down the law, and the prophetic teaching; How could you think of betraying Pilate, who is from God, God the Word, and the deliverer of our souls.” Those to whom the Law and the Prophets were given, those who saw so many miracles, did not recognize their Savior and their Messiah: “Let those who continually enjoy the cry of Thy gifts be crucified, and let the evildoer instead of the benefactor be accepted to the benefactor, the murderers of the righteous: but Christ art thou who was silent, enduring their severity, to suffer even though they save us, as a Lover of Mankind.”
Coming reading time of the fourth Passion Gospel. It describes the dialogue between the Savior and Pilate, the scourging of the Lord, His clothing with a crown of thorns and scarlet robe, the mad cries of the crowd: “Crucify, crucify Him!” and handing Him over to be crucified. Once again, already at the threshold of death, He testifies of Himself as the Truth, to which unbelieving skepticism in the person of Pilate replies: “What is truth?” - and betrays Christ to torture and abuse.
What is striking in this Gospel passage is the cry of the crowd, thirsting for the death of their Creator: “Let those who continually enjoy the cry of Thy gifts be crucified, and let the evildoer be accepted instead of the benefactor, the murderers of the righteous.” The Lord performed so many miracles throughout the history of the Israeli people, and the majority of these people did not accept Him: “This says the Lord to the Jews: My people, what have I done to you? or why do you feel cold; I enlightened your blind, cleansed your lepers, raised your living husband on his bed. My people, what have I done to you, and what will you repay Me; for manna gall: for water tsets: for the hedgehog love Me, nail Me to the cross!..”
And if only he had not accepted... His blood be on us and on our children (Matthew 27:25)... What scary words!.. And with what insane frivolity the people pronounce them. The Blood of the Righteous One, which he took upon himself, burned the cities with fire, delivered the Israelites into the hands of enemies and finally scattered them over the face of the earth... But we accept this same Blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, for us it is the source of immortality and Eternal Life... But His Blood will be on us and on our children for condemnation and destruction, if even after we have been renewed by this most holy Blood we continue to commit the same sins.
But then, in the midst of terrible sorrow, the words of church hymn are heard put into the mouth of the Savior: “To those who cannot endure anything else, I will call on My tongues, and they will glorify Me with the Father and the Spirit: and I will give them eternal life.” This speaks of the Holy Church of Christ, which will also be gathered from sheep that are not of this fold. But you too must be brought to Me, and My voice will be heard, and there will be one flock and one Shepherd (John 10:16).
The next, tenth and eleventh, antiphons mention the formidable natural phenomena accompanying the suffering of Christ. If people turn out to be insensitive, then inanimate nature cannot help but sympathize with his Creator: “Dress yourself in light like a robe, standing naked in judgment, and on your cheeks receive the emphasis from the hands that created them: but lawless people nailed the Lord of glory on the cross: then the veil of the church was torn, the sun darkened, unable to bear the sight of God vexed, He who trembles in every way, Let us worship Him.
Below is the earth as if it shook, below is the stone as if it became gray, admonishing the Jews, below is the church veil, below is the resurrection of the dead. But grant them, Lord, according to their deeds, for they have learned from You in vain.
Today the church veil for exposing the lawless is torn, and the sun hides its rays, the Lord is being crucified in vain.”
Fifth Passion Gospel tells about the death of the traitor Judas, about the interrogation of the Lord in the praetorium of Pilate and about His condemnation to death. The thirteenth antiphon speaks of the robber-murderer Barabbas, whom the maddened crowd preferred to the Savior: “The assembly of the Jews asked Pilate to crucify You, O Lord: for You did not find guilt in You, who freed Barabbas, and You righteously condemned the sin that inherited the foul murder.” And again the Church reminds us that the Savior suffers for us: “For Him all are terrified and tremble, and every tongue sings of Christ the power of God and God's wisdom, the priests hit the cheek, and gave Him bile: and if you will suffer all, save us from our iniquities with Your Blood, as a Lover of Mankind.”
Suddenly, amid the sorrow and greatness of this day, a weak human cry is heard. This is the cry of the thief, crucified at the right hand of Christ and comprehending the Divinity of the God-Man crucified with him and compassionate with him. “The thief uttered a small voice on the cross, you gained great faith, you were saved in a single moment, and the first gates of heaven opened below, who accepted repentance, Lord, glory to You.”
Like a heartfelt sigh from the whole world, the Church takes it up, and in the hearts of its faithful it grows into a whole song about the prudent thief, sung three times before the 9th Gospel: “The prudent thief, in one hour you have made heaven worthy, and enlighten me with the tree of the cross, and save me."
The words of the last antiphon are imbued with special power: “Today the King like the angels, like the angels, hangs on a tree; he dresses himself in false scarlet, covering the sky with clouds; the strangulation was accepted, like the freed Adam in the Jordan; The Church Bridegroom is nailed down with nails; a copy of the Son of the Virgin. We worship Christ with Your passion; We worship Christ with Your passion; We worship Your passion, Christ, show us Your glorious resurrection.” And here, among the sufferings darkening the consciousness, like a thin ray of light, a mention appears of what all this suffering is for: “show us your glorious resurrection!”
Having thus strengthened those praying, the Church offers reading of the sixth Passion Gospel, which talks about the crucifixion itself. In the hymns that follow this Gospel and immediately precede it, the saving meaning of the suffering of the God-Man is revealed: “Your cross, O Lord, is life and intercession for your people, and in hope we sing to you of our crucified God, have mercy on us.”
In the hymns one can hear: “Thou hast redeemed us from the legal oath, with Thy venerable Blood, having been nailed to the cross, and pierced with a spear, Thou hast extinguished immortality as a man, Our Savior, glory to Thee.” The Lord redeemed us, did everything for our salvation, but this salvation can only be found in Church of Christ. Therefore, immediately after reading the Gospel story about the crucifixion, we hear comforting words about the Church, filling the whole world with Divine grace: “Thy life-giving ribs, like a fountain flowing from Eden, Thy Church, O Christ, like a verbal one, waters paradise, from here dividing like into the beginning, into the four Gospels, watering the world, making the creation joyful, and faithfully teaching the tongues to worship Your Kingdom.” Only in the Church, as in the ark of salvation, can one find peace and salvation from eternal death.
But peace and salvation can only be obtained by following Christ: “Thou hast been crucified for my sake, that thou hast pierced my ribs, that thou hast emptied the drops of life: thou hast been nailed with nails, that by the depth of Thy passions we assure the height of Thy power , I call Ty: Life-giving Christ, glory to the Savior Cross and Thy passion.” Only those who fulfill the gospel commandment are saved: If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me.(Matt. 16:24).
What else can be added, what else can be usefully extracted from the proposed chants? “Thou hast torn to pieces our handwriting on the cross, O Lord, and having been counted among the dead, Thou hast bound the tormentor there, delivering all from the bonds of death by Thy resurrection, by which we have been enlightened, O Lord of mankind, and we cry unto Thee: remember us also, O Saviour, in Thy Kingdom.”
Seventh and Eighth Passion Gospels repeat the events of the Savior's crucifixion, supplementing them with some details. After the eighth Gospel, the three-canticle of Cosmas of Maium is read, which, in particular, again speaks of the disciples of Christ. The eighth song of this three-song contains an important idea that to those who are stronger, a stronger temptation is sent: “From the disciples of all times now, shake off the sleep that thou hast said, O Christ, and watch in prayer, lest ye enter into adversity, and especially Simone: the strongest temptation. Understand Me Peter: He will bless all creation, glorifying Him forever.”
We are further reminded that you can never rely on yourself, since only with the help of God can we do something good: “You have not experienced all the depth of Divine wisdom and reason, but you have not comprehended the abyss of My destinies as a human being, the Lord speaks. Do not boast in your poor flesh, for you have denied Me three times, Whom He will bless all creation, glorifying Him forever.” Moreover, Peter was afraid not of the soldiers, but of the maids: “You deny to Simone Peter that you will quickly do as you have said, and one young woman will come to You and frighten You, the Lord has spoken. The mountaineer shed tears, and found Me both merciful and blessed by all creation, glorifying Him forever.”
The Exapostilary of the Trisong, sung just before the reading of the ninth Gospel, depicts the prudent thief who came to the knowledge of the Truth at the eleventh hour. This teaches a lesson that it is never too late to repent and come to Christ the Savior: “The prudent thief, in one hour you have made heaven worthy, and enlighten me with the tree of the cross, and save me.” Jesus receives everyone, giving the same denarius to those workers who came around the eleventh hour. Amen, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43).
The last Passion Gospel has been read, the Lord has been laid in the tomb, Christ’s disciples have dispersed... The continuation of the holy and saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ ends, and with lighted candles Christians leave the church, grieving from what they have experienced, but in the depths of their souls already expecting the Resurrection.
Passion Gospels:
- John 13:31-18:1 (The Savior’s farewell conversation with his disciples and His high priestly prayer for them).
- John 18:1-28. (The capture of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and His suffering at the hands of the High Priest Anna).
- Matthew 26:57-75. (The Savior’s suffering at the hands of the high priest Caiaphas and the denial of Peter).
- John 18:28-40,19:1-16. (The Lord's suffering at Pilate's trial).
- Matthew 27:3-32. (The despair of Judas, the new suffering of the Lord under Pilate and His condemnation to crucifixion).
- Mark 15:16-32. (Leading the Lord to Golgotha and His Passion on the Cross).
- Matthew 27:34-54. (Continuation of the story of the Lord’s suffering on the cross, the miraculous signs that accompanied His death).
- Luke 23:32-49. (Prayer of the Savior on the Cross for enemies and repentance of a prudent thief).
- John 19:25-37. (The Savior’s words from the cross to the Mother of God and the Apostle John and repetition of the legend about His death and perforation).
- Mark 15:43-47. (Removal of the Lord's body from the Cross).
- John 19:38-42. (Participation of Nicodemus and Joseph in the burial of the Savior).
- Matthew 27:62-66. (Attaching guards to the tomb of the Savior and sealing the tomb).
The ninth Passion Gospel is read, which speaks of the Savior’s dying concerns about His Mother and His death. The Lord, hanging on the cross, adopts His Mother as a son to His beloved disciple. “This was a response to Her boundless sorrow, the spectacle of which was one of the sharpest thorns of the Savior’s martyr’s crown.”
And now - “it is finished.” The Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, hanging on the cross, gave up his ghost. “My cloaks fell on the wounds, but I did not turn away My face from the spitting, I stood before Pilate’s judgment, and endured the cross for the salvation of the world.” The work of redemption of the human race through His suffering on the cross was completed, in everything in accordance with the Old Testament prophecies and foreshadowings. Even inanimate nature could not remain indifferent to the death of its Creator. In the midst of the darkness, a strong underground rumble was heard, and the earth began to shake: “All creation, changing with fear, beholding Thee hanging on the cross of Christ: the sun was darkened, and the foundations of the earth shook, all to the compassion of the Creator of all. You endured the will of us for our sake, O Lord, glory to Thee.”
The menacing natural phenomena have ceased. Golgotha is empty. They began to spread throughout the city terrible rumors that the earthquake damaged the temple, and the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the Sanctuary was torn from top to bottom. This event marked the end Old Testament and the establishment of a new relationship between man and God.
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Our hearts are filled with forgiveness, peace and love for each other
After Little Compline, Father Methodius said a short word and asked everyone on his knees for forgiveness:
“Beloved fathers, brothers and sisters, bless me on behalf of Bishop Pankratius to ask for forgiveness. On this majestic day, the Lord gave us the opportunity to reconcile with God, with our guardian angel, with our neighbors, especially with those people whom we really offend, seduce, and confuse with our behavior. But the Lord gives us days like Holy Pentecost - the most beautiful time For human soul, Golden time repentance that we can bring to our merciful and all-forgiving Lord.
Bless and forgive me, holy fathers, brothers, sisters, your most unworthy brother for the sins I have committed in word, deed, thought and all my
During this continuous Maslenitsa week, in the Valaam Monastery they also bake a lot of pancakes to treat the brethren and numerous guests. Every day, the monastery cooks with joy and love prepare 450 large pancakes for the fraternal meal, and many more for refills and distribution to everyone. Pancakes with condensed milk and sour cream are a consolation for all the inhabitants of the monastery, because it is so necessary to strengthen themselves before a strict multi-day fast.
February 16, 2019 is the birthday of Abbot Methodius, a resident of the Valaam Monastery. The brethren of the monastery and numerous guests who arrived on the island despite the winter and not the most favorable weather conditions came to congratulate their beloved spiritual father and friend.
Hegumen Methodius, who came with Bishop Pankratiy to the dilapidated Valaam Monastery in 1993, made a special contribution to the revival of the monastery. His obedience and labors bore abundant fruit in the church field. Father Methodius thanks to his immeasurable love managed to unite around himself great amount people, managed to help them come to God, to the Church, to faith. Communication with Father Methodius radically changed their lives. Through his labors, many gained firm trust in the will of God and stood on Right way salvation, ascending the steps of the ladder of life to the Kingdom of Heaven.
On February 15, 2019, on the day of the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the Abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Bishop Pankratiy, visited a sick person in Lately monk Anthony and presented him with a commemorative anniversary medal in honor of the "30th anniversary of the withdrawal Soviet troops from Afghanistan."
"About your path to God in thorns Afghan war Monk Anthony, whom I came to visit today and present with a jubilee medal in memory of the 30th anniversary of the completion of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, also told me today. All the leaders and warriors who laid down their souls were remembered. Monk Anthony (Sergei Machulin) was then the commander of a special forces unit and participated in dangerous operations behind enemy lines,” writes the Abbot of the monastery, Bishop Pankraty of Trinity.
The last week before Easter is called Holy Week, and each day is called Great Week. These days the Church remembers and worries latest events from the life of Christ to the crucifixion. Special meaning among them is Maundy Thursday. At the Liturgy on this day, the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is remembered, and in the evening the so-called “Passionate Gospels” are read. What does this day look like in the light? Holy Scripture? How do modern Christians conduct it? Is it necessary to bring a lighted candle from the temple and draw a cross on it with smoke from its flame? front door? Where did the “tradition” of cleaning, washing and doing laundry on this day come from? Read on for answers to these questions.
What does the Gospel say about the events of Maundy Thursday?
All four evangelists testify to last days life of Christ. The taking into custody and crucifixion were preceded by Easter, which Christ celebrated with his disciples.
Preparation for Passover and washing of feet
Jesus asked Peter and John to go to Jerusalem and prepare the Passover meal. The apostles, according to the word of the teacher, met a man with a jug of water and turned to him: The teacher ordered to celebrate Easter in your house. In the evening, at this place, in the so-called Zion Upper Room, Jesus Himself came with the rest of the disciples.
Before eating the holiday meal, also known as last supper, Jesus set an example of amazing humility.
This was not the first time that the disciples began to measure grace by human standards, that is, they began to ask Christ who deserves to be honored more. The Good Teacher, the Son of God, who became Man for the salvation of everyone, washed his feet To my students.
What is the point of this action? Jesus showed that the Kingdom of Heaven is a reverse kingdom. In it, the one who belittles himself becomes superior to everyone. And even the Son of God accepts humiliation and death on the cross. This custom of washing feet has survived to this day: in cathedrals and some monasteries, representatives of the highest clergy perform a special rite.
Then Jesus and his disciples began to eat. In addition to fulfilling the law and eating Easter food, on Maundy Thursday Jesus actually also established the Sacrament of the Eucharist. He took the bread in his hands, after blessing, he divided it into pieces and gave it to the disciples with the words:
Take, eat; This is My Body, broken for you for the remission of sins
Then Jesus took a cup of wine and also gave it to the apostles:
Drink from it, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins
Bread and Wine - these are not banal symbols at all. According to the teachings of the Church, every time during the Liturgy, bread and wine are transformed into the Flesh and Blood of Christ. There are many testimonies from both priests and laity who doubted the truth of this sacred rite, but then became witnesses terrible secret. With their spiritual gaze they saw body and blood in the cup. But this is a completely different topic.
Let us return to the events taking place in the Upper Room of Zion. Jesus, who called Himself the bread of life in the Gospel, establishes the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Therefore, the events of Thursday evening are also called the Last Supper. The Son of God says that He gives His Flesh and Blood to save people from sin.
The Betrayal of Judas and the Commandment of Love
And the very next day He will have to endure unbearable bodily torment and bloodshed, including death on the cross. And one of the twelve, Judas Iscariot, will betray Him to certain death.
Judas was a kind of “cashier” among the apostles; he carried a box of money. But at some point, he began to treat his “job” as something other than service. Judas was mentally seduced by money once, twice, three times... Before he knew it, passion took complete possession of him and led him to the high priests. He betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver. And not just a person, but a Teacher, whom the disciples consciously called the Son of God.
Jesus knew what Judas was up to. And it was at the Last Supper that he told the apostles that one of them would betray Him. The students, of course, began to ask: “Isn’t it me?” And only Judas heard the answer: “You.” Then the tempted student received from the good Teacher a piece of bread dipped in salt, with the words: “What are you doing, do it quickly.” After this, Judas left the Zion upper room.
He no longer heard the commandment of love:
Commandment I give you a new one let you love one another, as I have loved you... And greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life (give up his life) for his friends
It was precisely this step, even death on the cross, that the Son of God took.
Judas did not hear the last teachings of Christ at the Last Supper - to overcome grief, endure suffering and believe in the Son of God, His Father and the Holy Spirit. The prediction about the preaching of Christianity throughout the world, which the apostles would later fulfill, did not apply to him.
Judas did not hear the sorrow of Christ over the disciples who last hours the lives of Christ will scatter. I didn’t know that Peter would deny the Son of God three times before the rooster crowed.
Judas Iscariot was not a witness to Jesus' prayer to His Father for the apostles. The commandment about faith, love and patience of sorrows no longer applied to him. After all, by his betrayal of Christ, he betrayed himself into the hands of the devil.
Evangelists remember all these events on Thursday. And the Church also especially honors this day.
Features of the Liturgy on Maundy Thursday
In memory of the celebration of the First Eucharist, the Divine Liturgy is necessarily served.
It reads a Gospel passage about the events of that day: the celebration of Easter, the Last Supper and the communion of the apostles, the washing of feet, the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter.
Also, the Cherubim is not sung at the Liturgy. It is replaced by a prayer known to many before communion:
Thy secret supper this day, O Son of God, receive me as a partaker, for I will not tell the secret to Thy enemies, neither will I give Thee a kiss like Judas, but like a thief I will confess Thee: remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom
In it, believers ask the Lord to grant them communion, as the disciples once did. Those praying promise not to betray Christ by serving passions, like the money-loving Judas, who betrayed Christ with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. In this prayer, Christians show meekness, humility and hope, like a thief crucified according to right hand from Christ. As you know, the thief repented before his death and asked Jesus to remember him in the Kingdom of Heaven.
If possible, believers try to take communion on this day. Approaching the chalice with the Holy Gifts, they remember the communion of the apostles and the great mercy shown to every person - the opportunity to unite with God in the Sacrament.
Reading the 12 Passionate Gospels
In the evening, churches serve Matins of Good Friday. It reads 12 Gospel passages about the suffering of Christ. Therefore, the service is known by another name - service of the 12 gospels .
Believers hold lighted candles in their hands and in some churches kneel while reading the Holy Scriptures. The priests read the gospel stories about the suffering of Christ. Since in Church Slavonic language sufferings are called passions, it is customary to call the passages read the passionate Gospels.
Believers invisibly witness the prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter, the suffering of the high priests Anna and Caiaphas, Pilate's doubts and condemnation to death, the beating of Christ and the road to Golgotha, crucifixion and humiliation from the crucifixion, the repentance of the thief and death.
Before us, the Son of God is pouring out a bloody sweat in prayer for the cup; the guards who came to arrest Jesus heard Him Holy Name, fall to their knees.
Before us, Judas betrays the Son of God with a crafty kiss for 30 pieces of silver, Peter, who denied Christ three times, cries to the crowing of a rooster, the disciples run away so as not to see the Passion of Christ.
In front of us, Jesus is beaten half to death, they spit in His eyes, they shout: “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”, and mockingly say: “Save Yourself and come down from the cross.”
Before us, the Virgin Mary grieves, whom Christ gives to the care of his beloved disciple John, Mary Magdalene and other myrrh-bearing women burst into tears.
The prudent robber repents before us and betrays himself to eternal damnation crucified by left hand from the Son of God.
Before us, a choking Jesus squeezes out the words of prayer for crucifiers and evildoers:
Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing.
And then he gives his spirit into the hands of the Lord.
Then there will be the removal of Christ from the cross, burial and mourning, and then the joy of the Resurrection. But when reading the passionate Gospels, the Church first of all remembers the great sacrificial love Christ to people, the price of which is betrayal, loneliness and crucifixion.
Why carry a lit candle home?
While reading Gospel passages, believers hold lighted candles in their hands; after the end of the service, they do not extinguish them, but go home to draw a cross at the front door with the flame of the “Thursday” or “Passion” candle. It is believed that this cross should protect the home from evil spirits.
But what is it? A pious tradition or another superstition, so beautifully disguised as Orthodoxy?
In the liturgical literature there is no mention of such a tradition of Maundy Thursday, there is no corresponding decree for mandatory execution.
But this custom cannot be called a magical action, because it is performed with faith and prayer.
Some parallels can be drawn with Hebrew Passover . In the book of Exodus it is written that each family had to take a lamb, the meat of which was baked with bitter herbs and unleavened bread and eaten at Passover. And the doorposts were anointed with the blood of this lamb. According to this “mark,” the Angel of the Lord distinguished the families of the Israelites from the Egyptians, in whose houses the “destructive plague” was supposed to take away the eldest sons.
So to this day, Orthodox Christians believe that crosses drawn with “passionate” candles are able to protect their homes from uncleanness. It is difficult to disagree with this, knowing how evil spirits fear the sign of the cross and the pectoral cross.
Is Maundy Thursday a time for cleaning?
But there is another “tradition” associated with Maundy Thursday. This day is also popularly called Maundy Thursday. Speaking modern language, people believed that this was supposedly the perfect day for cleaning. Therefore, on this day everything had to be put away, cleaned, washed, washed. Also, our great-grandmothers believed that on this day it was useful to swim in a living pond to cleanse yourself of diseases.
Where to look for the basis for such an interpretation of Maundy Thursday? There are several options:
- in the Gospel: Christ washed the feet of His disciples;
- in the history of the Church: they used to baptize on Holy Saturday. People have been preparing for this event for about three years. To take care of appearance did not worry them on Friday, when the Church remembers the death of Christ, “candidates for Christians” put themselves in order on Thursday.
There are also versions related to the pagan past of the Slavs. But in modern Orthodox life You can look at such options from a different angle. Maundy Thursday is another reason on the eve of Easter to take care of spiritual purity , confession and communion.
The meaning of this day of Holy Week is also described in this video:
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