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Holy and Great Friday

It was the sight we now commemorate in the present Church service, and behold in the sacred Image before our eyes. The sight was the Son of God, Who came down from the heavens, became man for the salvation of the human race, and was mocked and scourged by men.

What feeling, if not that of horror, should wholly envelope the heart at this sight? What state, if not a state of absolute bewilderment, should be our state of mind? What word could be pronounced at this sight? Does not every human word die upon the lips, before it can even proceed from the lips?

All those who came to this sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

4/22/2022

Matins on Great and Holy Friday—the Twelve Passion Gospels

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Matins on Great and Holy Friday—the Twelve Passion Gospels

We have the Matins service for Great and Holy Friday on Thursday evening. The main part of the Matins is the twelve Gospels on the Lord’s Passion. For your convenience, these twelve Gospels have been posted here.

Holy and Great Friday, Vespers

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Holy and Great Friday, Vespers

The whole creation was changed by fear, when it saw Thee, O Christ, hanging on the Cross. The sun was darkened and the foundations of the earth were shaken; all things suffered with the Creator of all. Of Thine own will Thou hast endured this for our sakes: O Lord, glory to Thee.

Services on Holy Friday

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Rating: 6.3|Votes: 11

Services on Holy Friday

Holy Friday, also known as Good Friday, or Great Friday, is a holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triodion on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday.

Synaxarion for Holy and Great Friday

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Rating: 9.8|Votes: 8

Synaxarion for Holy and Great Friday

On this day, Holy and Great Friday, we celebrate the awesome, holy, and saving Passion of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ—the spitting, the blows with the palm of the hand, the buffeting, the mockery, the reviling, the wearing of the purple robe, the reed, the sponge, the vinegar, the nailing, the lance, and above all, the Crucifixion and Death which He condescended to endure willingly for our sakes—and also the saving confession of the grateful thief upon the cross.

Homily on Great Friday, Given at the Evening Service

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Homily on Great Friday, Given at the Evening Service

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Rating: 9.8|Votes: 4

Homily on Great Friday, Given at the Evening Service

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

What was this sight, which brought the onlookers to total bewilderment? What was this sight, which sealed the lips of the onlookers with silence, and yet struck their souls? They came as to a spectacle, just to satisfy their curiosity; they left the scene beating their breasts, carrying away a horrifying astonishment… What was this sight?

To Walk in the Flesh but Not According to the Flesh

A Homily at the Shroud on Holy Friday

Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov

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To Walk in the Flesh but Not According to the Flesh

A Homily at the Shroud on Holy Friday

Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov

In these holy hours of the Pascha of the Cross, the eyes of all are fixed upon the one Son of God, the Son of Man.

Chrysostom on the Crucifixion of Christ

Exegesis on the Gospel of John, 19:16–20:1

St. John Chrysostom

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Rating: 8.6|Votes: 16

Chrysostom on the Crucifixion of Christ

Exegesis on the Gospel of John, 19:16–20:1

St. John Chrysostom

And He came to the place of a skull. Some say that Adam died there, and there lies; and that Jesus in this place where death had reigned, there also set up the trophy.

Taking Out the Holy Burial Shroud

Elizaveta Kiktenko

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Rating: 10|Votes: 12

Taking Out the Holy Burial Shroud

Elizaveta Kiktenko

The Taking Out and Burial Service of the Holy Shroud are the two most important services on Great Friday of Holy Week.

Homily on Great Friday

St. Philaret of Moscow

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Rating: 7.9|Votes: 12

Homily on Great Friday

St. Philaret of Moscow

We offer our readers our English translation of one of the most acclaimed patristic works dedicated to the significance of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross. This homily was given by Archimandrite Philaret (Drozdov), the future Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, in the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg on Holy Friday, 1816.

Do You Recognize Him?

A Word Before the Holy Plaschanitsa in Christ the Savior Cathedral

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

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Rating: 10|Votes: 6

Do You Recognize Him?

A Word Before the Holy Plaschanitsa in Christ the Savior Cathedral

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

The holy Church enjoins all Orthodox Christians to stand before this icon today, and ask ourselves, “Do I recognize Him?”

The Crucifixion, Part 2. “Into Thy hands do I commit my spirit.”

Dr. Jeannie Constantinou

Rating: 10|Votes: 5

The Crucifixion, Part 2. “Into Thy hands do I commit my spirit.”

Dr. Jeannie Constantinou

This is now part 2 on the Crucifixion, about the seven last statements made by Christ. He said very little from the Cross because of the lack of oxygen. The inability to get a good breath made it very difficult to speak at all.

What Christ Accomplished on the Cross

Hieromonk Damascene (Christensen)

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Rating: 9.3|Votes: 3

What Christ Accomplished on the Cross

Hieromonk Damascene (Christensen)

The topic of today’s talk—what Christ accomplished on the Cross—is of course a prime subject of contemplation during the Lenten season, as we prepare to prayerfully commemorate Christ’s passion, death, and the inevitable consequence of His death: His holy Resurrection.

The Lord’s Way of the Cross

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

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Rating: 7|Votes: 9

The Lord’s Way of the Cross

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken Me?" The word "God" in Aramaic is pronounced "Eloi" or "Eli," as written by the Evangelists. This cry was the expression of the God-man’s deepest sorrow. In order for the sacrifice for salvation to occur, it was necessary that the God-man drink the full cup of human suffering.

Holy Friday

Fr. Peter Orfanakos

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Rating: 10|Votes: 1

Holy Friday

Fr. Peter Orfanakos

On Thursday evening, the Matins service of Holy Friday is served. This service is also called the Service of the Twelve Gospels, because there are twelve Gospel passages relating to the Lord’s passion and crucifixion.

The Last Days in the Earthly Life of the Savior

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

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Rating: 9.8|Votes: 11

The Last Days in the Earthly Life of the Savior

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

The central event in the history of mankind is the coming into the world of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the most important deed—His voluntary suffering and death on the cross, culminating in the glorious Resurrection from the dead.

Holy Week in Hymns. Holy and Great Friday (with audio)

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Rating: 7.6|Votes: 7

Holy Week in Hymns. Holy and Great Friday (with audio)

On Holy Friday, we recall Christ’s crucifixion with the Service of the Twelve Gospels. At this service the priest reads the twelve Gospels describing Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion, intertwined with other elements of the Matins service.

Holy and Great Friday

Irina Dmitrieva

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Holy and Great Friday

Irina Dmitrieva

But can we judge them? How do we, who live today, differ from the Jews who crowded together on that fateful day on the square in front of Pontius Pilate? What choices do we make today?

On Love for Christ

A Homily for Holy Friday

St. Seraphim (Sobolev)

On Love for Christ

A Homily for Holy Friday

St. Seraphim (Sobolev)

Therefore, let us endeavor, beloved children in Christ, to depart from this tomb with true love for Christ, or at least with a firm determination to kindle this great and blessed love in ourselves.

Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? Holy and Great Friday

Holy Week with St. John of Kronstadt

St. John of Kronstadt

Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? Holy and Great Friday

Holy Week with St. John of Kronstadt

St. John of Kronstadt

Judge, I say, judge, what was the sharpness, bitterness and burning of the sufferings of the cross, what was the spiritual sorrow of the Lamb of God, who took upon Himself the sins of the world.

A Talk Before the Burial Shroud on Great Friday

St. John of Kronstadt

A Talk Before the Burial Shroud on Great Friday

St. John of Kronstadt

Come, with tears of repentance and with love we will kiss the wounds of this Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world.

What the Silent Cross Teaches us Now

A Word on the Passion of the Lord

St. Innocent of Kherson

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What the Silent Cross Teaches us Now

A Word on the Passion of the Lord

St. Innocent of Kherson

The universe had to know, men had to hear from the mouth of the universal Sacrifice Himself what the cleansing of the sins of the entire world is worth.

Homily on Holy and Great Friday

St. Alexei Mechev

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Homily on Holy and Great Friday

St. Alexei Mechev

O inexhaustible and inexpressible Divine Love! Our sweetest Jesus! To such measure hast Thou loved man—the most contemptible and ungrateful creature!

VIDEO: Reenactment of Christ’s Passion at the Holy Monastery of Trikorfo 2019

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VIDEO: Reenactment of Christ’s Passion at the Holy Monastery of Trikorfo 2019

Every year, at the end of the procession of the Holy Apokathilosis (Descent from the Cross) in the courtyard of the Holy Monastery of Saint Augustine and Saint Seraphim of Sarov in Trikorfo Fokidos, the reenactment of Christ’s Passions takes place according to the Jerusalem typical procedure.

Dare We Add to the Covenant of God?

Three Homilies on Holy Friday

St. Innocent of Kherson

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Dare We Add to the Covenant of God?

Three Homilies on Holy Friday

St. Innocent of Kherson

It seems like but a momentary neglect of duty, but it rages for an entire eternity; it’s committed at a certain, specific point on Earth, but it shakes all of Heaven; it seems to harm but one person; but the Son of God Himself must suffer to blot it out!