The passion of the Christ: the Orthodox came the most mournful day
MOSCOW, 6 APR — news, Alexey Mikheev. Early on the morning of Friday the arresting of Christ, the Jewish priests brought the prisoner to the head of the Roman administration of Judea — Procurator, Pontius Pilate.
He tried to save Jesus from execution and considered sufficient his punishment severe beating with whips. But the Jerusalem crowd, fueled by the priests, demanded for the Savior’s death, and the official relented. Christ was crucified on mount Golgotha near Jerusalem. The worst punishment the Empire never was not applied to those who were considered its subjects, is nailed to the cross people usually died in terrible agony for several days.
“Hatred unprecedented in human history. Even secular people and secular people, if they compare Christ with the founders of other religions, nowhere and never will see such a terrible rejection. And it has a terrible root, the feeling will not disappear until the last minutes of human history — envy,” says the vicar of the Moscow Sretensky monastery, Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov).
In the morning before the mournful day of the Church year the priest of the University Church of St. Tatiana at Moscow state University father John Lapidus speaks passionately about how difficult it is to imagine what happened in Judea at the dawn of the first Millennium. “Our life is filled with many unnecessary events. Becoming isolated in their own world, concentrating on the real or imaginary troubles, we completely forget about the fact that they are insignificant compared to how people had treated Christ. All our sorrows, troubles and grievances is a small part of the world where you can kill a God,” said father John.
At the time of Jesus ‘ death, an earthquake, and in the main temple of Jerusalem, tore the veil that separated the sacred space from the premises, where they could be ordinary people.
“The Funeral Of God”
Removal of the shroud and the burial Rite are two most important services, which are committed on Great Friday of Holy week.
Large boards (a piece of cloth) on which is painted or embroidered the image laid into the tomb of Christ, endure from the altar and mounted on a flower-decorated dais.
Then a solemn procession walks with him around the Church to the tolling of bells bells. To evening of the next day the faithful come to venerate the Holy sepulcher. The faces often in these moments you can see the tears.
The procession takes place in the afternoon, and many specifically ask for leave from work to be on time for the service.
“This is the most important day and most important moment when I along with all the buried God. And it is almost impossible to take, as soon as you begin to understand His death part of his life. I had to spend a few years just to stop thinking of this mechanical chain: the death of Christ — silence of Saturday — the joy of the resurrection,” says one of the oldest parishioners of the temple University Tatarinkova Elena.