Great and Holy Saturday
Categories: orthodox-life, parish-life, feast-days
Date: 22 April 2006 06:45:52
Just under 4 hours until our Pascha celebrations begin. I'm hoping to get a few hours' sleep before then: but what am I doing -- blogging! *rolls eyes* It's been services-a-plenty this last 24 hours
I am assuming Unordered and Constantine have been baptised into the Orthodox Church: Many, many years! to you both. In the early Church this was the only day on which baptisms were allowed: Theophany (Christ's Baptism), January 6, was later added, and now I believe almost any day is available. But, what a wonderful link for them both to the early Church.
I did manage to make the Holy Friday Vespers service during which, Christ was taken down from the cross, wrapped in a white cloth and taken to the altar. The priest then carried the cloth on which the Body of Christ is embroidered and placed it in our carved tomb, which isn't quite as extravagant as the one show on left, but ours is similarly decorated with flowers: generally white carnations, but there are a number of red ones which form crosses against the white. Our embroidered cloth also has something akin to "The noble Joseph, taking down your most pure Body from the Tree, wrapped it in a clean shroud with sweet spices and laid it for burial in a new grave.", which is a hymn sung at Holy Friday Vespers, written around the borders.
Following Vespers was the first service for Holy Saturday -- even though it was held on a Friday (Orthodox time is based on sunset: a new liturgical day begins then) -- the Lamentations service, which includes a procession with the tomb outside the church, with the faithful holding candles and chanting the Lamentations (which start at the section labelled First Section here -- although we had a reduced number of verses). I always find this very moving: the darkness outside; the light of the candles; and the procession of the buried Christ.
After the Lamentations service [about 21:30], six of us decided to keep an all-night vigil of the tomb until the next service at 09:30. Now you understand why I'd like some sleep! ;) We took it in turns to read eight, then four as we tired ;-), chapters of the Gospels, making our way through each of the four -- interspersed with hymns and prayers from all of the Holy Week services. If we weren't reading, people took a chance to get some sleep, to light a cande and pray, to listen to the words, or to venerate the tomb or the icons in the Church. I stayed awake all night. It went quicker than I expected, and it was a very beautiful and profitable thing for me: to not only hear God's Word and the hymns and prayers of the Church agin, but also to spend time in reflection, spend time in prayer, and spend time with my brothers in Christ.
The Great and Holy Saturday Vesperal Divine Liturgy commenced at 09:30: this service: as well as being a Divine Liturgy [Eucharist], it contains 15 Old Testament readings containing events and prophecies pointing to the salvation of humanity by Christ. A wonderful meditation indicating Christ's fulfilment of the Old Testament in so many ways. After the Epistle reading, bay leaves are thrown by the priest all over the church as he processes, symbolising the triumph over death and the shattered gates of Hades. The kids seemed more interested in the delightful crackle they made when crushed! :D After the service we had a Baptism [and Chrismation and First Communion -- they are all done at once in the Orthodox Church] for a baby -- a beautiful service: the 'exorcism' prayers demanding Satan and his demons to flee; the promises made by the sponsors; the three-fold immersion in the water [for Father, Son and Holy Spirit]; the anointing with oil in Chrismation for the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit; the First Communion; and the procession around the font to the wonderful hymn:
As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia
As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia
As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia.