Matins with the rite of burial of the shroud. The rite of burial of the shroud of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Vespers with the removal of the Shroud takes place on the morning of Holy Saturday, that is, on the afternoon of Good Friday. At approximately two or three o'clock in the afternoon, the Shroud is taken out of the altar and placed in the center of the temple - in the "coffin" - on a platform decorated with flowers and anointed with incense as a sign of grief over the death of Christ. The Gospel is placed in the middle of the Shroud. During the day, at the ceremony of removing the Shroud, the canon “Lamentation” is read Mother of God". “Alas for me, my child, alas for me, my light,” the Church mournfully exclaims on behalf of the Most Holy Theotokos, contemplating the horror Holy days. “Eternal life, how do you die?” - the Ever-Virgin asks His Son and God in bewilderment.

Matins Holy Saturday with the Burial of the Shroud usually served on Friday evening. The shroud in this service is given the role that in other cases the icon of the holiday has.

Matins begins as a funeral service. Funeral troparia are sung and incense is performed. After the singing of the 118th Psalm and the glorification of the Holy Trinity, the temple is illuminated, then the news of the myrrh-bearing women who came to the tomb is proclaimed. This is the first one, quiet for now, because the Savior is still in the tomb, - good news about the Resurrection of Christ.

During the service, believers perform procession— they carry the Shroud around the temple and sing “Holy God.” The religious procession is accompanied by the ringing of funeral bells.

At the end of the burial ceremony, the Shroud is brought to royal doors, and then returned to her place in the middle of the temple so that all the clergy and parishioners could bow to her. There she remains until late evening on Holy Saturday.

Just before Easter Matins, during the midnight office, the Shroud is taken to the altar and placed on the throne, where it remains until Easter is celebrated.

We remind you that in our church (in the St. Nicholas chapel) there is a Shrine - a copy of the original Shroud of Christ the Savior.

Copy Shroud of Turin in our temple.

REMOVING THE SHROUD

Great Friday or Friday Holy Week is the saddest day church year, since on this day a remembrance is made death on the cross and the burial of the Savior.

Royal watch
The peculiarity of the service of this day is that there is no liturgy in churches. This is connected with the memory of the Savior’s suffering on the cross. Instead of Divine Liturgy The prayer sequence of the Royal Hours is served. This name originated in the Russian Orthodox Church: this was due to the fact that Russian tsars were required to attend this service. During the Royal Hours, excerpts from Old Testament, in which the sufferings of Christ, which He endured for the entire human race, are prophetically predicted.
At Good Friday services, clergy wear black vestments.

Removal of the Shroud
Great Vespers begins on this day earlier than usual, at about fifteen o'clock, since this, according to the Gospel narratives, was the hour of the Savior's death. After this service, the rite of removing the shroud is performed.
A shroud is a plate with an icon depicting the Savior lying in the tomb. The shroud is made of expensive fabric, usually velvet, and the image is embroidered, and only the face and body of Christ are made picturesque. Along the edges of the Shroud the text of the troparion of Great Saturday is also embroidered or written: “Blessed Joseph from the tree with a most pure dream Your body, having wrapped it in a clean shroud and covered it with fragrances in a new tomb, put it.”
This liturgical object was not used in the ancient Church, but became widespread in more late time. The Shroud has the meaning of an icon of the day, therefore it has a certain iconography. Thus, in addition to the coffin with the body of Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted falling towards the coffin. Next to Her stand John the Theologian, the myrrh-bearing women, as well as the secret disciples of Christ - Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. This iconographic image is reflected gospel story about the burial of the Savior. Evangelist Matthew tells the following about this event: “When evening came, a rich man came from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also studied with Jesus; He came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered the body to be given up; and Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud, and laid it in his new tomb, which he had carved out of the rock; and, having stopped big Stone to the door of the tomb, and left. And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb” (Matthew 27:57-61).
The rite of removing the shroud is that the clergy lift the shroud from the throne and, accompanied by the laity, carry it to the middle of the church, where they place the sacred shroud on an elevated place decorated with flowers. The Gospel is placed in the middle of the shroud. After the removal of the shroud, a canon is sung, dedicated to the crucifixion and lamentation of the Virgin Mary over the tomb. After the service is over, believers approach the shroud to worship and kiss.

Burial of the Shroud
On Friday evening, Matins is celebrated, which already refers to the day of Holy Saturday. It begins as a funeral service, at which special funeral chants are sung and incense is performed. However, this service already tells about the coming of the myrrh-bearing women to the tomb of the Savior, and thus the first words about the good news of the Resurrection of Christ begin to sound. During Matins, there is also a procession of the cross with the shroud, which goes around the temple with the singing of “Holy God” while the funeral bells ring. After this, the shroud is brought to the royal doors, and then returns to the center of the temple, where it remains until the late evening of Holy Saturday. During this time, believers may also approach to venerate the shroud.

Fasting on Good Friday
Good Friday is marked by a particularly strict fast. On this day, believers eat only bread, vegetables and other plant products. In the past, some pious Christians did not eat anything on Friday, which, of course, is difficult to do in the conditions modern life. There was also a tradition of leaving all work in order to devote full attention to attending services and prayerfully focusing on the events of that day.

Troparion, tone 1:
I crucify myself to You, Christ, the torment perishes, / the power of the enemy is quickly trampled: / below is an Angel, below is a man, / but the Lord Himself saved us, glory to You.

Kontakion, tone 8:
For our sake, come, let us all sing to the Crucified One. / Mary saw him on the tree, and said: / Even if you endure the crucifixion, / You are My Son and My God.

Prayer (Troparion):
Like a sheep / you were led to the slaughter, O Christ the King, / and like a gentle lamb / you were nailed to the Cross, from lawless men, / sin for our sake, Lover of mankind.

The Shroud is the most important part of the entire divine service performed on the Great Friday of Holy Week.

Great Vespers and the removal of the Shroud on Good Friday take place at 2-3 p.m. This action completes the cycle of services for this day. It is this time that is considered to be the time of the Savior’s death. By this hour the Shroud is taken to the temple. Removal is carried out through the Royal Doors. Before lifting the Shroud from the throne, the clergyman is obliged to bow to the ground three times. Then, in the presence of a deacon with a candle and censer, as well as priests, the Shroud is carried into the temple through the northern gate. A special place on a hill is prepared for her, which may be called a “coffin.” It is decorated different colors as a sign of sorrow for Jesus Christ, and also anoint the place with incense. The Gospel is placed in the center of the Shroud.

After Great Vespers Small Compline is celebrated. Hymns are sung about the lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos, as well as a canon about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. After this, everyone can venerate the Shroud. The shroud lies in the center of the temple for three days (incomplete), thereby reminding believers of the presence of Jesus Christ in the tomb.

Matins begins as a funeral service. Funeral troparia are sung and incense is performed. After the singing of the 118th Psalm and the glorification of the Holy Trinity, the temple is illuminated, then the news of the myrrh-bearing women who came to the tomb is proclaimed. This is the first, still quiet, because the Savior is still in the tomb - the good news of the Resurrection of Christ.

During the service, believers make a procession of the cross - they carry the Shroud around the temple and sing “Holy God.” The religious procession is always accompanied by the ringing of funeral bells.

At the end of the burial ceremony, the Shroud is brought to the royal doors, and then returned to its place in the middle of the temple so that all the clergy and parishioners can bow to it. There she remains until the late evening of Holy Saturday.

Only before Easter Matins, during the Midnight Office, is the Shroud taken to the altar and placed on the throne, where it remains until Easter is celebrated.

On Good Friday, people all over the world bow before the Shroud with special reverence. It is a living confirmation of what Jesus Christ did for humanity. His torment and death were able to open for us the entrance to paradise, which was closed after the sin of the first people, and also give us hope of meeting the Lord after death.

Then, from that cross, the disciples, who had previously been secret, but now, in the face of what had happened, opened up without fear, Joseph and Nicodemus took down the body. It was too late for the funeral: the body was taken to a nearby cave in the Garden of Gethsemane, laid on a slab, as was customary then, wrapped in a shroud, covering the face with a scarf, and the entrance to the cave was blocked with a stone - and that was as if that was all.

But there was more darkness and horror around this death than we can imagine. The earth shook, the sun darkened, the whole creation was shaken by the death of the Creator. And for the disciples, for the women who were not afraid to stand at a distance during the crucifixion and dying of the Savior, for the Mother of God this day was darker and more terrible than death itself. When we now think about Good Friday, we know that the Saturday is coming, when God rested from His labors - the Saturday of victory! And we know that on the bright night from Saturday to Sunday we will sing the Resurrection of Christ and rejoice over His final victory.

But then Friday was the last day. Nothing is visible behind this day, the next day was supposed to be the same as the previous one, and therefore the darkness and gloom and horror of this Friday will never be experienced by anyone, will never be comprehended by anyone as they were for the Virgin Mary and for the disciples of Christ .

We will now prayerfully listen to the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos, the lamentation of the Mother over the body of the cruel death of her lost Son. Let's listen to him. Thousands, thousands of mothers can recognize this cry - and, I think, Her cry is more terrible than any cry, because from the Resurrection of Christ we know that victory is coming general resurrection that not a single one is dead in the grave. And then She buried not only Her Son, but every hope for God’s victory, every hope for eternal life. The endless days began, which, as it seemed then, could never come to life again.

This is what we stand before in the image of the Mother of God, in the image of the disciples of Christ. This is what the death of Christ means. In the short remaining time, let us delve into this death with our souls, because all this horror is based on one thing: SIN, and each of us who sin is responsible for this terrible Good Friday; everyone is responsible and will answer; it happened only because a person lost love and broke away from God. And each of us, who sins against the law of love, is responsible for this horror of the death of the God-Man, the orphanhood of the Mother of God, for the horror of the disciples.

Therefore, when we venerate the sacred Shroud, we will do it with trepidation. He died for you alone: ​​let everyone understand this! - and let us listen to this Cry, the cry of the whole earth, the cry of hope that has been torn, and thank God for the salvation that is given to us so easily and which we pass by so indifferently, while it was given at such a terrible price to God, and the Mother of God, and the disciples . Amen.

The Rite of Burial of the Most Holy Theotokos is a special service, usually celebrated on the eve of the third day (in the evening of the second day) after the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. During this service Orthodox Church remembers the burial of the Virgin Mary.

The service of the Burial of the Virgin Mary is special service, consisting of Vespers, Matins and the first hour ( all-night vigil). At services under the arches of churches, special chants are heard, elevating the human mind to the event of the burial of the Virgin Mary, which took place in Jerusalem.

During the Vespers service, special attention is paid to special Assumption stichera, in which people are proclaimed the hope that the Mother of God does not abandon believers even after her death. Also at Vespers certain passages from Holy Scripture of the Old Testament, called parimia.

The service of Matins in the rite of the Burial of the Virgin Mary is unique. At the beginning of Matins, while singing special troparions, the clergy brings the shroud of the Mother of God to the middle of the church (sometimes the shroud is taken out in advance at previous services). The Shroud is a canvas depicting the entombment of the Virgin Mary. Incense is performed around the shroud. This is followed by the singing of the verses of the “funeral” 17th kathisma with the reading of troparions dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. The troparia invite a person to delve into the mystery of the Dormition of the Mother of God and to perceive the remembered event with all his heart.

After the completion of the articles (the 17th kathisma with troparions), the choir sings special hymns dedicated to the Mother of God, called “blessed” (chorus to the troparions: “Blessed Lady, enlighten me with the light of Your Son”). In their style, these hymns resemble the Sunday holiday troparions sung at every Sunday service.

Next, a special canon is heard in the church, dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. At the end of the Matins service (after the singing of the Great Doxology), the clergy and all believers perform a funeral procession around the temple with the shroud of the Mother of God. During the religious procession, chimes can be heard from the bell tower. In pious practice, the road around the temple is decorated with fresh flowers, and in front of the shroud itself they carry the so-called “paradise branch,” symbolizing the branch that the Archangel Gabriel gave to the Virgin Mary three days before her dormition. At the end of the religious procession, the peal of the cross is sounded, and the shroud is again placed in the middle of the temple for the worship of the faithful. Next, the parishioners are anointed with consecrated oil (oil). Soon the service ends.

The service of the Burial of the Most Holy Theotokos is both a festive and sad service, because on this day believers remember the Dormition (death) and burial of the Mother of God, but, in addition, in the minds of a believer, the promise of the Mother of God about her protection of people until the end of time remains.

There is no Liturgy on Good Friday, because on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself, - the Royal Hours are celebrated with special psalms, parimies, reading of the Apostle and GospelI.

8:00 - Royal hours.

There is no Liturgy on Good Friday, because on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself.

14:00 - The rite of removing the Shroud of our Lord Jesus Christ.

16:30 - The rite of burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. Procession. Worship of St. Shroud.

On this day:

(1 Cor 1, 18-2,2 2. Matt. 27, 1-38. Luke 23, 39-43. Matt. 27, 39-54. John 19, 31-37. Matt. 27, 55- 61)

Memories of the arrest, trial, beating, desecration, execution and death on the cross of the Savior.

Good Friday- the most terrible day in the history of mankind. On this day, it seemed, the ultimate triumph of evil, human envy and ingratitude took place: Christ, the incarnate Creator of the world, the Messiah awaited for so many centuries, was rejected by His people, subjected to terrible mockery, unjustly condemned and betrayed to the most painful and shameful thing that has ever been existed, executions.

stills from the film "The Passion of the Christ"

Then, on a hard, rough wooden cross, after many hours of suffering, the incarnate Son of God died in the flesh. Then, from that cross, the disciples, who had previously been secret, but now, in the face of what had happened, opened up without fear, Joseph and Nicodemus took down the body. It was too late for the funeral: the body was taken to a nearby cave in the Garden of Gethsemane, laid on a slab, as was customary then, wrapped in a shroud, covering the face with a scarf, and the entrance to the cave was blocked with a stone - and that was as if that was all. But there was more darkness and horror around this death than we can imagine. The earth shook, the sun darkened, the whole creation was shaken by the death of the Creator. And for the disciples, for the women who were not afraid to stand at a distance during the crucifixion and dying of the Savior, for the Mother of God this day was darker and more terrible than death itself. Then Friday was the last day. Nothing is visible behind this day, the next day was supposed to be the same as the previous one, and therefore the darkness and gloom and horror of this Friday will never be experienced by anyone, will never be comprehended by anyone as they were for the Virgin Mary and for the disciples of Christ . Endless days began.

I cannot convey anything to you if you don’t feel it yourself, if you yourself don’t stand, if you yourself don’t put aside all everyday concerns and listen and participate. Such a grace-filled thing happens in the church with people: when the Gospel is read, the Lord gives those listening real participation in these great holy events.

I just want to read the release, that is, last words the priest, when he bows to his parishioners, such wonderful words

Term "shroud" appeared in Russian liturgical books at the end of the 16th century. The Shroud is an icon depicting the Savior lying in the tomb. Usually this is a large cloth (piece of fabric) on which the image of the Savior laid in the tomb is written or embroidered.Removal of the Shroud and Funeral Rite - these are the two most important services that take place on Good Friday of Holy Week. Good Friday

The Vespers of Good Friday ends the reading of the book of Job. The service of this day is permeated with a kind of contemplative numbness, a deliberate restraint of feelings and images. We don’t ask for anything, we don’t shed tears from ourselves, we don’t lament about our own. Today everything is about Him, everything is His, everything is by Him.

Long-suffering Job, who sued God for his misfortunes, finally received

In the morning the Royal Hours are read. They are so named because at each Hour there is a…

Vespers begins as usual. However, the chants and lyrics we hear seem to burn. I don't think so Orthodox worship more poignant texts than the texts of these days. I remember that when I watched the sensational film “The Passion of the Christ” I caught myself thinking: the intensity of the experience

Given over to execution, Christ suffered a lot before execution. The Savior was mocked, beaten and ridiculed by the Roman soldiers who were to accompany Him to the place of execution. Having placed a crown of thorns on the Lord’s head, its thorns digging into the flesh, and giving Him a heavy cross - an instrument of execution, they set out on the path to Golgotha. Golgotha ​​or frontal place was the name of the hill to the west of Jerusalem, which could be reached through the city's Gate of Judgment. This is the path the Savior took, eventually passing it for all people.

Such executions sometimes lasted several days. To speed it up, the person was not simply tied to the cross, as in most cases, but was nailed. Forged faceted nails were driven between the radial bones of the arm, next to the wrist. On its way, the nail met a nerve ganglion, through which the nerve endings go to the hand and control it. The nail interrupts this nerve node. In itself, touching an exposed nerve is a terrible pain, but here all these nerves are broken

I saw you off today

To Golgotha, to the cross...

She stood quietly under the fig tree -

There were no places nearby.

I tried to touch you

For You to heal.

I came with the Samaritan woman to the well,

So that you can give me something to drink.

I stretched out my dry soul,

May she come to life.

Waiting with Zacchaeus for dinner,

I paid off all my debts.

And now You have given me wounds

Kiss and cry

With the Virgin Mary and John

Stand on Golgotha.

I buried you today -

You let me...

There is nothing more terrible than Your grave

Among all the graves.

All human flesh fell silent -

The Lord himself is silent.

But hope is like a thin candle

It's burning in my heart.

I'll come here early tomorrow

Carrying aromas,

With myrrh-bearing wives

Not fearing, but loving.

You will illuminate me with light

And the sadness will melt away.

I will follow you at dawn -

I don't feel sorry for myself.

You will teach me humility and holy love,

So that we won't be separated again

Never with You.

(Galina Kremenova, Kherson)

Christ's death on the cross took place according to the Gospel at 9 o'clock (about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, our time). Therefore, in the afternoon in churches, when the troparion is sung: “Blessed Joseph, from the tree I took down Your most pure Body...”, the clergy lift the Shroud (i.e., the image of Christ lying in the tomb) from the Throne, as if from Golgotha, and carry it out her from the altar to the middle of the temple in the presentation of lamps (all those praying stand with lighted candles) and with incense. The shroud is placed on a specially prepared table (tomb), which will be located in the middle of the temple for three (incomplete) days, thereby reminiscent of the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the tomb.

Then, at the ceremony of removing the Shroud, the canon “Lamentation of the Mother of God” is read. "Woe is me, my child, woe is me, my dear “those are mine,” the Church mournfully exclaims on behalf of the Most Holy Theotokos, contemplating the horror of Passion Days.

The charter prescribes that it should be done privately, so those who did not get into the service, be sure to read this canon, amazing in depth.

“Eternal life, how do you die?” - the Ever-Virgin asks His Son and God in bewilderment. Thousands, thousands of mothers can recognize this cry - but Her cry is more terrible than any cry: She buried not only Her Son, but every hope of God’s victory, every hope of eternal life. Many, probably, looked at Christ, many, probably, were ashamed and afraid and did not look into the face of the Mother. With what horror in our souls should we stand in the face of the Mother, Whom we have deprived by murder... Stand before Her face, stand and look into the eyes of the Virgin Mary!.. Listen, listen to this cry! Say: Mother, I am guilty - albeit among others - of the death of Your Son; I am guilty - You intercede. If You forgive, no one will judge us or destroy us... But if You don’t forgive, then Your word will be stronger than any word in our defense...

Then the clergy and all those praying bow before the Shroud and kiss the wounds of the Lord depicted on it - His pierced ribs, arms and legs. And in this remaining short time, let us delve into this death with our souls, because all this horror is based on one thing: SIN, and each of us is responsible for this terrible Good Friday. Therefore, when we venerate the sacred Shroud, we will do it with trepidation. He died for you alone: ​​let everyone understand this! - and let us listen to this Cry, the cry of the whole earth, the cry of hope that has been torn, and thank God for the salvation that is given to us so easily and which we pass by so indifferently, while it was given at such a terrible price to God, and the Mother of God, and the disciples .

Every person who truly lives the life of the Church knows the horror and homelessness of this day. This day is also terrible because it mercilessly poses the question to everyone: Where would I be then, on that terrible night? And the answer to it is disappointing: even the apostles, who said that they were ready to die for Christ, and really thought that they would die for Him, all fled, even Peter, the most firm and zealous among them, three times in the face of, if you look at, the most insignificant danger, he denied from your Teacher.

The path to death is terrible for every person, and Jesus was truly a man, but, moreover, for Christ it was especially difficult. We must think about this: it always - or often - seems to us that it was easy for Him to give His life, being God who became man. But our Savior Christ dies as a man: not with His immortal Divinity, but with His human, living, truly human body!”

“The sun saw something it had never seen,” says Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), “and, unable to bear what it saw, it hid its rays, just as a man closes his eyes at a sight unbearable to him: it was clothed in deep darkness, expressing with darkness a sadness as deep as death is bitter.” The earth shook and shook under the event that took place on it. The Old Testament Church tore its magnificent veil; so the most precious clothes are torn and not spared in an inevitable, decisive disaster. And all the people who came to this spectacle, seeing what was happening, returned, beating their chests. "

Then the temple is plunged into darkness. The sounds of repentance grow and engulf those praying. Everyone is presented in this harsh darkness to the judgment of his conscience, left alone with it, and the voice of the repentant lines either condemns what he has done, or bitterly reproaches him for it. All ages of people stand in the dark before God eternal life; freezes, suddenly hearing the sounds of eternal truth, youth. The whole church stands and confesses to God in silence, and outside the window, the reflections of the green lights of the lamps go off into the deep darkness of the sky, as if there, in the firmament, they find their firm presence. This is all that was experienced the day before - the repentant singing, and the darkness of the temple, and the green lights trembling outside the window in the darkness of the sky - all this fills with an unprecedented breadth of experiences. There is no liturgy on Good Friday, since on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself, and the Royal Hours are celebrated. This is a special day strict fasting. There is a pious tradition of not eating any food on Good Friday until the end of the rite of removing the Shroud (that is, until approximately three o’clock in the afternoon), and then eating only bread and water. (read 1 Cor 1, 18-2,2 2. Matt. 27, 1-38. Luke 23, 39-43. Matt. 27, 39-54. John 19, 31-37. Matt. 27, 55 -61)

And on Friday evening, Matins of Great Saturday is celebrated (day after church calendar begin in the evening) with the rite of burial of the Shroud. Evening service has a funereal character. This is the burial of Christ Himself. Like at a funeral service, everyone in the church stands with lit candles. At the beginning of Matins, the seventeenth kathisma is read - part of the Psalter, which is usually read during funeral services for the dead or at memorial services.

“The original hymn, I will sing a funeral hymn to You; by Your burial I opened the doors of my life, and put death to death and hell,” - this is how the canon of Holy Saturday begins. This is also a lament for the buried Christ, but a new theme is increasingly heard in it - the expectation of the Resurrection, the anticipation of Easter. “Don’t cry for Me, Mother, see me in the grave... I will arise and be glorified,” the choir sings. And they read the Sunday Gospel about the appearance of angels at the burial place of the Crucified Christ, about how the myrrh-bearing women did not find Jesus where he was buried. There is just over a day left until Easter...

Matins of Great Saturday ends with a quiet religious procession with the Shroud and candles. When the procession goes around the temple, everyone sings the funeral song “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us...” And only a few hours separate this procession from the next one, which takes place on Sunday midnight, already Easter.