"Cry out to God, Who has the strength to save you. Do not bother with elegant and clever words. Just speak humbly, beginning with, 'Have mercy on me, for I am weak.'" +St John Climacus

Video: one of the most the ancient Christian hymns: "O Gladsome Light" (Φῶς Ἱλαρόν), with images from Holy Friday vespers

O Gladsome Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father,
O Jesus Christ: Having come to the setting of the sun,
having beheld the evening light,
we praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: God.
Meet it is for Thee at all times to be hymned with reverent voices,
O Son of God, Giver of life.
Wherefore, the world doth glorify Thee.

Valaam Monastery Choir, from the album, "Taste of the Fountain of Immortality"

CONTEST FOR EASTER JOY: TIPS FROM FR. ANDREY

Dear Friends, during Holy Week we stay focused on Christ and His suffering. At the same time, we are anticipating the coming Feast of feasts and the Triumph of all triumphs — the Great and Holy Pascha of the Lord.

Sometimes temptations come during Easter. Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), who was recently canonised, used to say: “Weeping about ourselves and our sins during Lent is more or less in our nature, but overcoming this sin-infected nature, conquering our ego and rejoicing is much more difficult.”

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"...Now since you are celebrating the holy Pascha, you should know, brethren, what the Pascha is. Pascha means the crossing-over, and so the Festival is called by this name. For it was on this day that the Children of Israel crossed over out of Egypt, and the Son of God crossed over from this world to His Father. What gain is it to celebrate unless you imitate Him Whom you worship; that is, unless you cross over from Egypt, that is, from the darkness of evildoing to the light of virtue, from the love of this world to the love of your heavenly home?"

+St Ambrose of Milan, "The Sunday of the Resurrection"

Great and Holy Friday

Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. ✝ Matt 27:22-26

Icon: 6th c. Miniature from the Rossano Gospels. Rosano museum, Italy.

✝ Great and Holy Friday ✝

Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. ✝ Matt. 27:58-61

"As the priest reads the Gospel, 'and taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in a white cloth,' he removes the Body of Christ from the Cross, wraps it in a white cloth and takes it to the altar. The priest then chants a mourning hymn: 'When Joseph of Arimathea took Thee, the life of all, down from the Tree dead, he buried Thee with myrrh and fine linen . . . rejoicing. Glory to Thy humiliation, O Master, who clothest Thyself with light as it were with a garment.' The priest then carries the cloth on which the Body of Christ is painted or embroidered around the church before placing it inside the Sepulcher, a carved bier which symbolizes the Tomb of Christ. We are reminded that during Christ's entombment He descends into Hades to free the dead of the ages before His Resurrection." https://www.goarch.org/-/great-and-holy-friday

The Holy Fire service at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is live at https://t.me/tass_live?livestream

The Holy Fire has descended in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem! Christ is Risen!

“Today, the Lord, in His mercy, has allowed certain sorrows and trials to befall our Holy Church, through which He gives us the opportunity, the chance to become stronger and spiritually perfected. Some of us, when faced with injustice, try to find a way in life where there are no modern sorrows and trials. Of course, such paths exist and they can be found, but we must remember that smooth roads lead to hell, while the gates to the Heavenly Kingdom are rocky and narrow (Matt. 7:13-14). If we want to be true followers of our risen Lord Jesus Christ, we should not worry about what people say about us, but rather, we should worry about not having evil in our souls so that what people say about us is untrue. This is what Sacred Scripture teaches us: ‘Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you....

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.’ (1 Peter 4:12-19).”
—from the 2023 Easter Message by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry

https://spzh.news/en/news/73248-easter-message-by-his-beatitude-metropolitan-onuphry

When you hear that Christ, descended into hell, freed the souls contained there, do not think that it is far from being accomplished now. Know that the coffin is the heart and in there is buried and kept an impenetrable darkness of your mind and your thoughts. The Lord comes to souls, in hell, crying to it, that is, in the depths of the heart, and there commands death to release the imprisoned souls, praying for it, Who can liberate.. Then, throwing away a heavy stone, which is lying on the soul, opens the coffin, resurrects the mortified soul, and takes it out, imprisoned in the dungeon, into the light. ✝️ St Macarius the Great

The Holy Light comes on Saturday at a quarter past one. The Holy Light does not represent the Resurrection for us on earth, but the descent into hell, that the prophecy of Isaiah had to be fulfilled: "Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, light will shine upon you; those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, great light will come upon you."

On Saturday, the Savior was in hell with his soul. With us, when he rose at midnight, he rose with all his body, Sunday, but with them he was only with his soul and took them out.

—Elder Cleopa of Sihastria Monastery