Historical Facts

The Great Lent Preparation Week: 7 days Holy 40 days: 40 days Lazarus Saturday: 1 day Holy Pascha Week: 7 days

The most sacred week of the yearUsed to be celebrated separate from

the great lent until the 2nd centuryPascha = Passover

Last Friday of Great Fast

Unction of the Sick: The only time in the church that we pray

the Unction of the Sick Prayed after Raising of Incense. “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the

elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (Jam 5:14-16)

Last Friday of Great FastWhy do we pray the Unction at the end of the

Fast? If fasted properly, people may be weak It is prayed to strengthen them during Holy Week There are 7 prayers: The seven spirits of God

Whoever participates must be: A believer (it is a sacrament) Fasting Should have confessed (every sacrament begins with

confession and is completed with Communion)

Lazarus Saturday

Six days before the Passover (Cruicifixion): "Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus

came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead" (Jn 12:1).

Lazarus Saturday

Holy Week is between 2 resurrections – Lazarus and Christ: “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first

resurrection. Over such the second death has no power”(Rev 20:6)

1st Resurrection: Baptism (Rom 6:4) Sufferings: Repentance, carrying the cross

(Lk 9:23) 2nd Resurrection: Resurrection of the Dead - “We look for

the Resurrection of the dead…” (Orthodox Creed)

Two Resurrections

Lazarus: Someone else raised himChrist: Raised Himself

Lazarus: Raised with same mortal bodyChrist: Raised with glorified immortal body

Lazarus: Came out wrapped in grave clothsChrist: Rose freed of the grave cloths

Lazarus Saturday

After Baptism, we rise with same mortal body, we go through temptations and sufferings, and we live a life of repentance, then we die, to be risen up again in the last day.

Lazarus Saturday: A renewal of vows/commitments to live repentance to be glorified.

PALM SUNDAY

What Did Jesus Do? He left Bethany and entered Jerusalem riding

on a colt on Nissan 10• (similar to the Passover lamb)

The crowd were shouting “OSANNA” Jesus entered the temple and kicked out those

who were selling and buying. Jesus returns back to Bethany

PALM SUNDAYWhat Does the Church Do?

Title of the day“Accepting Christ as a King”

All hymns are in joyful tunes Procession of the Cross – Morning Incense

• The Cross is the sign of His Kingdom• We are invited to accept him as a king in

our life.• Palms signify: peace, royalty, strength• 12 stations – 12 Gospel

PALM SUNDAY

What Does the Church Do?Regular liturgy except we read FOUR

gospels

PALM SUNDAY

What Does the Church Do? The general funeral Prayer:

• Participate in the Lord’s death• The church focuses on the Passion of the

Lord• The church sets us in the mood of passion

week, by accepting the death of Christ in our life – “ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him” (Rom 6:8)

Pascha Week

Pascha: “Passover”. The Passing-over of the Angel of Death: Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses

where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you… (Exo 12:13)

Christ is our Passover “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was

sacrificed for us.” (1Cor 5:7) Through Christ’s Blood, we are saved from

the devil, the punishment of sin and death

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINEWe follow the Savior step by step We pray outside the alter…Why?All attention is to the passion of

our Savior: No liturgies except….. Why? No Agpya prayers… Why? All prayers in a sad tune

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINE

We pray outside the alter, WHY?- we were cast outside of the Paradise and remained outside, until the crucifixion- Christ suffered outside of Jerusalem: “therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” Heb 13:13

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINE

No liturgies except on Thursday because the Passover lamb was kept for 4 days (Exo 12:3-7)

Pascha Week PrayersLocation of Prayers - In the second division of

Church, “outside the camp”: We were cast outside of the Paradise and remained

outside, until the crucifixion When Christ tore the “middle wall”

(the veil of the temple) The priest opens the curtain of the

Sanctuary on the 12th hour of Good Friday Christ suffered outside of Jerusalem:

“Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” (Heb 13:13)

Pascha Week

Arrangement of the Hours The new day starts with the night before or the “eve” “So the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Gen 1:5) The Hours: EVE: DAY:

1st 6:00 am

3rd 9:00 am

6th Noon

9th 3:00 pm

11th 5:00 pm

1st 6:00 pm

3rd 9:00 pm

6th Midnight

9th 3:00 am

11th 5:00 am

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINE

OVERVIEW ON DAYS

SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SATP A P A P A P A P A P A P

N D N D N D N D N D N D MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT

NO LITRUGIES

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINEDAILY PRAYERS

DAILY PRAYERS(e.g. Wednesday)

NIGHT(Tuesday evening)

DAY(Wednesday morning)

1ST 3RD 6TH 9TH 11TH

1ST 3RD 6TH 9TH 11TH

Good Friday: 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 12th

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINE

Contents of Each PrayerPropheciesThine is the power, the glory, the

blessings, and the majesty: for ever Amen O Emmanuel: Our God and Our King... Replaces the Agpeya psalms It is not man made, Revelation 7:12-

13

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINE

Contents of Each PrayerA psalm of David

Sad tuneThe Holy GospelThe expositionEnd of each night or day:

Litanies The conclusion (O King of Peace)

Monday of the Holy PaschaWhat Did Jesus Do?

He left Bethany to the temple in Jerusalem On the way, He saw a fig tree that has leaves

but no fruits. Christ curses the tree saying: No man will eat fruit of you for ever

Jesus spent the day in the temple teaching The priests try to catch him with a mistake: By

what authority do you do these things? Christ returns back to Bethany

Monday of the Holy PaschaWhat Does the Church Do?

Title of the day:“FRUITFUL LIFE NOT APPEARANCE”

“DON’T DECEIVE YOURSELF” All prophesies, psalms, and gospels focus on

this objective. Examples• First Hour: Isaiah 5:1-9: “What shall I do any more

to my vineyard, that I have not done to it?”

• Sixth Hour: Exodus 32:7-15: “They Have made for themselves a calf and worshiped it!”

Tuesday of the Holy Pascha

What Did Jesus Do? He left Bethany to the temple in Jerusalem On the way, They saw the fig tree and

remembered Christ’s words Jesus spent the day in the temple teaching The Pharisees try to catch him with a mistake:

Should we pay taxes to Caesar? Christ talks about the end of the world and his

second coming in detail. He gives a lot of signs for the last day.

Tuesday of the Holy PaschaWhat Did Jesus Do?

Christ emphasized the need to be always prepared by several proverbs:

• The ten virgins

• The Talents

• The wedding ceremony Christ returns back to Bethany

Tuesday of the Holy PaschaWhat Does the Church Do?

Title of the day:“BE WATCHFUL”

“MARAN-ATHA -- The Lord’s coming is near” All prophesies, psalms, and gospels focus on this

objective. Examples• Ninth Hour: Genesis 6-9: “The flood and Noah’s Ark”

• Eleventh Hour: Isaiah 30:25: A prophesy about the end of the world

Tuesday of the Holy PaschaWhat Does the Church Do?

Very Important: THE ELEVENTH HOUR

CHRIST Talked in detail about

judgement and the last day

Determined the time of his crucifixion for the first time

Left the temple and NEVER came back to it; a sign of the collapse of the Jewish religion

CHURCH Adds “My Good

Savior” to “Thine is the power....”

Reads Psalm 44:9 “Thy Throne, O God, is forever and ever” with the Royal Tune

Wednesday of the Holy PaschaWhat Did Jesus Do?

Christ spent the whole day in Bethany A day of contradictions:

• Judas contacts the chief priests to betray Christ

• A woman breaks an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very precious, and pours it on Christ’s head.

Wednesday of the Holy PaschaWhat Does the Church Do?

Title of the day:“WHERE IS MY HEART”

“WHAT WOULD I OFFER TO CHRIST” All prophesies, psalms, and gospels focus on this

objective. Very Important: Third Hour of Thursday’s Eve

• Psalm: 54:18: “His words are smoother than oil, yet they are darts” (Royal tune)

• Gospel: Mark 14:3-11: The woman with ointment and Judas betrayal!

The Great ThursdayWhat Did Jesus Do?

That was the 14th of Nissan, the day of slaying the Passover lamb

Christ asks Peter and John to prepare the Passover

They prepare for the Passover in St. Mark’s house

The disciples fight: who is the greatest. Before supper, Christ washed the disciples’ feet Christ gives the disciples his body and blood Christ prophesizes about his betrayal Judas leaves to go to the chief priests

The Great Thursday

What Does the Church Do? We pray in the sanctuary We start with the Matin rising of incense The book of acts: Selecting a new apostle instead of

Judas. It is scary!!!!!! Procession to rebuke Judas (OURSELVES) in the

opposite direction

The Great Thursday

What Does the Church Do? Pascha prayers (1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th) about preparations

for the Passover The prophesies of the ninth hour are very significant

• Genesis 22:1-19 The sacrifice of Isaac

• Genesis 14:17-20 Melckizedek

• Isaiah 61:1-6 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…”

The Great Thursday

What Does the Church Do? The Liturgy of the Blessing of Water

• Objectives:– HUMBLENESS & SALVATION THOUGH WATER (BAPTISM)

• We pray with annual tune in front of a basin filled with water

• Several prophesies about salvation through water (e.g., crossing the Red Sea and Jordan River

• Gospel: John 13:1-7 -- Christ washes the feet of the disciples

• At the end, the priest washes the feet of the congregation

The Great Thursday

What Does the Church Do? The Liturgy of the Eucharist

• Objective: The sacrifice of Christ

• Annual tune

• No Agpeya, no Catholic Epistle, no Book of Acts

• Gospel: Matthew 26:20-29 -- Christ gives his body and blood to the disciples

• No prayer of Reconciliation, no commemoration of the saints

• Fraction of the Sacrifice of Isaac

The Great Thursday

What Does the Church Do? During communion, we pray the 11th hour of the Pascha

• Prophesy from Isaiah 52– And we saw him but he had no form nor beauty…He was a man

of suffering and acquainted with the bearing of sickness…He was dishonored and not esteemed. He bears our sins and is pained for us…He was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities…He was led as a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth….

• Gospel from John:13– And when He had dipped the sop, He gave it to Judas Iscariot,

And after the sop, Satan entered into him

The Eve of the Great Friday

We add “The Lord is my strength, my praise and has become my salvation”

We read four gospels each hour from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Except the first hour where the four

gospels are from John 13-17 (The Paraclete)

FROM NOW ON:

The Eve of the Great Friday

First Hour Christ’s last talk with the disciples and

his promise to send the Holy Spirit His prayer to the Father in John 17

Third Hour Christ leaves with the disciples on

their way to Gethemane Before the cock crow, you shall deny

me three times

The Eve of the Great FridaySixth Hour

Christ prays in Gethemane while the disciples are asleep

Watch ye and pray, lest you enter into temptation

Ninth Hour Judas arrives with the soldiers

to arrest Jesus Peter cut the right ear of the

servant of the high priest

The Eve of the Great Friday

Eleventh Hour Psalm: “Why did the heathen rage, and

the nations imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered themselves together against the Lord, and against his Christ

Gospels: First trial in front of the chief priests and all the council. Peter denies for three times

The Great FridayFirst Hour

Christ is being sent to Pontius Pilate

Pilate sends Him to Herod

Third Hour Christ goes back to Pilate Pilate sentences him to death

The Sixth Hour of the Great Friday

Prophesies Numbers 21: The brass serpent Isaiah 53 Amos 8: The sun shall go down at noon, and

the light shall be darkened on the earth by day

The Sixth Hour of the Great Friday

HYMNS TAI SHOREE VAI ETAV ENF

• This is He who presented upon the cross, an acceptable sacrifice for the salvation of our race

Pauline Epistle:• But God forbid that I shall glory, save

in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ

The Sixth Hour of the Great Friday

Part From the AgpeyaO MONO GENEES

O Only Begotten, eternal, and Immortal Word of God….Holy Mighty, who by weakness showed forth what is greater than power.

AGIOS (sad tune)Psalm and Gospel

Lights are off

The Sixth Hour of the Great Friday

Prayer with the right thief Remember me O Lord when

you come into your kingdom …. O Master …. …. O Holy-One ...

End of the Sixth Hour and lights are back

The Ninth Hour of the Great Friday

HYMNS TEE SHOREE VAI ETAV ENF Pauline Epistle:

• And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, the death of the cross

Part from the Agpeya Agious

Psalm and Gospels

The Eleventh Hour of the Great Friday

Prophesies Exodus and Leviticus: Passover

Regular Pascha hour

The Twelfth Hour of the Great Friday

Prophesies Lamentations of

Jeremiah Jonah

Psalm 44: The Royal Tune Your Throne, O God, is

forever and everGospels

The Twelfth Hour of the Great Friday

Exposition and LitaniesMETANIAS in all directionsProcessionThe Burial and GOLGOTHAThe Book of Psalms

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT SO GREAT

SALVATION?HEBREW 2:3

Spirituality of Pascha Week

Re-live every step which the Lord Christ took during His last week on earth

Intense repentance and regret confession ascetic fasting constant prayers with tears Prostrations readings

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The

chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed”(Isa 53:5)

APOCALYPSE

Objectives: Heaven is open, therefore we read the

book of Revelations Transition between sadness and joy Let us think about what Christ has

done for us and praise him for that

APOCALYPSE

We start with this psalm 151 I am the youngest among my brethren

and a youth in my father’s house…..My brothers are handsome and greater than me and the Lord delighted not in them…. I went out to meet the Palestinian, so he cursed me by his idols. But I withdrew his sword that was in his hand and beheaded him and removed the reproach from the Israelites: Alleluia

APOCALYPSELayout

•Praises and prayers of the prophets

•Matins’ raising of incense

•Prayers of the third and sixth hours

•Reading of the book of revelations

•Prayers of the ninth hour

•The Liturgy

APOCALYPSE

The first Procession: Starts with “Let us thank Christ our

Lord” hymn of Maran o-onh This is to proclaim their joy in the

Lord’s salvation over Satan (the spiritual Goliath)

APOCALYPSE

The first Hos: the 1st praise of Moses This tells the story of the Lord’s

deliverance of His people by Moses, through the Red Sea.

This was a symbol of the Lord’s deliverance of Satan (pharaoh) who enslaved us by sin

Called the praise of the Lamb (Rev 15:1-3)

APOCALYPSE

The 2nd praise of Moses(Deu 32: 1-43) These are Moses' last words to the

children of Israel. In it he reminds them of God’s aid to them and calls them to repent and seek the Lord.

It ends with joy in the his salvation The church is calling us to repentance

so that we may partake of the joy of the Lord’s salvation and enter the heavenly Jerusalem.

APOCALYPSE

We read several praises from the Old and New Testament Hannah (mother of Samuel), this is

the prayer of thanksgiving of Hannah when she brought her son Samuel into the temple, fulfilling her promise to God

The church likewise thanks God for granting her a Son (Christ) to redeem her from death.

APOCALYPSE

The prayer of the prophet Daniel Three young men in the furnace

• As the 3 young men were condemned to death, but they came out alive, likewise humanity was condemned to death, but Christ granted it life through his death

• Whoever wishes to see the Lord, must pass through the fire of temptations and overcome it with the power of God.

APOCALYPSE

Jonah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, king Solomon, Baruch, Habakkuk, etc.

We read the story of Susanna (very Important) As God sent Daniel to save Susanna,

God sent his Son Jesus Christ to save everyone

APOCALYPSE

The 2nd procession: the praise of the three young men This is a portion of the Praise of

Azarius while in the furnace, as he proclaims that he’ll follow the Lord under any condition (even in the furnace)

After the church head all the prayer and praises, it goes around the church assuring the Lord that it will follow him chanting “we follow thee” ten ouweeh enthok “

APOCALYPSE

We pray the first, third, and sixth hour of Saturday similar to regular pascha first half with sad tune, second with

annual Readings: preparations for

resurrection

APOCALYPSE

We read the book of revelationNinth hourHoly liturgy

APOCALYPSE

Psalm 151 Tells us the story of David: how God

transferred him from poverty to glory Tells how David transferred the

children of Israel from shame to victory and salvation

The church reminds us of how the Lord saved us from spiritual Goliath, which is Satan, whom he slew on the cross.