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Τῷ ἁγίῳ καὶ μεγάλῳ Σαββάτῳ, τὴνθ εό σ ωμον Ταφήν, καὶ τὴν εἰς ᾍδου Κάθο δον τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶνἸησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἑορτάζομεν, δι' ὧν τῆςφθορᾶς τὸ ἡμέτερον γένος ἀνακληθέν,
πρὸς αἰωνίαν ζωὴν μεταβέβηκε.
πρὸς αἰωνίαν ζωὴν μεταβέβηκε.
Οn great and holy Saturday, we celebrat eth e b urial of the divine Body and the descentinto Hades of our Lord and Savior JesusChrist, through which He recalled our humanrace from corruption and passed it over intolife eternal
On
Great and Holy Saturday the Church contemplates the mystery of the
Lord's descent into Hades, the place of the dead. Death, our ultimate
enemy, is defeated from within. "He (Christ) gave Himself as a ransom to
death in which we were held captive, sold under sin. Descending into
Hades through the Cross ... He loosed the bonds of death" (Liturgy of
St. Basil).
Introduction
On Great and Holy Saturday the Orthodox Church commemorates the
burial of Christ and His descent into Hades. It is the day between the
Crucifixion of our Lord and His glorious Resurrection. The Matins of
Holy Saturday is conducted on Friday evening, and while many elements of
the service represent mourning at the death and burial of Christ, the
service itself is one of watchful expectation.
Commemoration of Holy Saturday
On Great Saturday our focus is on the Tomb of Christ. This is no
ordinary grave. It is not a place of corruption, decay and defeat. It is
life-giving, a source of power, victory and liberation.
Great Saturday is the day between Jesus' death and His resurrection.
It is the day of watchful expectation, in which mourning is being
transformed into joy. The day embodies in the fullest possible sense the
meaning of xarmolipi - joyful-sadness, which has dominated the
celebrations of Great Week. The hymnographer of the Church has
penetrated the profound mystery, and helps us to understand it through
the following poetic dialogue that he has devised between Jesus and His
Mother:
"Weep not for me, O Mother, beholding in the sepulcher the Son whom
thou hast conceived without seed in thy womb. For I shall rise and shall
be glorified, and as God I shall exalt in everlasting glory those who
magnify thee with faith and love."
"O Son without beginning, in ways surpassing nature was I blessed at
Thy strange birth, for I was spared all travail. But now beholding Thee,
my God, a lifeless corpse, I am pierced by the sword of bitter sorrow.
But arise, that I may be magnified."
"By mine own will the earth covers me, O Mother, but the gatekeepers
of hell tremble as they see me, clothed in the bloodstained garment of
vengeance: for on the Cross as God have I struck down mine enemies, and I
shall rise again and magnify thee."
"Let the creation rejoice exceedingly, let all those born on earth be
glad: for hell, the enemy, has been despoiled. Ye women, come to meet
me with sweet spices: for I am delivering Adam and Eve with all their
offspring, and on the third day I shall rise again." (9th Ode of the
Canon)
Great
Saturday is the day of the pre-eminent rest. Christ observes a Sabbath
rest in the tomb. His rest, however, is not inactivity but the
fulfillment of the divine will and plan for the salvation of humankind
and the cosmos. He who brought all things into being, makes all things
new. The re-creation of the world has been accomplished once and for
all. Through His incarnation, life and death Christ has filled all
things with Himself He has opened a path for all flesh to the
resurrection from the dead, since it was not possible that the author of
life would be dominated by corruption.
Saint Paul tells us that:
"God was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2
Corinthians 5:19). Hence, eternal life - real and self-generating -
penetrated the depths of Hades. Christ who is the life of all destroyed
death by His death. That is why the Church sings joyously "Things now
are filled with light, the heaven and the earth and all that is beneath
the earth" (Canon of Pascha).
The Church knows herself to be "the place, the eternal reality, where
the presence of Christ vanquishes Satan, hell and death itself.
The solemn observance of Great Saturday help us to recall and
celebrate the great truth that "despite the daily vicissitudes and
contradictions of history and the abiding presence of hell within the
human heart and human society," life has been liberated! Christ has
broken the power of death.
It is not without significance that the icon of the Resurrection in
our Church is the Descent of Christ into Hades, the place of the dead.
This icon depicts a victorious Christ, reigned in glory, trampling upon
death, and seizing Adam and Eve in His hands, plucking them from the
abyss of hell. This icon expresses vividly the truths resulting from
Christ's defeat of death by His death and Resurrection.
Icon of the Commemoration of Holy Saturday
Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Mother of God, John the beloved disciple,
and Joseph of Arimathea are shown preparing Christ's body for the tomb.
Icon provided by Athanasios Clark and used with permission. Icon of the
Epitaphios Thrinos provided by Athanasios Clark and used with
permission.
Orthodox Celebration of Holy Saturday
At
the Third Stasis when the verse "Eranan ton Tafon ai miroforoi mira
lian proi elthousai-early in the morning the myrrh-bearers came to Thee
and sprinkled myrrh upon Thy tomb" is sung the priest sprinkles the
Epitaphios with rosewater, using the rantistirion (sprinkler). This
verse is usually repeated three or more times. It has become the custom
to sprinkle the people as well.
At the conclusion of the service, the faithful go in procession with
the Epitaphios and often the entire structure that represents the Tomb
of Christ around the Church chanting the Thrice-Holy hymn, in a similar
manner to the traditional procession for a funeral.
It
is customary for the clergy and people to hold candles during the
singing of the Lamentations and at the procession of the Epitaphios.
This practice is rooted in ancient Christian burial practices. Candles
were lit in order to symbolize the victory of Christ over death, and to
express as well the Church's belief in the Resurrection.
The Scripture readings for the Matins service are: Ezekiel 37:1-14; I
Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 3:13-14; and Matthew 27:62-66.
The
Liturgy held on the morning of Holy and Great Saturday is that of Saint
Basil the Great. It begins with Vespers. After the entrance, the
evening hymn 'O Gentle Light' is chanted as usual. Then the Old
Testament readings are recited. They tell of the most striking events
and prophecies of the salvation of mankind by the death of the Son of
God. The account of creation in Genesis is the first reading. The sixth
reading is the story of Israel's crossing of the Red Sea and Moses' song
of victory - over Pharaoh, with its refrain: 'For gloriously is He
glorified'. The last reading is about the Three Children in the fiery
furnace of Babylon, and their song of praise with its repeated refrain:
'O praise ye the Lord and supremely exalt Him unto the ages.' In the
ancient church the catechumens were baptized during the time of these
readings. The Epistle which follows speaks of how, through the death of
Christ, we too shall rise to a new life. After the Epistle, the choir
chants, like a call to the sleeping Christ: 'Arise, O Lord, Judge the
earth, for Thou shalt have an inheritance among all the nations... The
deacon carries out the Book of the Gospels, and reads the first message
of the resurrection from Saint Matthew. Because the Vespers portion of
the service belongs to the next day (Pascha) the burial hymns of
Saturday are mingled with those of the resurrection, so that this
service is already full of the coming Paschal joy.
After
the reading of the Epistle, the priest follows the custom of tossing of
laurel, saying: "Arise, O God, and judge Thou the earth: for Thou shall
take all heathen to Thine inheritance". The Cherubic hymn of this day
is: "Let all mortal flesh keep silence and stand with fear and
trembling...", a thoughtful hymn of adoration and exaltation. The Divine
Liturgy ends with the Communion Hymn: "So the Lord awaked as one out of
sleep, and He is risen to save us".
Hymns of Holy Saturday
Resurrectional Apolytikia
When he took down Your immaculate Body from the Cross, the honorable
Joseph wrapped it in a clean linen shroud with spices and laid it for
burial in a new tomb.
When You descended unto death, O Lord who yourself are immortal Life,
then did You mortify Hades by the lightning flash of Your Divinity.
Also when You raised the dead from the netherworld, all the Powers of
the heavens were crying out: O Giver of life, Christ our God, glory be
to You.
The Angel standing at the sepulcher cried out and said to the ointment-bearing
women: The ointments are appropriate for mortal men, but Christ has been shown to be a stranger to decay.
women: The ointments are appropriate for mortal men, but Christ has been shown to be a stranger to decay.
Prokeimenon
Arise, O God; judge the earth, for You shall inherit all the Gentiles.
