Great Saturday

On Great Saturday the Church commemorateth the Burial of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his descent into Hell. As a watch was set over the tomb of the Saviour, in like manner, during the whole course of the Matins service the Clergy hardly depart from the tomb of the winding-sheet; while during the Hours and the Liturgy, all the exits from the sanctuary are performed around the winding-sheet; as, for example, the Little and Great Entrances.

The beginning of Matins is as usual. While: God is the Lord: is being sung, the Holy Door is opened, and the Clergy come forth to the centre of the Temple. The winding-sheet and the Temple are censed.

The Hymns (Tropari), in Tone II. I. Noble Joseph, when he had taken thy pure Body from the Tree, did wrap it in fine linen and spices, and sorrowing did lay it in a new sepulchre.

II. When thou didst descend into death, O Life Immortal, then didst thou annihilate Hell with the radiance of thy divinity. And when thou hadst raised up the dead from the nethermost regions, all the Powers of heaven cried aloud: O Life-giver, Christ our God, glory to thee!

III. An Angel stood before the Myrrh-bearing Women at the tomb, crying: Spices are meet for the dead, but Christ hath revealed himself as a stranger to corruption.

Then, directly in front of the winding-sheet, the Seventeenth Selection of Psalms is read (Psalm cxix. See page 370), each verse being followed by Eulogies of the dead and buried Lord. This selection of Psalms is divided into three parts, separated by the Little Litany, and an Exclamation.

Examples of the Eulogies. Tone V Part I.

I. Thou didst lay down thy life in the grave, O Christ, and the Angelic Host was affrighted, glorifying thy condescension.

II. O Life, how shalt thou die? How shalt thou dwell in the grave? But thou shalt annihilate the kingdom of Death, and shalt raise up the dead out of Hell.

III. We magnify thee, O Jesus the King, and we reverence thy burial and thy sufferings, whereby thou hast saved us from corruption.

Exclamation. (After the Litany.) For blessed is thy Name, and glorified is thy kingdom, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Choir. Amen.

Part II.

Eulogies. I. Meet is it that we should magnify thee, the Life-giver, who hast stretched out thy hands upon the Cross, and hast shattered the dominion of the enemy.

Thy hands have made me, and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.

II. Meet is it that we should magnify thee, the Creator of all men: for by thy sufferings we have passionlessness, O thou who deliverest us from corruption.

III. The earth was affrighted, and the sun hid itself, O Saviour, when it beheld thee, the light which knoweth no setting, O Christ, entering into the grave in the flesh.

IV Thou didst fall asleep in the grave, O Christ, with sleep which is natural to creatures, and from the heavy sleep of sin didst raise up the human race.

Exclamation. (After the Litany.) For holy art thou, O our God, who restest on the cherubimic throne of glory, and unto thee do we ascribe glory, together with thy Father who is from everlasting, and thine all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Choir. Amen.

Part III. Tone III.

Eulogies. I. All nations bring a song to thy burial, O my Christ. O look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy Name.

II. He of Arimathea, having taken thee from the Tree, and wrapped thee in a winding-sheet, interreth thee in the tomb.

III. The Myrrh-bearing Women came, most wisely bringing spices unto thee, O my Christ.

IV. O come, all creation, let us offer the parting songs to the Creator. Exclamation. For thou art the King of Peace, O Christ our God, and

unto thee do we ascribe glory, together with thy Father who is from everlasting, and thine all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Choir Amen.

The Eulogies are followed by the Hymns, The company of the Angels (See Sunday Matins, page 28), Then Psalm li., and

the canon. Tone VI. Theme-Songs (Irmosl). I. The children of those that were saved, hid under the earth Him who of old drowned in the waves of the sea the tormentor pursuing. But let us like the virgins sing unto the Lord, for gloriously hath he glorified himself.

III. When Creation beheld thee, who didst suspend the whole earth immovably upon the waters, hanging upon Calvary, it quaked with great amaze, and cried: There is none holy, save thou, O Lord.

IV. When Habakkuk by anticipation beheld thy exhaustion divine upon the Cross, he cried in amaze: Thou hast destroyed the dominion of the mighty, O Good One, in that hast joined thyself unto the company of those who were in Hell: for thou art almighty.

V. When Isaiah beheld the light which knoweth no setting of thy divine manifestation, that was graciously made unto us, O Christ, his soul longed for thee in the night-season, and he cried: The dead shall rise, and those who lie in the grave shall arise, and all the earth-born shall rejoice.

VI. Jonah was seized but was not held in the belly of the whale, in that he represented the type of thee, who didst suffer and give thyself over unto burial; and he came forth from the monster as from a chamber of repose, and spake unto the guards: Ye that watch vainly and without avail have forsaken mercy incarnate.

The Collect-Hymn (Konddk). The Immortal One who imprisoned the deep is beheld dead, and, wrapped with spices and a winding-sheet, is laid in the tomb as he were mortal; and the women have come to anoint him with spices, weeping bitterly and crying: This is the blessed Saturday whereon Christ, having fallen asleep, shall rise again on the third day-

VII. O marvel unutterable! He who delivered the Holy Children in the fiery furnace from the flames, is laid dead, bereft of breath, in the grave, for the salvation of us who sing: O God our Redeemer! Blessed art thou.

VIII. Fear with trembling, O ye heavens, and let the foundations of the earth be shaken! For lo, he who dwelleth on high is numbered among the dead and is lodged in the narrow grave. Ye Children, bless; ye Priests, sing praises; ye People, magnify him unto all the ages!

IX. Lament not for me, O Mother, when thou beholdest in the tomb the Son whom, without seed, thou didst conceive in thy womb, for I shall rise again, and glorify myself; and in that I am God, I will raise in glory that hath no ending those who, with faith and love, do magnify thee.

(While the Canon is being sung, the Senior Priest arrayeth himself in his full vestments.)

Holy is the Lord our God.... Let everything which hath breath praise the Lord.. (Tone II.) Most blessed art thou, O Virgin Birth-giver... (See page 34.)

Priest. Glory to thee, who hast shown us the light.

Choir. Glory be to God on high,...

When the Gloria in Excelsis hath been finished, and while the affecting Thrice-Holy (O Holy God, Holy Mighty,) is being sung, and all the bells are rung, the

Senior Priest taketh from the winding-sheet the book of the Holy Gospels which lieth thereon, and with it, beneath the winding-sheet, which is upheld by the Priests while the Deacons cense, he performeth the procession of bearing the winding-sheet around the Church. When the circuit hath been completed, they carry the winding' sheet back into the Church, and the procession halteth in front of the Holy Door. Here the Exclamation: Wisdom! is made, and the Hymn: Noble Joseph,.. (see page 220) is sung. The winding-sheet is then replaced on the tomb, and upon the winding-sheet is laid the book of the Holy Gospels.

Then follow: The Parables (Paremii), Ezek. xxxvii. 1-14; the Epistle, I Cor. v. 6-8; the Gospel, Matt, xxvii. 62-66; the Augmented Litany, Let us say,...; and the Litany of Supplication, Let us complete.. (See page 36.)

The Benediction. May he who, for the sake of us men, and for our salvation, endured dire sufferings, and the life-giving Cross, and voluntary burial in the flesh, Christ our true God: and the rest. (See page 122.)

The Choir then singeth the Stanza (Stikhird), in Tone V.

O come, let us bless Joseph ever-memorable, who came by night unto Pilate, and begged the Life of all men: Give me this stranger, who hath not where to lay his head; give me this stranger, whom a crafty disciple hath betrayed unto death; give me this stranger, whose Mother, when she beheld him hanging on the Cross, cried with weeping, and with maternal feeling exclaimed: Woe is me, my child! Woe is me, my Light, and the beloved of my bosom! that which was foretold in the church by Simeon to-day hath come to pass! A weapon shall pierce my heart, but into the joy of the Resurrection shall lament be changed. We worship thy sufferings, O Christ; we worship thy sufferings, O Christ; we worship thy sufferings, O Christ, and thy holy Resurrection.

Then the First Hour is read.

On Great Saturday, the Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours, as usual; the Hymn: Noble Joseph,. (see page 220); the Collect-Hymn (Konddk): The Immortal One who imprisoned the deep. (See page 222.) The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is used, and is celebrated after Vespers. But as the Vespers refer to the following day, in it the joyous songs of the Resurrection are united with the songs of Great Saturday.

Vespers beginneth: Blessed is the kingdom; the Sunday Verses (Stikhiri) of the First Tone, to: Lord, I have called; the Hymn to the Birth-giver of God (Bogoroditchen):

Let us sing the praises of Mary, Virgin, Door of heaven, Glory of all the world, sprung forth from man, who also bare the Lord; the Song of the Bodiless Powers, and the Enriching of the faithful. For she revealed herself as Heaven and the Temple of the Godhead. She destroyed the bulwarks of enmity, and ushered in peace, and threw open the kingdom. Wherefore, in that we possess this confirmation of our faith, we have a defender, even the Lord who was born of her. Be bold, therefore, be bold, ye people of God, for he, the All-Powerful, shall vanquish your foes.

The Entrance is made with the Gospels. After: O gladsome radiance (page 8); the Parables (Paremii), Genesis i. 1-13; Isaiah lx. 1-16; Exodus xii. i-n;Jonah i. 1-16, ii. i-ii, iii. 1-10, iv. 1-11; Joshua v. 10-15; Exodus xiii. 20-22, xiv., xv.

After the reading of the concluding verses of the sixth Parable (Paremiyd). and

Reader Let us sing unto the Lord.

The Choir singeth: For gloriously hath he glorified himself.

The Parables (Paremii). Zeph. iii. 8-15; I Kings xvii. 8-24; Isaiah lxi. 10, 11, Ixii. 1-5; Genesis xxii. 1-18; Isaiah lxi. 1-9; 2 Kings iv. 8-37; Isaiah lxiii. 11-19, xliv. 1-5, Jer. xxxi. 31-34; Dan. iii. 1-23 (and the Song of the Holy Children, Apocrypha). During the reading oj the concluding verses of the Fifteenth Lesson, the Choir singeth: Praise ye the Lord, and exalt him forever.

The Little Litany, Exclamation: For holy art thou.: In place of the Thrice-holy: Ye who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. The Gradual, in the Fifth Tone: Let all the earth worship thee, and sing thee, yea, let it sing unto thy Name, O Most Highest. The Epistle. Romans vi. 3-1 1. Instead of: Alleluia: Arise, O God, judge the earth; for thou shalt inherit all nations: with its Verses (Stikhi); (Psalm lxxxii.).

While these are being sung, the Clergy change their sombre vestments for light vestments, in preparation for the reading of the Gospel concerning Christ's Resurrection: Matt, xxviii. 1-20.

In place of the Cherubim ic Hymn:

Let all mortal flesh hold its peace, and stand with fear and trembling, and meditate nothing earthly within itself: for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords cometh to be slain, and to give himself to be the food of the faithful. And before him also come the Angelic Hosts with all dominion and power, the many-eyed Cherubim, and the six-winged Seraphim, covering their faces, and crying aloud the song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

The Communion Hymn.

The Lord is risen, as though he slept, and he who saveth us is risen from the dead.

In place of: Meet is it:

Lament not for me, O Mother, when thou beholdest in the tomb the Son whom, without seed, thou didst conceive in thy womb: for I shall rise again and glorify myself; and in that I am God, I will raise in glory that hath no ending those who with faith and love do magnify thee.

After the Liturgy it is customary to have the Blessing of the Loaves and the Wine, wherewith the faithful may strengthen themselves before they listen to the reading of the Acts of the Apostles.

In the evening the reading of the Acts of the Apostles taketh place. The Priest bestoweth the blessing: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us.

Then followeth the reading of the Acts. It is the custom to have a number of readers, who succeed one another, and read the Acts until the very beginning of the Easter Midnight Service (Polunotchnitza), which precedeth the Easter Matins.

The Easter Midnight Service generally beginneth in such a way that it shall be finished at midnight, as the beginning of the Easter Refrain is always made to coincide with the midnight stroke of the bells. The order of the Midnight Service is as followeth:

Priest. Blessed is our God Reader. O Holy God, Holy Mighty,.; Our Father,.; O come, let us worship.; the Canon of Great Saturday: The children of those.. (See page 221.)

While: Lament not for me, O Mother, (the Ninth Theme-Song) is being sung,

the Priest reverently beareth the winding-sheet from the centre of the Temple to the Sanctuary, and layeth it on the Altar. Then the doors are closed. The Litany: Have mercy upon us, O God,.; O Holy God, Holy Might)-,.; Our Father,..; the Hymn (Tropdr) in Tone II., When thou didst descend into Hell, (see page 220) for Sunday; the Little Benediction.