Holy Week = Anamnesis Do this in remembrance of me

The redeeming acts of Christ are continuous and boundless in time and location (birth, baptism, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension)

We have the opportunity to live all these redeeming actions (actions of salvation) during the church liturgies, i.e., the liturgy is the continuation of the redeeming actions of Christ. “Every time you shall eat of this bread and drink of this cup…”

Therefore, each time you participate in the Holy Week services,

His death: We die with him, trample death. We are there at the feet of the cross.

His resurrection: We are risen with him in his Glory

Holy Week = Anamnesis Proof: “Therefore as we commemorate his holy passions,

his resurrection from the dead, his ascension into the heavens, and his sitting at your hand O Father,…….and his second coming from the heavens, awesome and full of glory”

In the liturgy, we live the past NOW and we live the future (eternal life) NOW

We have to come to the liturgy with this mindset: I AM NOT HERE AS A BYSTANDER OR A SPECTATOR, but AS AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THESE EVENTS:

I was there during the last supper, being washed and participating in the Eucharist

I was there during his resurrection, raising the stone and enjoying the glory NEVER SAY I WAS NOT THERE!

Is this virtual reality/imagination/frame of mind? … This is REAL REALITY and the mystical nature of Holy week. We know it by faith!

Historical Facts

The most sacred week of the year

Used to be celebrated once every 33 years

Used to be celebrated separate from the great lent until the 2nd century

Pascha = Passover

Readings of the Holy WeekReadings of the Holy Week

Historical Background Early Church: Read the whole Bible. Pope Ghobrial II (77) is the one who put

together the readings that we currently have (circa 1250 A.D.)

In addition, we read the whole Four Gospels and the book of Psalms during the Holy Week.

Readings are selected to match the events of each hour.

Lazarus SaturdayLazarus SaturdayWe start and finish the Holy Week

with resurrection; victory over: Death Sin Devil

Christ did not resurrect Lazarus the day before entering Jerusalem: Christ spent most of the Holy Week

(starting from this Saturday) in his house See above

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 spent the day in the temple. Jesus returns back to Bethany

PALM SUNDAY

What Does the Church Do? All hymns are in joyful tunes Morning procession in the raising of

incense

• We read a psalm and a gospel in front of most icons and church doors.

Regular liturgy except we read FOUR gospels

PALM SUNDAYWhat Does the Church Do?

Listen carefully to the Gospel according to St. Luke 19:41-44

Now as he draw near, He saw the city, and wept over it,Saying, If you had known, even you, at least in this day, the things which belong unto your peace! but now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will cast a trench around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you and your children within you to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another; because you did not know the time of your visitation.

PALM SUNDAY

What Does the Church Do? The General Funeral:

• WHY?• Starts with a prophesy from Ezekiel 37:1-14

And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, You know

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINE

We follow the Savior step by step We pray outside the alter in the second

chorus, WHY? Hebrew 13:13

All attention is to the passion of our Savior: No liturgies except….. No Agpya prayers All prayers in a sad tune

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

Readings of the Holy WeekReadings of the Holy Week

Difference between the morning and evening readings.

The Eleventh Hour of the morning and evening prayers are focused on: Confrontations between Christ and the high priests

and the Jewish. Christ prophesizing about his passions and the

cross.

PASCHA: GENERAL OUTLINE

Contents of Each PrayerPropheciesHomily (Sermon), if anyThine 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 tune

The Holy GospelThe expositionEnd of each night or day:

Litanies The conclusion (O King of Peace)

Monday of the Holy Pascha

What Did Jesus Do?

He left Bethany to the temple in Jerusalem

On the way, He saw a fig tree that had leaves but no fruits. Christ cursed the tree saying: No man will eat fruit of you for ever

Jesus entered the temple and kicked out those who were selling and buying

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 Pascha

What Does the Church Do? Theme 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?

Tuesday of the Holy Pascha

What Did Jesus Do? Christ talks about the end of the world

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

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 Pascha

What Does the Church Do? Theme 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 Pascha

What 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?

Theme 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

What Does the Church Do?

We pray in the first chorus

We start with the Matin raising of incense

The book of acts: Selecting a new apostle instead of Judas. It is scary!!!!!!

Procession to reprimand Judas (OURSELVES) in the opposite direction

The Great Thursday

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 ThursdayWhat Does the Church Do?

The Liturgy of the Blessing of Water (second chorus)

• 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)

The Great Thursday

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

chorus)• 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• The lamb is examined without the 41 Kerie Layson

because Christ was examined while being silent

The Great Thursday

What Does the Church Do?• 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 in the second chorus• 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 Friday

Sixth 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 Friday

The Great Friday

The Great Friday

First Hour Christ is being sent to Pontius

Pilate Pilate sends Him to Herod

Psalm For unjust witnesses have risen up

against me, and injustice has lied within itself

The Great Friday

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

Prophesies: Genesis 48: Jacob blesses

Manasse and Ephraim Isaiah 63: “Who is this that is

coming from Edom with red garments from Bosor?”

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 FridayProphesies

Jeremiah 12, 13: “I as an innocent lamb, did not know … Come, let us utterly destroy him from off the land of the living”

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

The Ninth Hour of the Great Friday

Part from the Agpeya Agious

Thine is the power ….Psalm

Save me, O God,for the waters have come into my soul. I am stuck fast in deep mire.

Gospels

The Eleventh Hour of the Great Friday

Prophesies Exodus and Leviticus: Passover

Regular Pascha hourPsalm

I spread forth my hands …Into Your hands, I will commit my spirit, You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth

Gospels and conclusion

The Twelfth Hour of the Great Friday

Prophesies Lamentations of Jeremiah Jonah

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

forever and ever

Gospels

The Twelfth Hour of the Great Friday

Exposition and Litanies

METANIAS in all directions

ProcessionThe Burial and

GOLGOTHAThe Book of Psalms

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

We do these in reverse order

APOCALYPSE

We start with this psalm 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

APOCALYPSE

We pray several parts from midnight prayer (TASBEHA)

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

Jonah, Isaiah, Daniel, the Three Young Men in the fire, St Mary, etc.

We read the story of Susanna (very Important)

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

Holy Week is a life-changing experience

Our attitude has to match that of the church

Serious, focused. You can sense the level of intensity in the church prayers.

Dedication and consecration – business, internet, TV, other distractions

Fasting – late hours (evening) – come empty

Consistency in participating (not attending) – Streaming

Follow readings – in light of a certain topic (food)

Follow all hymns – for meditation (digest)

Spiritual warfare – stay away from judging

Silence and solitude

Repentance and confession

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST; IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME

GALATIANS 2:20

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT SO GREAT

SALVATION?HEBREW 2:3