The last week of Jesus’ life on earth, from his Jerusalem welcoming to His death and resurrection is called the Holy Week and each of its days is a Holy one too. The week is the one of the Lent and special church services take place each day through it. The last day ends with the Resurrection of Christ – Easter.
The Savior enters the Jerusalem temple on Holy Monday, finds it full of traders and chases those away, since the temple is a place for a prayer. The Bible reads about His preach afterwards and the curse on the barren fig tree that He pronounces – a symbol of the human soul that knows no prayer, no repentance and brings no fruits of the spirit. Holy Tuesday is a day for final moral teachings. Jesus Christ gives us an example on charity – not to give from what’s excessive, but to spare some of the last money that we have, just like the poor widow. Jesus also makes prophecies on the destiny of Jerusalem. Holy Wednesday reminds one of the last events before the sufferings of the Son of God – for the precious ointment that a sinner poured on the Savior’s head in her true repentance. The woman broke the vessel with the ointment in a hurry to pour it. Some of the people around got angry, since the liquid was expensive, but Christ answered to them: “She did a good deed for Me, hurrying to anoint My body for a funeral. The Holy Supper took place in the evening of Holy Wednesday, when Jesus said that one of the Apostles would betray him. It is known that Judas Iscariot betrayed Him for the price of 30 silver coins. In the night against Holy Thursday Jesus prayed in the Gethsemane garden, until the traitor came and He was captured. The death sentence of Jesus was pronounced on Holy Thursday and confirmed by Pontius Pilatus. Jesus Christ was crucified in the same evening. The so-called Twelve Gospels are usually read on Holy Thursday in the evening and the congregation stays with candles, while listening to the story of His sufferings. The candles can be later used for different cases.
The great sufferings of Jesus are reminded on Holy or Good Friday. He carried his heavy cross to Golgotha, humbly facing his destiny – the crucifixion, the humiliation and insults, the crown of thorns… He was crucified between two bandits on Golgotha and died in suffering. The church serves burial service of Christ in the evening of Holy Friday.
Holy Saturday is the day for mourning and funeral of Jesus Christ. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus begged for Pilatus’ permission, took His body down from the cross, anointed Him, covered Him with a new shroud and put Him in a new grave, carved in a rock in Gethsemane. Mother Mary was among the crying women at the grave. The grave was sealed and guards were placed in front of it.
Holy Sunday – Easter is the last day of the Holy Week, when the glorious event happened – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the beginning the Lent lasted a few days before Easter. Later on it turned into the Holy Week. Then the 40-day-long Lent was added, resembling the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert fasting. It was about those that were to be baptized on Easter. The sacrament of elderly people took place on Easter exactly for a long time, as a sign of empathy with the voluntary death and resurrection of Christ. That is why the Passover liturgy is actually a baptizing one.
English version: Zhivko Stanchev
