Good Friday

Good FridayThe Lent period covers the 40 days preceding the celebration of Easter. Since all Sundays of Lent and weekdays of Holy Week are equated in importance to great holidays, all other holidays that fall on these days are transferred to the nearest day free from celebrations and holidays.

In accordance with church regulations, every Catholic is obliged at least once a year during Lent or during the Easter period to take part in the sacraments of Repentance. Every Friday of Lent, a special procession is performed in all Catholic churches, called the Way of the Cross and the worship of the Holy Cross. The culmination of Lent is Holy Week, which begins with the celebration of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) and ends with the Holy Passover Triduum Pashalis, which includes the Great Thursday dedicated to the remembrance of the Last Supper, the Great Friday dedicated to the remembrance of the Passion of the Lord and the Great (Holy) Saturday v the Eve of the Passover.

Good Friday precedes Easter and commemorates the day of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. The forms of celebrating Good Friday vary widely, from mere remembrance or special services for Protestants to a special liturgical rite in the Eastern Churches and a complex liturgical ceremony in the Roman Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church, Good Friday services are timed to 3 p.m., when, according to tradition, Jesus Christ died. Although this service seems to be one, in reality it consists of four separate parts, each of which has its own origin and history.

The first and most ancient part, the ordination of the Word, was carried out in the ancient church in cases where the sacrament of the Eucharist was not performed. It now includes a series of readings from the Old Testament, culminating in a solemn reading of the evangelist John’s account of the Passion of Christ. The second part consists of several prayers (dating back to the 5th century) for the fulfillment of all the spiritual needs of all people on earth. The third part is the rite of worship of the cross, associated with an ancient custom practiced by Christians in Jerusalem.

The crucifix is covered with a veil on the Sunday beginning Holy Week. Then the priest and his assistants remove the veil, after which the clergy and parishioners kiss the crucifix.

The last part of the Good Friday service is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, during which the clergy and parishioners share the Holy Gifts, who were consecrated the day before (hence the name).