Holy Saturday, that day between Good Friday and Pascha, is a day in which sorrow is transformed into JOY. In the understanding of the Church, sorrow is not replaced by joy, but it is TRANSFORMED into JOY. This distinction is important, because it tells us that as Christ lies in death, it is an active death which brings about triumph. We can better understand it from the following explanation; Christ’s repose in the tomb is an “active repose”. He comes in search of His fallen friend, Adam, who represents ALL MEN. Not finding him on earth, He descends to the realm of death, known as Hades in the Old Testament. There He finds him and brings him life once again. This is the victory: the dead are given life. The tomb is no longer a forsaken, lifeless place. By His death, Christ tramples death.

At 10:00 a.m. on Great and Holy Saturday, the Vespers with the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated. These Vespers of Holy Saturday begin our Paschal celebration. Following the Vespers, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated and after the Epistle is read, the priest removes the dark vestments of Holy Week and puts on the bright vestments of Pascha, so that when the priest appears with the Gospel, the light of the Resurrection istruly made known to us and our sorrow is transformed into joy.

The Liturgy is one of anticipation as we wait to hear the proclamation at midnight that CHRIST IS RISEN!

On Great and Holy Thursday, the Church commemorates the Last Supper – or the Mystical Supper – the great Gift of Christ our God to mankind. It was at the Last Supper, in this Evening Mystery, that Christ gave us His Holy Body and Precious Blood, and He promised that He will be with us at all times and that His love for us would never change.

As we listen to the Gospel account, Judas is put before our eyes and our minds are focused on his betrayal of our Lord. We must ask ourselves: how often do we betray our Lord, those of us who have sat at His table and partook of His Sacred Body and Precious Blood? And then, as we witness our Lord washing the feet of His apostles, His love for us becomes strikingly evident.

On Holy Thursday morning, the Divine Liturgy will be served at 10 a.m.

On Holy Thursday evening, the Matins of Great and Holy Friday with the Twelve Passion Gospels will begin at 6 p.m.

The Gospels of our Lord’s Passion will be proclaimed. At the Fifth Gospel, when the Passion narrative concerning Christ’s journey to Calvary is reached, the Church is darkened and the priest carries the Cross through the Church and mounts it on the platform that represents Golgotha. Now in the center of the Church, stands GOLGOTHA. And now there is SILENCE – and this silence pervades Great and Holy Friday capturing and stilling our hearts and minds.