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Holy week of the year is Tuesday. Holy Week

Lent is the most important event in Orthodox calendar, because at this time we are cleansed of filth and sins by giving up excesses. Traditions and covenants of the church regarding Holy Week and the entire post is the same from year to year.

Holy Week

Lent usually begins in March. In 2016 it started on March 14th. This for a long time abstinence and prayer, which ends this year on May 1st. Palm Sunday is celebrated on April 24, which symbolizes the coming of Jesus to Jerusalem on his donkey. He was greeted by people with palm branches, and here we greet Jesus with palm fronds. After Christ entered Jerusalem, people thought that he would deliver them from evil people, but the Lord's plan was different. His son gave his life and suffered torment for our sins.

After Palm Sunday The most terrible week is coming, when Jesus Christ accepted his fate and was crucified. This week is called Passionate, that is, terrible. In 2016, it starts on April 25 and ends on April 30, the Saturday before Easter.

This week, anyone can make the world around them a better place. Give alms to those in need, provide all possible assistance to the restoration of destroyed or desolate houses of God - temples and churches. This is exactly what the Orthodox portal of Seraphim of Sarov does. A voluntary donation will go towards the restoration of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

Traditions of Holy Week

The main precepts of the church for this period are simple - kindness to loved ones and renunciation of all pleasures. Some people resort to almost complete fasting, eating only bread and water. Through prayers, enlightenment and rapprochement with God are achieved.

According to the covenants of the church, each day of this week has its own tasks.

  • Maundy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are set aside for participation in the trials of Jesus. On Monday we remember Saint Joseph, on Tuesday the exposure of the Pharisees and the betrayal of one of the disciples of the Son of God - Judas, and on Wednesday the sinner who was washed by the tears of Christ.
  • Maundy Thursday is a day of remembrance of the Last Supper, of the betrayal of Judas. Maundy Thursday is also called Maundy Thursday. On this day, Orthodox Christians clean their homes in preparation for Great Easter.
  • Friday and Saturday are times of remembrance of the crucifixion and burial. From Friday until Saturday evening it is customary to abstain from eating in general.

According to tradition, people go to church every day or choose the most important one in order to become even closer to God. Towards the end of Holy Week, Easter cakes are baked, eggs are painted, and meat dishes are prepared for Easter itself. Many people believed and still believe that our ancestors, our parents and deceased relatives come down from heaven at this time to stay with us for a few days.

The clergy advise visiting church this week and praying, denying yourself idle pleasures. During Holy Week you should take communion on Thursday to cleanse your soul of sin. Try to attend as many services as possible during the great week. This The best way make your life filled with faith and love of God.

Be happy and live the entire Holy Week from April 24 to April 30, 2016 in prayer. May your soul be purified and become pleasing to God. We wish you strong faith and great patience. Be happy and don't forget to press the buttons and

24.04.2016 00:50

Maundy Thursday- the fourth day of Holy Week, associated with many traditions and customs. To properly...

In 2016 Holy Week (week) begins on April 25, each day is called Great. This is the week of the strictest fast.

Nutrition calendar for Holy Week – 2016

If you follow the strictest monastic regulations, the nutrition calendar for Holy Week looks like this:

Holy Week by day: Good Monday

Maundy Monday– the first day of Holy Week, when the church remembers the Old Testament patriarch Joseph the Beautiful, sold into slavery in Egypt by envious brothers. Joseph's suffering is considered a type of suffering Jesus Christ. Also on this day, they remember the gospel story about how Jesus cursed the barren fig tree, symbolizing a soul that does not bear spiritual fruits: faith, true repentance and good deeds.

Maundy Tuesday

IN Maundy Tuesday the church remembers how Jesus denounced the Pharisees and scribes, as well as the parables that the Savior told in the Jerusalem temple: about tribute to Caesar, about the resurrection of the dead, about Last Judgment and about ten virgins and talents.

Great Wednesday

Great Wednesday dedicated to memories of betrayal Judas Iscariot, who received 30 pieces of silver for agreeing to betray Jesus. Also on this day they remember the sinner who, having washed with tears and anointed the feet of Christ with precious myrrh, prepared him for burial.

Maundy Thursday

This one is one of the most important days Holy Week, which is associated with the following events that the church remembers:

  • Last Supper.
  • Christ washing the disciples' feet.
  • Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
  • Betrayal of Judas.

Good Friday

Good Friday is dedicated to memories of the trial of Jesus, the crucifixion, the agony of the cross and the death of the Savior. In Orthodoxy on this day, during Matins, the 12 Gospels of the Holy Passion of Christ are read, during Vespers, the shroud is brought out and the Canon about the Crucifixion of the Lord and “For Lamentation” is sung. Holy Mother of God" From sunset until the end of the service, it is customary to abstain from food.

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday- a day of rest and remembrance of Christ’s presence in the tomb. The blessing of Easter food is taking place in churches. On Saturday, the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire takes place in Jerusalem.

Easter

Easter, or Bright Resurrection of Christ- this is the most great holiday in Christianity.

Folk traditions for Holy Week

Throughout Holy Week, preparations were underway in Rus' for the main holiday of Easter. Housewives cleaned their homes in the most thorough manner: they washed the walls, ceilings, tables, benches, benches, windows and doors, washed and scraped the floors most thoroughly, shook out the rugs, and washed all the dishes, including cauldrons and frying pans. They whitewashed the stove and sometimes the walls.

From Thursday to Saturday, the preparation of Easter dishes began: housewives baked Easter cakes, painted eggs, baked meat. The man set up a swing in the yard for Easter fun, prepared firewood, etc.

Throughout Holy Week until Easter, loud conversations, singing, with the exception of spiritual things, games, round dances and generally all entertainment were considered a sin. Read more about how to prepare for Easter in the materials Federal News Agency.

Holy Week is no longer Pentecost or even Great Lent - it is a separate time. We can say this: Lent (the first 40 days) is the time when we go towards God. Holy Week is the time when the Lord comes to meet us. It goes through suffering, through the Last Supper, arrest, Golgotha, descent into hell and, finally, to Easter. He overcomes the last barriers that separate us from God.

Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev

Holy Week is the last week before Easter. IN Orthodox Church this is the most important week of the whole year, dedicated to last days earthly life of Christ, His suffering, crucifixion, death on the cross, burial.

Holy Week is no longer Lent, although fasting on these days is observed especially strictly.

In the first three days of Holy Week, the Church prepares believers for heartfelt participation in the Savior’s suffering on the Cross.

IN

The Church remembers the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph the Beautiful, who out of envy was sold by his brothers to Egypt, who prefigured the suffering of the Savior. In addition, on this day we remember the withering by the Lord of the richly leafed but barren fig tree, which serves as an image of the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees who did not bring true repentance, faith, prayer and good deeds.

At the end of April 2016, Orthodox Christians are preparing to celebrate the brightest holiday - the Resurrection of Christ, Easter. However, in order to prepare properly, you need to start early. Many Orthodox Christians are already preparing to celebrate Easter, observing Lent. And someone celebrates every day of Holy Week: the most important week in the history of Christianity.

Holy Week - a time of spiritual transformation and repentance, a time of deep sorrow and great prosperity - begins, according to tradition, on Great (Holy) Monday. On this day, we remember the Old Testament legends about Joseph as a prototype of the future suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ. How to transform your soul and body throughout Holy Week - in the material Nation-news.ru.

Story of the day: Joseph the Beautiful and the curse of the fig tree

The Gospel story contains the tradition of Jesus cursing a barren fig tree, symbolizing a soul that does not bear spiritual fruit - true repentance, faith, prayer and good deeds. As the Evangelist Matthew testifies, Jesus “returning to the city was hungry; and seeing a fig tree along the road, he approached it and, finding nothing on it except some leaves, said to it: Let there be no fruit from you henceforth forever.”

Seeing this, the disciples wondered why the tree withered. Jesus answered and said to them: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but if you also say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen; and whatever you ask in prayer in faith, you will receive.”

After this, Jesus came to the Temple of Jerusalem, where he told the parables of the two sons and the evil husbandmen. The language of the Bible is primarily parable: through this genre an allegory of righteous and unrighteous deeds is given; the meaning of a parable is usually revealed either immediately in the text or based on the context of the story.

The Parable of the Two Sons

“One man had two sons; and he, approaching the first, said: son! Go today and work in my vineyard. But he answered: I don’t want to; and then, repenting, he left. And going up to the other, he said the same thing. This one said in response: I’m going, sir, but I didn’t go. Which of the two fulfilled the will of his father?
They say to Him: “First.”
Jesus says to them: “Truly I say to you, publicans and harlots go ahead of you into the kingdom of God, for John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but publicans and harlots believed him; But you, having seen this, did not repent afterwards to believe him.”

Theophylact of Bulgaria writes that in this parable Jesus speaks of two categories of people:

- those who made a promise to listen and do the will of God, and then did not fulfill their promise - Jews contemporary to Jesus;
- those who were initially disobedient to the will of God, and then, repenting, began to fulfill it - adulterers, publicans and pagans who responded to the preaching of Christ.

Parable of the Evil Vinegrowers

“There was a certain owner of a house who planted a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, dug a winepress in it, built a tower and, having given it to vinedressers, went away. When the time for fruit approached, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to take their fruit; The winegrowers seized his servants, beat some, killed others, and stoned others. Again he sent other servants, more than before; and they did the same to them. Finally, he sent his son to them, saying: They will be ashamed of my son. But the vinedressers, seeing their son, said to each other: This is the heir; Let's go, kill him and take possession of his inheritance. And they seized him, took him out of the vineyard and killed him. So, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these vinedressers?”

Most interpreters give following values images used in the parable:

— home owner- God;
— vineyard- the Jewish people, chosen by God to preserve the faith; Jewish Church, Jerusalem;
— fence- The Law of God given through Moses;
— sharpener(reservoirs for obtaining grape juice) - an altar on which blood was shed;
— tower- Temple;
— winegrowers- leaders and teachers of the Jewish people (high priests, scribes, Pharisees);
— master weaning- God's long-suffering, the time since the Lord led the Jews out of Egypt to the Promised Land;
— fruit time- came during the time of the prophets;
— servants And slaves- prophets who denounced the wickedness of the Jews, who suffered persecution and death from them;
— its fruits- knowledge of God, spiritual gain;
— son, heir- Christ;
— they took him out of the vineyard and killed him- Christ’s prophecy that He would be executed outside Jerusalem;
— the coming of the owner- when God looks at the iniquity committed by the leaders; end of the world.

Old Testament Image: Joseph the Beautiful

Like most images and plots of the New Testament history of Christianity, the events of Holy Monday have a deep symbolic meaning, taken in Old Testament. The Holy Monday service is permeated with memories of the Old Testament Joseph the Beautiful, the son of the biblical patriarch Jacob. In his suffering from the brothers who hated him, his chaste abstinence and undeserved imprisonment, the Church sees a prototype of the suffering of Christ, and in the triumph of Joseph and his exaltation in Egypt - a prototype of the resurrection of Christ and His victory over the world. The tradition of seeing the story of Joseph as a type of gospel events can be traced back to apostolic times and can be found in Acts (Acts 7:9-16).

Holy Monday: customs and traditions

From Monday on Holy - or, as people said, Scary - week, everyone began to put themselves and their home in order, preparing for Easter. On this day they washed and whitewashed huts and cleaned livestock. Also on Holy Monday it was necessary to finish all the work in the home: painting, repairing and cleaning.

Anyone who sincerely fasts on Clean Monday - does not eat or drink all day - will, as they said in the Vitebsk region, successfully find food in the summer. bird's nests. The Gomel Poleschuks avoided keeping anything unclean (from food) in the house on this Monday and Tuesday, so that people and livestock would not be spoiled.

The peasants said about this day: “From Maundy Monday to Great Day, it’s a whole week, the women have their hands full!”.

This day was especially celebrated in the Kherson region: on “Living Monday” large commemorations for ancestors are held - “Dead Great Day”.

Orthodox table and fasting on Monday of Holy Week

On Monday and Wednesday of Holy Week you can eat only bread, vegetables and fruits. On this matter, take advice from the fasting editorial staff of Nation-news.ru: if you don't fast, but if you want to join the sacrament of waiting for the Resurrection of the Savior, you can start on Holy Monday. As for food, there is no need to be overzealous and reinvent the wheel - use frozen mixtures of vegetables and fruits, or fresh gifts of nature: most importantly, do not forget to rinse them thoroughly before eating!

Published 04/26/16 08:39

Holy Week in 2016: Holy Week is the strictest week before Easter.

Holy Week 2016: what date?

For Orthodox believers, on April 25, 2016, Holy Week 2016 began. This time received its name in memory of the last days of the life of Jesus Christ on Earth.

Holy Week 2016: what can you do?

According to the Bible, throughout Holy Week, Jesus Christ approaches his death on the cross. In memory of those events, believers hold the most strict fast, they prefer not to have fun, not to sing, not to dance, but to think about the suffering of the Savior and the cleansing of their soul.

Highest value intkbbee is given to the last days of Holy Week 2016. For example, in Good Friday believers completely abstain from food until the removal of the shroud - that is, until the end of the evening service).

Holy Week 2016: what can you eat by day?

Great Monday. Dry eating is recommended - cold food without vegetable oil, unheated drink.

Great Tuesday. Dry eating - cold food without vegetable oil, unheated drinks.

Great Wednesday. Dry eating - cold food without vegetable oil, unheated drinks.

Maundy Thursday. Last Supper. Dry eating - cold food without vegetable oil, unheated drinks.

Good Friday. Crucifixion of Christ Dry eating - cold food without vegetable oil, unheated drink or complete abstinence from food until the removal of the Shroud.

Holy Saturday. The Descent of Christ into Hell - Dry Eating - Cold. food without plants oils, unheated drinks

Resurrection of Christ, Easter - breaking of fast

As a relief, the laity are allowed hot food from Monday to Saturday.

Holy Week: customs, signs and tips for every day

Each day of Holy Week, as already mentioned, is called Great and is intended for certain deeds.

IN Maundy Monday It is customary to start a big cleaning of the house.

IN Maundy Tuesday women prepared "juiced milk", which is believed to have magical power. Also on this day you are supposed to finish working with clothes - washing, darning, ironing.

IN Great Wednesday The trash is taken out of the home and eggs are prepared for traditional Easter painting.

Maundy Thursday or Maundy Thursday in 2016 falls on April 28, 2016. On this day, you are supposed to take a bath at dawn, as well as paint eggs, knead dough for Easter cakes, make cottage cheese Easter, and burn salt in the oven. One of the signs on Maundy Thursday is to count money at dawn - so that whole year there was money.

Good Friday in 2016 falls on April 29, 2016. On this day you should not do housework and housework, as well as wash and have fun.

IN Holy Saturday Easter dishes are blessed in churches. Also on this day it is necessary to prepare everything for the Easter feast.

Easter in 2016 celebrated on April 30, 2016. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, night services are held in churches, and Orthodox Christians greet each other and also exchange colored eggs and congratulate each other on happy holiday Christ's Resurrection.