Editing Great Lent (section)

====Good Friday====
[[File:Great and Holy Friday Matins.jpg|thumb|200px|A [[Matins]] service, before the [[Holy Sepulchre|tomb]] on Good Friday at a [[St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|church in Chicago]]]]

'''Holy and Great Friday''' is observed as a strict fast day, on which the faithful who are physically able to should not eat anything at all. Some even fast from water, at least until after the Vespers service that evening.

The Matins service, usually celebrated Thursday night, is officially entitled, "The Office of the Holy and Redeeming Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ".<ref>Bishop Kallistos, ''op. cit.'', p. 565</ref> It is commonly known as the "Matins of the Twelve Gospels", because interspersed throughout the service are twelve Gospel readings which recount the entire [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion of Christ]] from the [[Last Supper]] to the sealing of the [[Holy Sepulchre|tomb]]. Before the Sixth Gospel ({{bibleverse||Mark|15:16-32|KJV}}) which first mentions the [[Crucifixion]], the priest carries a large cross into the center of the church, where it is set upright and all the faithful come forward to venerate it. The cross has attached to it a large [[icon]] of the ''soma'' (the crucified body of Christ).

At the beginning of each Gospel, the bell is rung according to the number of the Gospel (once for the first Gospel, two for the second, etc.). As each Gospel is read the faithful stand holding lighted candles, which are extinguished at the end of each reading. After the twelfth Gospel, the faithful do not extinguish their candles but leave them lit and carry the flame to their homes as a blessing. There, they will often use the flame to light the [[lampada]] in their [[icon corner]].

On the morning of Great Friday, the [[Royal Hours]] are served. This is a solemn service of the [[Little Hours]] and [[Typica]] to which [[antiphon]]s, and scripture readings have been added. Some of the fixed psalms which are standard to each of the Little Hours are replaced with psalms which are of particular significance to the Passion.

[[Image:TzanesIcon.jpg|thumb|250px|''[[Epitaphios (liturgical)|Epitaphios]]'' ({{circa|1600|lk=no}}, Emmanuel Tzanes Bounialis, [[Cretan School]])]]

Vespers on Good Friday is usually celebrated after the Royal Hours service,<ref>{{cite news | title=Μεγάλη Παρασκευή: LIVE η λειτουργία του Επιτάφιου  |trans-title=Good Friday: LIVE the service of the Epitaph | language=el |quote=Το πρωί της Μεγάλης Παρασκευής γίνεται ο στολισμός του Επιταφίου στις εκκλησίες. Αρχικά ψάλλονται οι Μεγάλες Ώρες, που περιέχουν ψαλμούς, τροπάρια, Αποστόλους, Ευαγγέλια και Ευχές. |trans-quote=On the morning of Good Friday, the epitaph is decorated in the churches. First, the Great Hours are sung, which contain psalms, tropes, Apostles, Gospels and Blessings.|url=https://www.news247.gr/koinonia/megali-paraskeyi-i-apokathilosi-toy-estayromenoy-kai-o-epitafios.7625284.html |work=News24/7 |date=17 April 2020 |access-date=20 March 2023}}</ref> although in some monasteries it is served in the afternoon.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title= Παρασκευή μεγάλη [Good Friday] |encyclopedia= [[Great Greek Encyclopedia]] |date= |year= |last= |first= |publisher= Phoenix |location= Athens |volume = ΙΘ΄ |page = 664 }}</ref> After the [[Little Entrance]] the Gospel reading is a [[concatenation]] of the [[four Evangelists]]' accounts of the Crucifixion and the [[Descent from the Cross]]. At the point during the reading which mentions [[Joseph of Arimathea]] and [[Nicodemus]], two clergymen approach the large cross in the center of the church, remove the ''soma'', wrap it in a piece of white linen, and carry it into the sanctuary.

Later, during the [[Troparion]], the clergy carry the [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|epitaphios]] (a cloth icon symbolizing the [[winding sheet]] in which Jesus was prepared for burial) into the center of the church, where it is venerated by all the faithful. Special chants and prayers and chanted along with biblical readings and [[psalms]] chanted.

That night, the Matins of Lamentation is normally celebrated in the evening. At this service, special hymns and prayers are chanted. The Lamentations of Great and Holy Friday are the main chants of the service. The Lamentation Praises are chanted to very movingly beautiful ancient tones and words which reflect the lament of the [[Theotokos]] over her son [[Christ]]. The [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|epitaphios]] is placed on a beautifully ornate and decorate [[catafalque]] or [[bier]] before the Lamentations representing the tomb of Christ.

The priest then sprinkles [[rosewater]] and fresh rose petals all over the tomb, the congregation, and the temple/church. A procession with the ornate tomb then takes place around the church and back into the church where it will be venerated by everyone. As more special prayers and chants are sung especially the chant: "The Noble Joseph..." as the service finishes.