Skip to main content

Orthodox Holy Week Streaming

I have always wanted to share the experience of Holy Week and Pascha with my friends and those who inquire about Orthodoxy. Words cannot convey the beauty of the hymns, the depth of the sorrow as we lead the body of Christ to his tomb, the joy as we celebrate His resurrection! It is a journey that begins long before the raising of Lazarus or the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and culminates in a procession by the entire congregation around the outside of the church at midnight. Bells ringing, choir singing, candles, banners, censers with bells - a joyous cacophony greeting the Resurrected Lord! Oh, and then there is Paschal Vespers on Sunday afternoon that nearly everyone returns for, as well. How does one explain that to be in church and truly experience Holy Week is the only way to do it - all the services!

A quartet (Fr. Andrew and three singers) is not quite the same. But it will still be beautiful and joyful and perhaps we will find beauty in the simplicity this year. We won't celebrate with the Agape feast following midnight Liturgy with all of our church family or have our Pascha gathering with family and friends at our house. But perhaps we can take a some of the extra time we have to focus on Christ's Resurrection.

Photo courtesy Mike Varian, Holy Monday Bridegroom Matins

If anyone is interested in seeing these services here is a link to our YouTube Livestream playlist. Thanks to our awesome crew for figuring it all out!

All services will be live-streamed and available to watch after.

Here is the schedule for the rest of the week:

Holy Tuesday, April 14: 
Bridegroom Matins at 7 pm

Holy Wednesday, April 15: 
Matins of Holy Thursday at 7 pm

Holy Thursday, April 16:
Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil at 10 am
Matins of Holy Friday (12 Gospel) at 7 pm

Holy Friday, April 17: 
Royal Hours at 8 am
Vespers (Shroud) at 2 pm
Matins of Holy Saturday at 7 pm

Holy Saturday, April 18: 
Nocturnes at 11:30 pm

Pascha, April 19: 
No Procession. Paschal Matins at 12 midnight followed by Paschal Liturgy
Paschal Vespers at 4 pm

Bright Monday, April 20: 
Bright Monday Liturgy at 9 am

* Thanks, Mary Varian for inspiring this post!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day One - COVID-19 School Break HELP!!!

It all started with my friend, Carrie, posting a list of things to do with kids at home. At the time, we had school called off two days. Nothing traumatic, but not awesome after having M and L home for Spring Break the past week. Maybe a good thing all those vacationers stayed home a couple extra days. Then came the announcement that school would be closed at least until March 27th. Wait, what? Our School Carnival was planned for a March 28th! (Separate issue) Sigh. What are parents going to do for at least two weeks? I’m supposed to be working from home. That does not happen efficiently or effectively with kids present. How on earth am I to keep them entertained?!?!? Enter a list of things to do. I was already doing one as church school coordinator for our church (now that church school and perhaps even Liturgy is cancelled for the foreseeable future). Why not add non-religious activities? Enter this blog. I’m going to do my best to keep the list updated with new resources for m...
Post a Comment
Read more

T.G.I.F.

Truly, all you amazing parents, WE DID IT! We survived week one of unexpected break. Most of us didn’t have plans to be home and had to work at the same time. Without family and friends, it would be more difficult. Keep supporting one another! Somewhere between keeping the kids out of the cupboards, VCing with the VP, ignoring the 127th time they asked to watch a show, we had some amazing moments. We had bread left in our mailbox by neighbors. We had costume day and found signs of the first day of Spring. We had a virtual HH with coworkers. We put together puzzles, learned how to play monopoly and built LEGO creations worthy of LEGO Masters (slightly biased mom here). We had FaceTime calls with school friends, cousins and grandparents. We sang a song for a friend outside his door and had cousins enact Let It Go on our front sidewalk.  We learned about animals with the Cincinnati Zoo and how to draw with Mo Willems. The house may be a wreck and we are still figuring out how to l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wins & "Opportunities" Day 1

We Survived Day 1 Day one is in the books. I was home on my own, as Nate had to report in, but will be home for two weeks, starting tomorrow. There was less work during working hours and more setting up activity areas, but we survived! Now that dining in at restaurants has ended for a bit and gyms are closed, there are fewer ways to transmit the virus. But also, the LIBRARY closed! My homeschooling friend posted a shot of "This is NOT what homeschooling looks like. We are not normally stuck at home. We normally have access to libraries, museums, zoos and friends." Agreed, we are in unprecedented times. So I learned a few things today: Wins: I got one final trip to Target at 7 am for at least the rest of week one. Donuts are delicious for breakfast - especially ones with St. Patrick's Day Lucky Charms! Boys changed into their clothes FIRST THING after breakfast. Miracle of miracles. They would stay in the same pajamas a week, day and night, if I let them....
Post a Comment
Read more