Holy Week in the Eastern Churches In the Byzantine and Maronite Rites, Holy Week really begins the day before Palm Sunday with Lazarus Saturday. On this day, the Gospel account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is read. What was the response to His raising of Lazarus? The crowds heard of the raising of Lazarus, and greeted Jesus in the next chapter of John's Gospel, on Palm Sunday, with adulation as he entered Jerusalem. In both the Maronite and Byzantine Rites, the Gospel account of Christ's entry into Jerusalem after His raising of Lazarus is read on Palm Sunday, hence the name "palm" from the palms that the Hebrew children laid on the road in front of Him as He entered the Holy City. The Eastern Rites, however, do not follow the curious Western custom of reading the account of Christ's Passion on Palm Sunday and then repeating it on Good Friday-the Eastern Liturgies follow a more logical timeline with regard to the sacred events of Holy Week. In the Traditional Latin Mass, the account of Christ's entry into Jerusalem is read at the blessing of the palms and procession, but the Passion is read during Mass. In the Maronite Rite, both palm and olive branches are distributed during the Palm Sunday procession-this was also the ancient Latin custom, and prayers for the blessing of both are found in the Traditional Latin Missal. Palm branches symbolize martyrdom, in this case that of Christ himself, therefore sorrow, and olive branches symbolize the oil of unction and the joy that flows from the grace of the sacraments, which are the fruits of Christ's martyrdom on the Cross and of His Resurrection.
Re: Holy Week in the Eastern Churches Troparion of Lazarus Saturday
O Christ our God, when Thou didst raise Lazarus from the dead, before the time of Thy Passion, Thou didst confirm the future resurrection of us all. We too, like the children of old, carry before Thee the symbols of Thy triumph and victory, and cry out to Thee, the Conquerer of Death, "Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!"
Shortly after Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire, a custom began at the very place where Christ entered Jerusalem. The Gospel was read of Christ's entry into Jerusalem (John 12:1-18), the same Gospel that is read in the Eastern Churches today; then a bishop, riding a donkey and surrounded by multitudes of people carrying palms and singing hymns, went up to the Church of the Resurrection. All the other Eastern Churches eventually adopted the custom of the procession, and the Roman Church eventually adopted it also in the year 1039.
Byzantine Liturgy:
Antiphon at Vespers, Palm Sunday
O evil and aduterous generation, why have you treated your Lord so faithlessly? How can you cling to the Old Testament, and not become heirs of its promises? How can you glory in the Father, but reject the Son? Why have you rejected the Prophet's words which proclaim Him? Your own children sang to your shame today: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord!
Kontakion of the Divine Liturgy
Sitting on Thy throne in heaven, carried on a foal on earth, O Christ our God, accept the praise of angels and the songs of children who sing: Blessed is He who comes to recall Adam!
Re: Holy Week in the Eastern Churches Maronite Rite:
Holy Wednesday
Coming to the Harbor
Rite of the Lamp
In the Maronite Rite, there is a beautiful office and Divine Liturgy for the first three days of Holy Week, and in particular on Holy Wednesdy, that is called the rite of "Coming to the Harbor" and the "Rite of the Lamp". The "harbor" refers to the harbor of grace, that mankind comes, or returns to, through the Redemption that we celebrate during Holy Week. The 'lamp' refers to the lamp of grace that is symbolized by the oil lamps that the wise virgins held while waiting for the bridegroom (who, of course, is Christ.)
On Holy Wednesday, during the Divine Liturgy oil is blessed, and taken home by the faithful, which repersents the inner anointing of grace, and dough is blessed and taken home, consumed by the faithful to symbolize the leaven of grace and God's Word.
Qolo-Aramaic Hymn for Holy Wednesday
O Christ, the Medicine of Truth, Thou didst humble Thyself towards earthly things, and healed the sufferings and sicknesses of the human race; heal us, O Lord, as we bow before Thee. Remove from us, by Thy mercy, trials, distress, and grievous pains.
In Thy kindness, forgive the hidden blemishes of our souls. And when we are healed in soul and body, we will give praise and thanks to Thy unlimited grace throughout all the ages and ages. Amen.
Proemion
May we offer glory, praise and honor to the Sea of Mercy and Compassion, the ever-flowing Spring of blessings, and to the One who promised the heavenly kingdom for those who work in the vineyard of justice and truth. To Christ, the Good One, are due glory and honor now, and always, and through the ages of ages. Amen.
Re: Holy Week in the Eastern Churches Rite of the Lamp
I attended the Rite of the Lamp-Coming to the Harbor liturgy Wednesday night. One intersting thing about this liturgy is the similarity that it has with the Byzantine Rite-the way that the litanies, responses, and tones are arranged are almost identical to the Byzantine Rite-this must mean that the ceremonies are very old and go back to the time before the Westernization of the Maronite Liturgy.
Sedro (excerpt)
O Immortal One, through Thy death Thou didst give life to our race. Send down Thy love toward our feeble supplications. O Son of God, Thou didst will to give us life and died for our sake. Hear the petitions that we bring before Thee. O Full Treasury, from which all who are needy may take, grant our request which we ask of Thee. Accept the incense which we offer before Thy majesty; and by it, may the abundance of Thy fragrant mercies rest upon us.
Re: Holy Week in the Eastern Churches Holy Thursday
Byzantine Rite
Today, either the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated, or the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil is offered in conjunction with Vespers.
Troparion
While the glorious disciples were being enlightened at the evening washing of the feet, Judas, sick with the love of silver, turned into a betrayer. He delivered Thee, the supremely Just Judge, to judges without justice. All you who love riches, think and meditate on the man who hung himself for this very love: avoid all those who dare to betray the Master. O Lord, Who art All-Goodness to all men, glory be to Thee!
Maronite Rite
The order of the liturgy in the Maronite Rite follows closely that of the Latin Church. The Washing of the Feet takes place before the Mass, and the Blessed Sacrament is brought in procession to an altar of repose, where adoration takes place, usually until the Divine Office is sung the next morning, and the altar is stripped. The Latin influence on the Maronite Rite is very obvious here.
Re: Holy Week in the Eastern Churches Good Friday
Maronite & Byzantine Rites
In the Byzantine Rite, most weekdays during Lent are aliturgical days, meaning that the Divine liturgy, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as the Latin Church denotes it, is not offered. On most Lenten weekdays, if any liturgical service is offered, it is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts-the presanctified gifts refer to the Blessed Sacrament that was consecrated during previous Divine Liturgies, and distributed to the faithful on these days.
The custom of the Latin Church, which also continued after Vatican II, is that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered every day of the year except Good Friday, when the Mass of the Presanctified is offered-prayers for the welfare of the Church and the world and the reading of the Passion, along with veneration of the Cross and the distribution of Communion which was consecrated at a previous Mass. The Maronite Church follows the Latin custom in this matter; however, their Mass of the Presanctified has some distinct Maronite characteristics-a black coffin is processed around the church three times for the veneration of the faithful, as the mournful and unique Maronite Good Friday hymns are sung-Mel Gibson, when planning the movie Passion of the Christ, consulted with professors at the Maronite College in Rome and used some of the concepts from the Maronite Good Friday Liturgy in the Way of the Cross in the movie. The Passion from all four gospels is read, and it is the only day of the year that readings from the Old Testament appear in the Liturgy-the prophecies of Isaiah about the suffering servant. Maronites have a peculiar devotion to this day-in the parish in Houston Good Friday is by far the most well attended liturgy of any day of the year-many more people are in church on Good Friday than on Easter! There is barely room to stand, even in our new and spacious church. The Holy Cross is venerated as in the Latin Rite.
The Byzantine Rite sets aside Good Friday as a non-liturgical day, although there is an evening office that has some similarity to the Maronite.
The format of the Good Friday Mass of the Presanctified in the Latin Church has very curious origins. Much of this has been retained in the Novus Ordo, but to really understand this you should look at the Traditional Latin Missal-the format for this day's liturgy is very ancient-if you will notice there is a number of intercessory prayers for many things that is unique in the Latin Church-this is because the Good Friday Liturgy is still basically the same as it was when Greek was the liturgical language of the church in Rome, and the Latin and Byzantine Liturgies were much more similar than they are today-this is why the intercessory prayers have a curious Byzantine character to them, and several hymns are sung in Greek and in Latin, such as the Trisagion, reflecting the very ancient customs of the Church of Rome.
