Preparing for Holy Week

For me, Holy Week is a profoundly significant event in my spiritual life, as it is for many Orthodox Christians. This week is filled with daily services filled with beautiful hymns and readings that remind us in a most personal way of Christ’s love shown in His self-sacrifice on the Cross and His glorious Resurrection. I feel as if I am actively participating in the passion of Christ. Every year, I am changed in some profound way. 

To experience Holy Week we must fully commit ourselves to participate in the many services and practice self-restraint through fasting. As Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans (12: 1-2), we must offer our bodies as a living sacrifice in liturgical worship, and let God re-make us in His image. We must be open to change and continually repent of our sins, recognizing our limitations and celebrating the faith God has given us based on the hope of our resurrection. Don’t allow yourselves to be distracted by those who discourage your full participation, including fasting.

Our souls need this nourishment. The world that surrounds us, even in our church community, can easily distract and discourage us from living an Orthodox Christian life. At times we all fail to recognize our sinfulness and our need for divine help. Paul tells us set aside our exaggerated ideas about our self-importance. We must accept the limits of our being, seek to nourish your soul, and participate fully in this Holy Week. 

In the Orthodox Church, Holy Week begins with Christ's arrival in Jerusalem and includes services that mark the events of His Passion and Resurrection. The beautiful bridegroom services that begin on Sunday evening are filled with beautiful hymns concluding on Tuesday evening  with the moving hymn of Cassiani. On Wednesday, we have the opportunity to receive Holy Unction for the healing of our soul and body.

Thursday marks the initiation of the sacrament of Holy Communion at the Mystical Last Supper which is celebrated with a Divine Liturgy. That evening, we witness the crucifixion as the 12 Gospels are read on His Passion, and we have the opportunity to venerate Christ as He hangs on the Cross in a darkened, candlelit service. On Friday afternoon, we witness His burial, and that evening participate in a solemn procession  singing hymns of lamentation. 

On Saturday, we begin to celebrate Christ’s descent into Hades with a morning liturgy. The climax of the week comes on Saturday evening at midnight when the light of Christ is brought from the altar and passed on to each member, lighting all the candles held by each individual. The church is filled with light, and the glorious sounds of angelic hymns proclaim His Resurrection. This joyful proclamation, "Christ is risen, defeating death by death," fills our hearts and souls with His love and light.

As we enter Holy Week, let us all humble ourselves with restraint, fasting, and extra liturgical worship. Above all, let us remember that our purpose as Orthodox Christians is to become like Christ, to purify our hearts of sinfulness and passions, and to prepare ourselves for eternal life in his Kingdom. The Orthodox way of life supports our efforts toward this aim.

More on the Orthodox way of life. 

Meaning of the Parable of the Fig Tree

On the first day of Holy Week we are confronted with the powerful parable of the fig tree. This is meant to challenge all of us about our weak faith and lax way of life. Are we not like the fig tree, is our parish not like the synagogue of Jesus’ time?

The parable:

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” Matt 21: 18-20

Elder Theophylact provides the interpretation of this parable passed on through the ages by our Church fathers.

The fig tree means the synagogue of the Jews, which has only leaves, that is, the visible letter of the law, but not the fruit of the spirit. But also every man who gives himself over to the sweetness of the present life is likened to a fig tree, who has no spiritual fruit to give to Jesus who is hungry for such fruit, but only leaves, that is, temporal appearances which fall and are gone. This man then hears himself cursed. For Christ says, Go, he accursed, into the fire. But he is also dried up; for as he roasts in the flame, his tongue is parched and withered like that of the rich man in the parable, who in his life had ignored Lazarus.

If we truly examine the way of life in a typical Orthodox parish here in America we should feel the heat. We have many leaves with our rituals and traditions but many lack the Spirit in their lives. Are we not caught up in the materialistic culture of our times and pay little attention to the way of life prescribed by the church to nurture our soul and its connection to the Holy Spirit? Are we satisfied to rely on our own will to do good while ignoring many of His teachings? Do we neglect the Orthodox way of life based on prayer and fasting, repentance, regular participation with humility in the Sacraments, studying the Holy Scriptures and writings of the Church fathers?

We need to ask ourselves, are we on the path to theosis or just self-satisfaction. Do we have only bold green leaves or do we bear fruit feeling the Holy Spirit working actively within us leading us to do His will. 

It is never too late to change our ways to avoid being “withered” and cast into the “flame.” Our God is merciful and always seeking our humility and repentance.

Our aim is to seek the Holy Spirit, so I@t rather than our “I”, or ego is motivating our way of life.

References: The Explanation of the Holy Gospel According to Matthew, by Blessed Theophylact, p 179

Ten Points for an Orthodox Way of Life

Descent into Hades

On Great and Holy Saturday the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord's descent into Hades, the place of the dead. Death, our ultimate enemy, is defeated from within. 

"He (Christ) gave Himself as a ransom to death in which we were held captive, sold under sin. Descending into Hades through the Cross ... He loosed the bonds of death" (Liturgy of St. Basil).

Hades is a place of captivity, where souls are held in bondage because of sin. But, by receiving the soul of Christ, Hades is no longer a place of captivity for its bonds were destroyed and death itself is overcome. Hades has become for the faithful an irrelevant place, the dwelling place only for Satan and his demons,

On this Sabbath Jesus Christ in the tomb was changing the tomb from a place of death into a source of life. Likewise His soul was destroying Hades, and leading the souls of the righteous out of that place of bondage into the eternal freedom of the Kingdom of heaven.

Let's ask ourselves: Are we alive in Christ? Despite the daily difficulties, the traumas and tragedies, the abiding presence of sickness and aging, the reality of death and hell, and all the distress of our human condition, can we say we are at peace in Christ?

He can be with us in the face of all sorrows if we walk in His way — if we follow Him out of Hades, out of the bondage to sin. He will overcome all sorrow for us, if we walk with Him and keep His commandments. On Wednesday we have the service of Holy Unction because it emphasizes the expectation of Pascha: the resurrection, redemption and sanctification of all life. The purpose of Holy Unction is healing and forgiveness. It allows a person to share in the victory of Christ and raise him to the level of God's kingdom. It assures us of the spiritual power of the sacraments of the Church so that our trials of physical and spiritual sickness can be carried with courage and hope. it helps us to realize how fragile human life really is and how dependent we are on God. In this sacrament we are sanctified and united to the sufferings of Christ which we will witness in the coming days.

Great Saturday is the day between Jesus' death and His resurrection. It is the day of watchful expectation, in which mourning is being transformed into joy.

The hymnographer of the Church has penetrated the profound mystery, and helps us to understand it through the following poetic dialogue that he has devised between Jesus and His Mother:

Weep not for me, O Mother, beholding in the sepulcher the Son whom thou hast conceived without seed in thy womb. For I shall rise and shall be glorified, and as God I shall exalt in everlasting glory those who magnify thee with faith and love.

"O Son without beginning, in ways surpassing nature was I blessed at Thy strange birth, for I was spared all travail. But now beholding Thee, my God, a lifeless corpse, I am pierced by the sword of bitter sorrow. But arise, that I may be magnified."

"By mine own will the earth covers me, O Mother, but the gatekeepers of hell tremble as they see me, clothed in the bloodstained garment of vengeance: for on the Cross as God have I struck down mine enemies, and I shall rise again and magnify thee."

"Let the creation rejoice exceedingly, let all those born on earth be glad: for hell, the enemy, has been despoiled. Ye women, come to meet me with sweet spices: for I am delivering Adam and Eve with all their offspring, and on the third day I shall rise again."

The Lamentations

Jesus Christ was broken on the Cross, but He was not divided. His body and His soul were wrenched apart in death — death on a Cross — but they were not divided because both His body and His soul were united to the divinity of the Son of God.

This profound mystery is true for us also because we, too, are united to Jesus Christ in Holy Baptism, sealed with the Holy Spirit in Holy Chrismation, brought back to Him in Holy Confession, and kept in enduring communion with Him through the Holy Eucharist. These Mysteries, or Sacraments are not merely "spiritual" but they are completely holistic since they unite us body and soul to God. And if we have been so united to Him in this life, then at our death, the separation of our body and soul is not fearful, but merely a transition from earthly to heavenly life.

Death therefore has no more hold on us than it does on Jesus Christ — if we are sacramentally in union with him. Estrangement from the Church, alienation from the sacraments, distance from Christ, is the worst possible thing: it is living death.

Contemplating the iconographic image of the kouvouklion (tomb of Christ with the Epitaphion) set before us tonight, we see that Life is in the tomb, not death; Hades is emptied, not holding the souls of the righteous. The Soul of Jesus destroys the power of Hades, leading out the souls of the righteous into the Kingdom of heaven. This reality is celebrated tonight, and the great resurrection we will experience on Pascha is foreshadowed. This reality is beautifully expressed in the following hymn from the Ninth Ode of the Kanon, sung in the voice of Jesus speaking to His Mother:

"Lament not for Me, Mother, as you behold Me in the grave, Whom as a Son you conceived in your womb without seed; for I shall rise and be glorified, and as God, I shall ceaselessly exalt in glory those, who in faith and yearning, magnify you." (Katavasia of the Ninth Ode of the Kanon) 

Let us, then, stand and sing out in rejoicing the Resurrection hymn:

When You descended to the realm of death, • You as life immortal • rendered to Hades a mortal blow • by Your all-radiant divinity; • and when You from infernal depths and the darkness below did raise the dead, • all the hosts of heavens powers did proclaim and cry out: • O life-giving Christ • and our God, we give glory.

The Crucifixion

Below are excerpts from a Sermon On Holy Thursday Night by Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver.

The purpose of this service is to bring us as close to "being there" on Calvary as possible. With the centurion and his soldiers we are amazed. With the Angels we are astounded. With Mary His Mother and His other relatives we are heartbroken. Perhaps with the leaders of the people we are skeptical and maybe even mock the Lord by our hardness of heart and our sinful ways.

The focus of the service is, obviously, on death — an unnatural condition for mankind, for God created man but did not create death. 

We read in the Old Testament Wisdom of Solomon:

"God did not make death, and He does not delight in the death of the living, for He created all things that they might exist ... But through the devil's envy death entered the world." (Wisdom 1:13-14, 2:24)

Old Testament Wisdom of Solomon:

"God created man for incorruption and made him in the image of His own eternity ... But ungodly men by their words and deeds summoned death." (Wisdom 2:23, 1:16)

The truth is that death is unnatural, indeed it is an abomination of God's creation. It is a consequence of our alienation from God, it results from falling short of the Glory of God, it is the ultimate failure to choose God Who is Life.

Saint Paul states in his Epistle to the Romans:

"It was through one man (Adam) that sin entered the world and through sin death, and thus death pervaded the whole human race." (Romans 5:12)

By embracing death Jesus destroyed death. By embracing death Jesus joined death to Himself the Living One. By embracing death Jesus poured divine Life into death. Jesus destroyed death itself by His own death on the Cross.

Jesus Christ, the God-man, experienced the full horror of death. His cry, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me" clearly expresses that death is a bad thing; those who live in a culture of death and nihilism do not know what they are doing n or what abomination and horror they are heaping upon themselves.

Yet, Jesus "perfected" death. His last word was "Tetelestai," in Latin "Perficium est;" in English, "It is finished." In other words, Jesus fulfilled and perfected His redemptive mission, accepting the full consequences of human sin, death itself, though He Himself was sinless.

The death of a man is radical "unfulfillment." It is the end of earthly life, and the disintegration (or bodily decomposition) of the image and likeness of God in which we are all fashioned. Paradoxically, the death of Jesus Christ is radical "fulfillment." In Christ death was joined to life, and the possibility of recomposition and resurrection to the image of God became a real possibility.
In the Old Testament Job asked: "If a man dies, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14). The answer is a resounding Yes! Jesus stood by two dead bodies — the daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow in Nain — and restored them to life. Jesus also stood before the tomb of Lazarus who had been dead four days, recomposed his soul and body, and resurrected him. Jesus was crucified on the Cross, raised up from the earth, embraced death, and destroyed death by His rising on the third day.

"If a man dies, shall he live again?" In Christ Jesus: ABSOLUTELY!

What does this mean for the human race? Even if physical sickness, aging, and death still appear to reign on earth, they are no longer the final stage in a long disintegrating and destructive process. Death is not a passage from life in this world to eternal death or annihilation. After Christ death is merely the indispensable doorway, the sure sign of our "Pascha" — of our passing from this life to eternal life.

We celebrate tonight that fact Christ has joined Himself to death: We have heard it in the Gospels, we have seen it in the procession, we have embraced it in faith, and we cry out:

Today is hung upon the Tree, He Who suspended the earth in the midst of the waters. A crown of thorns crowns Him, Who is King of the angels. The purple of mockery is wrapped about Him, Who wrapped the heavens in clouds. Nails transfixed Him, Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. A spear pierced Him, Who is the Son of the Virgin. (Audio) 

Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver  Ref

Power of Sanctified Oil.

On Wednesday we have the service of Holy Unction because it emphasizes the expectation of Pascha: the resurrection, redemption and sanctification of all life. The purpose of Holy Unction is healing and forgiveness. It allows a person to share in the victory of Christ and raise him to the level of God's kingdom. It assures us of the spiritual power of the sacraments of the Church so that our trials of physical and spiritual sickness can be carried with courage and hope. It helps us to realize how fragile human life really is and how dependent we are on God. In this sacrament we are sanctified and united to the sufferings of Christ which we will witness in the coming days.

The biblical basis for the Sacrament is found in James:

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:13-17)

Its place in Holy Week is connected with the Gospel account read at the Presanctified Liturgy earlier in the day where the woman poured "very costly fragrant oil" on the head of Christ while He was at dinner on this very evening of Holy Wednesday with Simon the Leper, the father of Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead.

"And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table." (Matthew 26:6-7)

As Jesus had healed Simon of physical leprosy, the repentant harlot hoped to be healed of her spiritual "leprosy." The connection between this Gospel account and the anointing "for the forgiveness of sins and the healing of the body is obvious.

Throughout Great Lent we have been preparing to celebrate the Passion of Christ and especially the great Feast of Pascha through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Tonight we prepare to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the morning honoring the establishment of the Mystical Supper. At the very least we should receive Holy Unction for the forgiveness of sins and the health of soul and body.

The Virgins and the Oil Lamps

On Holy Tuesday the Church calls to remembrance the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-3); the other the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) pointing to the inevitability of the Parousia and the need for proper preparation and vigilance.

We learn at least two basic things. First, Judgment Day will be like the situation in which the bridesmaids (or virgins) of the parable found themselves: some had sufficient oil and were prepared which others did not have enough and their lamps went out before the bridegroom came.  The time one prepares for our union with God is now and not at some undefined point in the future. 

Those who did not properly prepare went back to get more oil but when they returned the door to the banquet was closed to them. The tragedy of the closed door is this situation is of our own making, not God's. Those who were prepared entered without any problem and joined in the feast.  The exclusion from the marriage feast, the kingdom, is of our own making. Second, we are reminded that watchfulness  signifies inner tranquility and joy coupled with attentiveness and vigilance. We must have the personal resolve to find and do the will of God, embrace all His commandments and guard the heart and mind from all evil thoughts and actions. 

What is the meaning of the Oil in this parable?  Some say it a symbol of good works but its more than this.  

Saint Seraphim of Sarov says,

These virgins did good, and out of their spiritual foolishness supposed that doing good was exactly the point of Christianity. They did good works and by this obeyed God, but they did not care in the least beforehand whether they had received or reached the grace of God's Spirit…

It is more than good works that is expected of us.  Its the grace of the Holy Spirit that is essential––this is the Oil. He continues,

This very gaining of the Holy Spirit is that oil which the foolish virgins lacked. They were called foolish because they forgot about the necessary fruit of virtue, the grace of the Holy Spirit, without which no one is saved and no one can be saved, for: ‘it is by the Holy Spirit that any soul is vitalized and exalted in chastity, and any soul is lit by the Trinitarian unity in holy mysteries’...

What is this market place where the foolish virgins went to get their oil?  What was the closed door?

 The foolish virgins, seeing that their lamps were going out, went to the marketplace to buy oil but would not come back in time, for the doors were already shut. The marketplace is our life; the door of the house of marriage (that was shut and did not lead to the Bridegroom) is our human death; wise and foolish virgins are Christian souls; the oil is not works but the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God which is received through these works, and which converts things perishable into things imperishable, transforms spiritual death into spiritual life, darkness into light, the manger of our being, with passions tied like cattle and beasts, into the Divine Temple, into the glorious palace of never-ending rejoicing in Christ Jesus."   Ref

Again, in a powerful way, through this service we are reminded of the task we have now, to unite with the Holy Spirit, to find Theosis, and maintain it in our life constantly.

Meaning of the "Bridegroom"

During the first three nights of Holy Week we are reminded of the Second Coming of Christ. These are called the Bridegroom services. Why the Bridegroom?

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king, who gave a wedding feast for his son” (Matt. 22:2).

A wedding is traditionally celebrated with a grand feast and a most joyous time.  Christ is the Bridegroom and we are His bride.  He invites us all to a great feast in His kingdom of heaven.  When the Bride accept one in marriage the Bridegroom pledges His inheritance and glory.  It is a union where two become one.  As we join with Him as His bride we become one just like the bride and groom become one in the marriage ceremony.  But with this invitation  comes a warning. In the words of the King, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy” (Matt. 22:8).

It is us who are not worthy?  Will we be accep[ted in His Kingdom.  Will we become His bride?  On one of several occasions, the Lord was asked why His disciples did not observe the prescribed fasting periods of the Jewish faith, Christ responded, "Can you make wedding guests fast, when the bridegroom is with them (Luke 5:34)?" And He went on to say, "The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them... (Luke 5:35)."

In the Bridegroom services celebrated on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings we sing this hymn:

Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night, and blessed is the servant He shall find vigilant; but unworthy is he whom he shall find neglectful. Beware therefore, O my soul, lest you be weighed down by sleep, lest you be given over to death and be closed out from the kingdom; but rise up crying out: "Holy! Holy! Holy are You our God; through the intercessions of the Theotokos, have mercy on us." (Audio with Fr. Serpahim Dedes)

Its a warning. We are reminded that we must be ever ready as we do not know when the time will come when we will be called to join with Him in eternal life.  Will we be properly clothed for the wedding banquet?  Will we even be invited. 


On Sunday night the icon is brought onto the Solea in a procession and after the Gospel is read, we sing:

I see Thy Bridal Chamber adorned, O Saviour, and I have no wedding garment that I may enter therein;  (Audio with fr. Seraphim Dedes)

What is this wedding garment? It is our purity of heart demonstrated by the fruit we bear.  


One of the Gospels lessons (Matthew 21:18-20) of these services is the lesson is about the barren fig tree, which Christ cursed and withered because it bore no fruit.  The fig tree is a parable of those who have heard God's word, but who fail to bear the fruit of obedience.  Originally the withering of the fig tree was a testimony against those Jews who rejected God's word and His Messiah.  However, it is also a warning to all people, in all times, of the importance of not only hearing the God's word, but putting it into action. Those who belong to Christ ought to live and walk in the Spirit; and the Spirit will bear fruit in them: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-25).


These services set the important tone of repentance which we all need to be accepted in His kingdom.  Its a sobering message in preparation for the Passion of Christ where the services dramatically lead us though the incredible suffering He went through for us.  It demonstrates His extreme humility which he expects us to also have as our wedding garment.

This icon is the focus of the service.

The icon depicts Christ as the Bridegroom of the Church, bearing the marks of his suffering, yet preparing the way for a marriage feast in his Kingdom. It portrays Christ during His Passion, particularly during the period when our Lord was mocked and tortured by the soldiers who crowned Him with thorns, dressed Him in purple and placed a reed in His Hands, jeering Him as the "King of the Jews." . The crown of thorns is a symbol of his marriage to the Church and His suffering. The rope around His hands is a symbol of bondage to sin, death and corruption which was loosed with Christ's death on the Cross. And the reed is a symbol of his humility; God rules his kingdom with humility. The imagery connotes the final union of the Lover and the beloved. The title Bridegroom also suggest the Parousia.

He invites us to become His Bride and to be properly prepared.

Here is a final thought by Elder Ephraim:

In this life that we live, man labors to become rich, to become educated, to have an easy life, to become great; but unfortunately, death comes and foils everything. Then what he labored for all his life is taken by others, while he leaves life with a guilty conscience and a soiled soul. Who is wise and will understand these things and will renounce them and follow Christ the Bridegroom, so that all the works he will do will be recompensed infinitely in His kingdom?

Always, my daughter, remember death and the judgment of God which we will unavoidably undergo. Bear them in mind to have more fear of God, and weep for your sins, because tears console the soul of him who weeps.

Listen to Moving Hymn sung during the procession the Cross on Thursday Evening By Metropolitan Alexios

"Today is hung upon the Tree, He Who did hang the land in the midst of the waters. A Crown of thorns crowns Him Who is King of Angels. He is wrapped about with the purple of mockery Who wrapped the Heavens with clouds. He received buffetings Who freed Adam in Jordan. He was transfixed with nails Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a spear Who is the Son of the Virgin. We worship Thy Passion, O Christ. Show also unto us thy glorious Resurrection."

Link to above hymn chanted by Metropolitan Alexios at the Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral 2007 - Very moving

During this service all the Passion Gospels are read:
1) Jn. 13:31-18:1 (Farewell conversation of the Savior with His disciples and His high-priestly prayer for them).5
2) Jn. 18:1-28 (the Seizure of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and His suffering at the hands of the high priest Annas).
3) Mt. 26:57-75. (Suffering of the Savior at the hands of the high priest Caiaphas and Peter's denial of Christ).
4) Jn. 18:28-19:16 (Suffering of the Lord in the court of Pilate).
5) Mt. 27:3-32 (The despair of Judas by the new suffering of the Lord by Pilate and the judgment for His crucifixion).
6) Mk. 15:16-32 (Leading the Lord to Golgotha and his suffering on the cross).
7) Mt. 27:33-54 (The continuation of the narrative about the Lord's suffering on the cross,
the wonderful signs accompanying His death).
8) Lk. 23:32-49 (The Prayer of the Savior on the cross for His enemies and the repentance of the wise thief).
9) Jn. 19:25-37 (Words of the Savior from the cross to the Theotokos and Apostle John
and the repetition of the narrative of His death and perforation).
10) Mk. 15:43-47 (Removal of the body of the Lord from the cross).
11) Jn. 19:38-42 (Participation of Nicodemus and Joseph in the burial of the Savior).
12) Mt. 27:62-66 (Posting of the guards at the tomb of the Savior and the sealing of the tomb).

After the 5th Gospel there is a procession where the priest carries the cross around the Nave and places it on the solea where the figure of Christ is nailed to it. The above hymn is what is chanted by the Priest.

During the Procession, Orthodox Christians kneel and venerate the Cross and pray for their spiritual well-being, imitating the thief on the Cross who confessed his faith and devotion to Christ. The faithful then approach and reverently kiss the Crucifix which has been placed at the front of the church.

Hymn of Cassiane

The beautiful hymn written by Saint Cassianne who give voice to the sinful woman described in Luke's Gospel (7:36-50) who anointed Christ's feet with oil after washing them with her tears in repentance is sung by the Saint George Choir.

Hymn of Cassiane - Tone 8: Link to audio of hymn sung by Saint George Choir followed by commentary by Father Tom Pistolis.

The woman who had fallen into many sins, perceiving Your divinity, O Lord, Received the dignity of a myrrh-bearer, For with lamentation she brought fragrant myrrh to You before Your burial. And she cried: Woe is me, for love of sin and stings of lustful passion envelop me as the night, dark and moonless. As You cause the clouds to drop down the waters of the sea, accept the fountain of my tears. As by Your indescribable condescension You bowed down the heavens, so incline to the groaning of my heart. I shall kiss Your most pure feet and wipe them with the hair of my head, Those same feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise when she hid herself in fear. Who can count the multitude of my sins? Who can measure the depths of Your judgements, O Saviour of my soul? Do not turn away from me, Your servant, for You have immeasurable mercy.

Bridegroom Services

The Gospel of the ten virgins provides the theme for the Bridegroom Services.

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Mt. 25:1-13).

St Seraphim of Sarov's interprets the parable of the ten virgins:
"In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, when the foolish ones ran short of oil, they were told: "Go and buy in the market." But when they had bought it, the door of the bride-chamber was already shut and they could not get in. Some say that the lack of oil in the lamps of the foolish virgins means a lack of good deeds in their lifetime. Such an interpretation is not quite correct. Why should they be lacking in good deeds, if they are called virgins, even though foolish ones? Virginity is the supreme virtue, an angelic state, and it could take the place of all other good works.

"I think that what they were lacking was the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God. These virgins practiced the virtues, but in their spiritual ignorance they supposed that the Christian life consisted merely in doing good works. By doing a good deed they thought they were doing the work of God, but they cared little whether they acquired the grace of God's Spirit. These ways of life, based merely on doing good, without carefully testing whether they bring the grace of the Spirit of God, are mentioned in the patristic books: "There is another way which is deemed good in the beginning, but ends at the bottom of hell."

"Anthony the Great in his letters to monks says of such virgins: "Many monks and virgins have no idea of the different kinds of will which act in man, and they do not know that we are influenced by three wills: the first is God's all-perfect and all-saving will; the second is our own human will which, if not destructive, neither is it saving; and the third will is the devil's will - wholly destructive." This third will of the enemy prompts man to do any no good deeds, or to do them good out of vanity, or merely for virtue's sake rather than for Christ's sake. The second, our own will, prompts us to do everything to flatter our passions, or else it teaches us like the enemy, to do good for the sake of good and not care for the grace which is acquired by it. But the first, God's all-saving will, consists in doing good solely to acquire the Holy Spirit, as an eternal, inexhaustible treasure which is priceless. The acquisition of the Holy Spirit is, in a manner of speaking, the oil, which the foolish virgins lacked. They were called foolish just because they had forgotten the necessary fruit of virtue, the grace of the Holy Spirit, , without which no one is or can be saved, for: "Through the Holy Spirit every soul is quickened and through purification is exalted and illumined by the Triune Unity in a Holy mystery."

"The oil in the lamps of the wise virgins could burn brightly for a long time. So these virgins, with their bright lamps were able to meet the Bridegroom, who came at midnight. With Him, they could enter the bridal chamber of joy. But the foolish ones, though they went to market to buy more oil, when their lamps were going out, were unable to return in time, for the door was already shut. The market is our life; the door of the bridal chamber, which was shut and barred the way to the Bridegroom is human death; the wise and foolish virgins are Christian souls; the oil is not the good deeds, but the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God which is obtained through good deeds and which changes souls from one state to another - such as, from a corruptible state to incorruptible state, from spiritual death to spiritual life, from darkness to light, from the stable of our being (where the passions are tied up like dumb animals and wild beasts) into a temple of the Divinity, the shining bridal chamber of eternal joy in Christ Jesus our Lord, the Creator, Redeemer and eternal Bridegroom of our souls.