On April 18, 2025 — Great and Holy Friday — the Church commemorates the Holy and Saving Passions and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty, Great Vespers with the bringing out of the Holy Epitaphios and Matins with the Burial Rite of the Savior were celebrated.
Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan prayed during the services.
According to tradition, Great Vespers on this day is celebrated earlier than usual — at the hour of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross — in remembrance of His Passion, the removal of His Body from the Cross, and His burial.
Following the Entrance with the Gospel, three Old Testament readings are proclaimed — from Exodus, Job, and the Prophet Isaiah — which prophetically foreshadow the sufferings of the Redeemer of the world. The faithful then hear an Epistle reading from the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18–2:2) about the Divine power and wisdom revealed in the Cross of Christ, as well as a composite Gospel reading concerning the final hours of Christ’s earthly life and His crucifixion (Mt. 27:1–43; Lk. 23:39–43; Mt. 27:45–54; Jn. 19:31–37; Mt. 27:55–61).
At the conclusion of Vespers, during the singing of the troparion “The Noble Joseph…,” in a procession with lit candles and incense, the clergy solemnly brought forth from the Altar — as from Golgotha — the Epitaphios, the embroidered icon depicting the burial of Christ. It was reverently placed in a flower-adorned tomb in the center of the church. Censers with glowing charcoal and incense were placed on either side.
After the bringing out of the Epitaphios, the canon “On the Crucifixion of the Lord and the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos” was read. This deeply moving hymn, composed in the 10th century by Saint Symeon Metaphrastes, gives voice to the sorrowful lament of the Theotokos addressed to Her suffering and dying Son on the Cross.
Immediately following the canon, the service continued with Matins featuring the Burial Rite of the Lord Jesus Christ. This Matins of Holy Saturday commemorates Christ’s descent into Hades and His victory over death.
After the singing of the troparia at “God is the Lord,” the clergy, standing before the Epitaphios of the Savior, chanted the Lamentations — verses from the 17th kathisma interwoven with brief praises honoring the Lord “Who was numbered among the dead.” After the Great Doxology and the chanting of “Holy God,” the Epitaphios was carried in a solemn procession around the church amid the tolling of funeral bells — in remembrance of the Lord’s descent into Hades and His triumph over death.
At the end of the procession, the following were proclaimed before the Epitaphios: the prophecy of Ezekiel regarding the resurrection of the dead (Ezek. 37:1–14); a passage from the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and Galatians (1 Cor. 6:7–8; Gal. 4:13–14) on the fruits of Christ’s death; and the Gospel passage about the sealing of the Lord’s tomb by the chief priests and the placing of the guard (Mt. 27:62–66).
During the singing of the sticheron “Come, let us bless the ever-memorable Joseph,” clergy and faithful venerated the Holy Epitaphios.
The Epitaphios will remain in the center of the church until the Paschal Matins, symbolizing the Lord Jesus Christ’s three-day burial in the tomb.
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