A BRIEF SUMMARY ABOUT HOLY WEEK
Rev. Fr.
Joseph C. Joseph
Holy
Week starts on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday.
This is the last week of the traditional fifty-day Lent.
Through lent, sermons, prayers, and services, the church prepares the
faithful for Holy Week. This is the time we celebrate five important events in
the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ.
During Holy Week, certain changes occur in the prayers and in the Holy
Qurbana. The differences include
the beginning prayer "kauma" (devamme
nee parishuthan akunnu) which changes to a different "kauma" for
each day, according to the events that occurred.
Other significant differences include: No prayers to Mary (Virgin
Mary Full of Grace/Krupa Niranya Mariam),
there is no peace giving in the Holy Qurbana, and there is no kissing of the
hands (Kai Muthu) of the Bishop or
priest conducting the services. (The
faithful believers kiss the hand of the priest or bishop is to receive
blessings. This is a tradition of the Syrian Orthodox Church and most of the
Eastern Orthodox Churches. Priests
and bishops are considered the messenger (Malachi
2: 7) of God and during the Eucharistic Service they touch the body and
blood of Christ. It is considered a blessing to kiss the hands, which handled
the holy mysteries.)
1.
Palm Sunday
Palm
Sunday is the day Jesus Christ entered in to the city of Jerusalem as the
Messiah, the King of Israel. The
people received news that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem for the feast of the
great Passover and they went to see Him.
Perhaps, they heard good things about Jesus, because He was associated
with everyone, regardless of their wealth and status. He performed many miracles
including the raising of Lazarus from the tomb after four days of his death.
When the people saw him riding on a donkey into the city, they were
filled with joy (believing that He would rescue them from the current rein of
the king). The Holy Spirit embraced them and they Proclaimed, “Hosanna” (praise
to the Lord), with branches from olive trees and palm leaves.
They received Him as the King of Israel, the Messiah, and the one the
people had eagerly been waiting for to redeem them from the rulers.
They had anticipated Him to establish a New Kingdom in Jerusalem. Even
with the objections of the high priests and the elders of Israel, the people
welcomed Jesus with open arms. This
was the fulfillment of the Prophesy made by the Prophet Zechariah (Zechariah
9:9). Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-17.
We
commemorate this day in the church with special services.
The people of the church participate in a procession, while holding palm
leaves. The ceremony includes
blessing the palm leaves and requesting the faithful to hold the palm leaves
until the conclusion of the Holy Qurbana. These
events symbolize our readiness and eagerness to receive our Lord Jesus Christ in
the Second Coming. Our hearts and
spirit should be as enthusiastic and prepared to receive Jesus, just as the
people of Jerusalem during the first Palm Sunday.
2.
The Last Supper
During
Holy Week we celebrate the establishment of the Holy Eucharist (The Holy Qurbana).
This day is commonly known as the Last Supper, because Jesus had his Last
Supper with his disciples on Wednesday during the Holy Week. The Orthodox Church
gives the most importance to this day, as it is a new beginning of a new
covenant. Jesus Christ celebrated the great Passover with the old
tradition of the killing of the lamb, which was started from the last day of the
captivity of Israel in Egypt, by the commandment of God through Moses
The
day before the great feast of Passover, Jesus asked his disciples to prepare the
Passover feast and they did just as He requested.
Jesus celebrated the feast with his disciples the traditional way, except
they used the leavened bread instead of the unleavened bread because He
celebrated a day earlier than the real Passover. (According to the Passover
tradition, any bread made before the actual day of Passover must be the leavened
bread. This is the Orthodox Faith).
During this supper, Jesus took the bread, blessed (consecrated) and said,
“this is my Body eat of it”, likewise He took the Cup (wine) blessed
(consecrated) and gave it to them, and said “ drink of it, this is my blood,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins and eternal life”.
He asked them to do this in remembrance of Him until His Second Coming.
Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-25,
Luke 22:19-21, 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26.
Jesus
Christ instituted the first Eucharist in the upper room of the house of St.
Mark. For the Holy Qurbana,
in our church we are using specially leavened wheat bread made with a special
seal with thirteen crosses on it. Twelve
of the crosses are small and one large cross, resembling Jesus Christ and His
twelve apostles. Priests or deacons freshly make the bread on the same day of
the service. We believe the
consecrated bread and wine (the holy mysteries) are the body and blood of Christ
not the resemblance as believed in many other churches.
The faithful should not receive the Holy Mysteries without proper
preparation, dedication, self-examination, and confession.
(1 Corinthians 11:27).
Good
Friday is another important day during Holy Week.
The Orthodox Church gives much importance to the day.
In our church we have the longest services for Good Friday commemorating
Jesus’ suffering and struggle endured on this day. We call this day "dukkavelliazha"
(sad Friday) in Malayalam. Why
is it a Good Friday in English and a sad Friday in Malayalam?
Jesus
came to the world to provide salvation and remission of sins to mankind with His
blood. He came down as the Lamb of
God, and bore the sins of the world by sacrificing himself in Calvary (John
1:27, 36) for the sins of the world.
He fulfilled the prophecies and gave His life on the cross on that Friday to
bring back Adam and his children to Paradise.
We receive the salvation through the sacrifice of Christ, which is why it
is regarded as a Good Friday. We
are sad because our sins are the cause of the death of our Lord. The reason it
is referred to as a sad Friday is because we observe the loss of a son, brother,
and friend through the sadness and tears shed by the mother of Jesus Christ, the
disciples, and other who were close to Him.
4.
Holy Saturday (memorial day for all the faithful departed ones)
The
Saturday of Holy Week is called "dukka saniarcha" in Malayalam. The
Saturday after Good Friday our church remembers all the faithful departed people
and especially remembers them in the holy Qurbana, and the church has special
prayers for the departed ones with burned incense. Our Churches in Kerala, India have the tradition of
going to the cemetery after the Holy Qurbana to pray for all the buried ones
with the family members who are present in the church.
We give the names of our departed ones to the priest to remember them
especially in Holy Qurbana on their actual memorial day (date of their death)
and two common memorial days which are acknowledged by our church.
One is on the Sunday before the fifty-day lent and the other one is
"dukka saniarcha".
We
believe that from the cross Jesus went down to Hell to bring back all souls of
his people (Beginning with Adam all the way to the thief on the cross of his
right side at crucifixion) to Paradise. Adam
broke His commandment and brought sin and spiritual death to the world.
Jesus Christ came down as a man and took all the punishment for the sins
that began with Adam. Adam ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden, just as the
sour wine given to Christ to drink as punishment. Adam disobeyed God causing
Christ to endure beatings and sufferings. Adam was naked in Eden and they hung
Christ naked (often a loincloth is seen on paintings and pictures of the
crucifixion) on the cross. The blood shed by Jesus washed away the sins of Adam
and the world. Christ was able to
bring back His inheritance to Eden's Paradise.
It was not a coincident that the cross of our Lord was placed on top of
the tomb of Adam. The blood of Christ fell on the same ground where Adam was
buried. This was the redemption God
promised to Adam before he was cast out of Paradise.
5.
Easter Sunday
"I
am the resurrection and the life" (John
11:25). Easter is the
most important and happy occasion for a Christian's life. Due to His resurrection on Sunday it is considered a holy day
for the Christians, not the seventh day (Saturday) which was the Sabbath
according the Law of Moses. The
resurrection of Christ from His death was the fulfillment of the prophecies and
the completion of His mission on earth.
Jesus Christ rose from the dead and destroyed spiritual death, which had
previously dominated the earth since the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden.
Christ wins over death and provides eternal life to all of His believers.
After Christ’s resurrection, He appeared ten times to His followers. He was in
the world for forty days then accented to heaven. The message of Easter is
Peace, the heavenly tranquility that is granted to the world by Jesus.
Christianity
is very different from the other religions of the world. In no other religion is
there any mention of the founders, messengers, or gods resurrecting from their
death. Christ's resurrection denotes the significant difference and constitutes
its remarkableness and preservation over the centuries. Christianity is not a religion
but it is a way of life.
We
celebrate Easter with special services in the church such as special songs, a
red cloth, which is placed on the cross (the red color symbolizes the cloth worn
by Jesus after the resurrection (Isaiah
63: 1-2). Also during Easter, a
procession commemorates Jesus’ journey to Galilee, immediately after His
resurrection (Mark 16: 7).
When
we celebrate Holy Week, we prepare ourselves, and attempt to live in holiness
through prayers, meditation, confession, and receiving the Holy Qurbana.
We must be willing to do whatever it takes to participate and endure the
sufferings and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As an Orthodox Christian believer, we must receive Jesus in our hearts
and graciously appreciate the blessings and the salvation He has bestowed on us.
I
wish everyone a blessed Holy Week. May God bless you.