HOLY WEEK

Introduction:
🔸Holiest week of the church year.

🔹Church focuses mainly on the passion, crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord

History of Pascha
🔸Pascha means "Passover"

🔹It used to be celebrated every 33 years

🔸Used to be celebrated separate from the Great Lent until the 2nd century

History continued:
🔸Early church: read the whole bible

🔹Pope Ghobrial ll (77th pope): put together the reading that we currently have

🔸We read the WHOLE 4 gospels and psalms during this week

🔹Readings are selected to match the events of each hour

WHAT HAPPENS AT CHURCH

🔸The church changes the drapes from the normal color to black, sign of mourning.

🔹We mourn, because our sins caused the only begotten son to suffer and die.

🔸The church also does a general funeral prayer on Palm Sunday for all of those who will depart during the week.

🔸The day is counted from sunset to sunset

🔹No liturgies or raising of incense from Monday to Wednesday.

🔸We pray outside of the sanctuary

🔹No commemoration of the saints during Holy Week

Untitled Slide

WHAT DID JESUS DO?

• Left Bethany and entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey.(Mark 11:1-8)
• The crowd shouted "hosanna" (Mark 11: 9-10)
• He spent the day in the temple (Mark 11:11)
• Went back to Bethany with the twelve (Mark 11:11)

WHAT DOES THE CHURCH DO?

• Hymns in the Hosanna tune
• procession of the cross - rising of incense
• Regular liturgy EXCEPT we read 4 gospels
• Changing of the drapes
• General funeral serivce

MONDAY

WHAT DID JESUS DO?

• He left Bethany and was hungry (Mark 11:12)
• He saw a fig tree that had leaves but no fruits (Mark 11:13)
• Cursed the tree saying "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." (Mark 11:14)
• Heads out to Jerusalem
• Jesus spent the day in the temple

WHAT DID JESUS DO? (CONT.)

• Drive out the money changers and sellers (he was very upset with them)
• Jesus returns back to Bethany

WHAT DOES THE CHURCH DO?

• Theme: "a fruitful life is not based on appearances"
• All prophesies, psalms, and gospels focus on this theme

EXAMPLES OF THEME IN THE READING

• First hour- (Isaiah 5:1-9)
• "What shall I do any more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it?"
• Sixth hour- (Exodus 32:7-15)
• "They have made for themselves a calf and worshipped it!"

TUESDAY

WHAT DID JESUS DO?

• Jesus & the 12 disciples went back to the temple in Jerusalem
• The disciples saw the withered tree and remembered Jesus' words
• Jesus spent the day in the temple teaching
• Talks about the end of the world and the second coming

WHAT DID JESUS DO? (CONT.)

• Jesus tells us we need to ALWAYS be ready by several proverbs
• 🔻The ten virgins
• 🔻The talents
• 🔻The wedding ceremony
• Christ returns back to Bethany

WHAT DOES THE CHURCH DO?

• Theme: "be watchful" "Maranatha -The Lord's coming is near"
• All reading focus on these themes
• 9th hour: (Genesis 6-9): "the flood and Noah's ark"
• 11th hour: (Isaiah 30:25): a prophesy about the end of the world

MADE WITH LOVE