On April 26, 2021, the last, special week of Lent begins. It is called Holy Week. All days of this week have special significance in the life of Orthodox Christians. Saturday ends the most strict fast, when believers limit themselves in food and in everyday life.
On the final day before Easter Sunday, all Christians remember the burial of Jesus Christ and his presence in the tomb. At this time, preparatory activities for Easter Sunday, which is the main holiday of Christians, are completed. The fast on Saturday is not yet complete, but some relaxations are allowed so that believers can celebrate the holiday with full strength.
On Holy Saturday, believers finish preparing for Easter. They pray on this day, avoiding entertainment and quarrels. A particularly great sin is foul language. On the final day of fasting, people pay attention to signs and beliefs so that good luck will follow throughout the year.
What does Holy Saturday of Holy Week mean?
You can start the discussion with what kind of Saturday comes before Easter Sunday. Interestingly, this day has several names:
- Great.
- Passionate.
- Dying.
- Quiet.
The main name is due to the fact that Saturday represents the last day of Holy Week. These were the last days in the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
On Good Friday the Savior was crucified, and all Saturday his body lay in the tomb. And the grief of loved ones at the tomb of Christ was very difficult, because hardly anyone hoped that he would be resurrected.
That is why Great (Holy) Saturday is a very dramatic day. And therefore it is undesirable:
- arrange any kind of fun,
- attend parties,
- sing dance,
- organizing some celebrations (wedding, birthday, etc.)
- indulge in carnal pleasures.
In this regard, the Sabbath day is also called quiet - it is really better for believers to refrain from worldly noise.
It is also better to refuse to work in the garden, hunting and fishing.
How it was 2000 years ago
Holy Saturday brings believers back to reflect on the events of that day some 2,000 years ago. On this day, the Church focuses the attention of Christians on the burial of the Savior and His stay in hell.
In the physical world everything was quiet and measured. Saturday Shabbat is a day of rest; according to the laws of the Torah, Jews do not do any business on this day to this day. At the request of Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin, Pilate gave permission to bury Jesus, although according to the laws of that time, the body of crucified people became prey for animals and birds of prey.
The earthly body of Jesus lies in the tomb, covered with a huge stone. The disciples were at a loss. The Teacher spoke about His resurrection, but no one knew when and how it would happen. Not a single Gospel describes the events of the Sabbath, emphasizing the importance of keeping the Sabbath.
Tomb of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem
One can only guess how the disciples shared memories of the prophetic words of the Teacher and were at a loss as to how this would happen. Perhaps someone lost heart and did not believe in the resurrection, but they were together in prayer and appeals to God the Father.
The Pharisees also remember the words of Jesus about the resurrection; they demand that the procurator strengthen the guards around the tomb, which is first sealed. Unhappy hypocrites, without knowing it themselves, they gave the world undeniable evidence of the resurrection of Christ, because very soon the sealed stone will be rolled away by the Angels, and the living Jesus will be revealed to the disciples.
About the other days of Holy Week:
- Maundy Monday
- Maundy Tuesday
- Great Wednesday
While peace reigned in the physical world, there was war in hell. Not all Christians know that after physical death on the cross, God the Son, who took away all sins and illnesses, descended into hell and threw all sins under Satan’s feet, preached the Kingdom of God there and took the keys of Eternal Life. (1 Pet. 3:19)
The Bible says very little about this event, just a few references.
Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 12:40) compares Jesus with Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of a whale, and so Christ descended into the heart of the earth to take the righteous from there with him to Heaven. Many questions arise.
Why did God descend to hell?
The answer is simple. Nothing unclean can be in the presence of the Most High, Jesus, the sinless one, put on the clothes of sinners, which He later left in hell, was cleansed and resurrected, returned to His Home in Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God the Father.
The Holy Trinity
It’s scary to imagine what would have happened to us if God had not sent His Son to earth and given us, sinners, such a privilege of salvation through faith in Christ.
The Teacher Himself declared to the disciples that He is the Only Path to salvation. (John 14:6).
If God was forced to visit hell, then he awaits every unrepentant sinner and the one who did not give his life to the Savior. The grace of God opens up the opportunity for every sinner to find eternal peace; we must hurry before the doors of Great mercy are closed.
Before the death of Christ, everyone who had died before was in hell; only Enoch and Elijah, who were taken there alive, were in heaven, as well as the thief who was crucified with Jesus. The non-canonical “Gospel of Nicodemus” describes more fully than the Bible the descent of the Son of God into hell and His battle with the devil.
The Savior took Adam, Eve and all the saints with Him to Heaven.
Why did Satan have the keys to life?
The answer is found in the book of the Old Testament “Genesis”. God, having created the world beautiful, gave all power to saints and sinless people. The keys are the power to control life, but the devil in the form of a serpent tempted Eve and Adam to sin, took the keys from heaven and crawled away, and the first inhabitants of the earth were expelled from Eden, they will return to God the Father with Christ after His descent into hell and the battle with the devil.
Sin separates a person from the Creator; one can return to heavenly Eden only by being transformed into the image of Jesus, fulfilling God’s commandments, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Orthodox Church is called upon to help Christians walk their earthly path with dignity, so that at the end of it Saint Peter opens the doors of heaven with the keys.
St. Peter
What not to do on Holy Saturday before Easter
It’s good to get into the atmosphere of Holy Saturday, learn a brief history, what lies in the traditions of this day, and what it means. Then it will become clear what exactly should not be done during such dramatic hours.
First of all, this is a day on which you need to try to restrain all earthly passions. It is unacceptable to swear, much less use foul language and generally get irritated.
This means that it is better to leave all the clarification of the relationship for later. After all, Easter is coming, and it’s time to tune in to the bright waves of the holiday.
If possible, it is better not to devote time to fun parties, and to postpone the celebration of any dates. It is undesirable to do housework and hard work. It is better to plan your time in such a way as to complete routine duties before the hour of sorrow.
Of course, there is no need to laugh and have fun uncontrollably on the Saturday before Easter. After all, we probably wouldn’t do this on the days of remembrance of our loved one. And if we are talking about the fact that a good half of humanity remembers the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, it is clear that this only increases our responsibility.
What can you do on Holy Saturday before Easter?
Since we are talking about the fact that on this day believers especially remember Christ, it is important to pay sufficient attention to your spiritual life. It is correct to attend church services, which begin early in the morning and continue throughout the day. Moreover, in the evening it turns into the all-night vigil, and then the Holy Resurrection begins.
And among the people, Saturday is also called Dyeing (or Red), as housewives complete the final preparations for Easter. In the house they paint eggs, bake Easter cakes, and bake boiled pork. Although it is traditional to finish all housework on Maundy Thursday (clean the house, wash), the church does not prohibit doing business on Saturday.
Of course, on such a day you can read the Bible, say prayers, do good deeds, and help those in need. Here you can focus on your inner voice. Perhaps someone has been in need of your attention for a long time - then it’s worth visiting the person and helping him as much as possible.
It would be a good idea to ask for forgiveness and forgive other people yourself. After all, by doing even the smallest things, we really change the world for the better and fill it with joy.
What can you eat on Holy Saturday during Lent?
You can also take care of tomorrow’s celebrations - traditionally, housewives begin collecting Easter baskets to bless the holiday food in church. In this regard, the question arises: what do they eat on the Saturday before Easter?
In fact, this is the last day of Lent, so it is better to try to stick to the restrictions. Besides, you don’t have long to endure – tomorrow you will be able to eat any dishes.
And on Saturday itself you can be content with only this menu:
- bread (not rich);
- fruits and vegetables in any form;
- water.
Holy Saturday is the last day of Lent and it is very strict (bread and water). And if we talk about when the Saturday meal before Easter is allowed, then only after the end of the all-night vigil in the temple. In fact, Lent ends on Sunday: after the service, believers solemnly say: “Christ is risen! Truly risen!”
And then you can already taste pasochki, eggs and other food. After which the parishioners go home, rest and go to bed. But the real Easter holiday comes a few hours after Easter night - and it lasts at least a week.
What should you not do before Easter?
During the period dedicated to the remembrance of the Son of God, it is not recommended:
- wash;
- iron clothes;
- go hunting;
- to fish;
- argue;
- taking out the trash;
- physically work;
- have fun;
- lend money;
- make gifts;
- celebrate birthdays;
- celebrate anniversaries;
- play a wedding.
The Saturday before Easter is the last day of Lent. Therefore, clergy strongly do not recommend eating the meat of killed animals. According to superstitions, those who break the rules risk not only their health, but also the health of close relatives.
Folk signs and beliefs on Holy Saturday
As we know, this is a particularly dramatic day: the body of the Savior has already been taken from the cross and placed in the tomb. Of course, on such a day you should refrain from any quarrels, and even irritation is better left for later. And you also need to pay attention to the following folk signs and beliefs:
- It is better not to plan any noisy parties on Holy Saturday. Even if it’s a birthday, you should celebrate it as modestly as possible. But if you throw a feast for the whole world, then this is an unkind sign: the year may not turn out as successfully as you planned.
- It is also popularly believed that on Saturday there is no need to take out the trash or anything at all (any item) from the house, including lending. Wait until Sunday - because if you disobey, it can cause minor troubles, failures and harm you.
- If Easter cakes turned out great on Holy Saturday, this is a very good symbol: the year will work out and will delight loved ones with pleasant events.
- If you wake up exactly during the Easter dawn and see it, a new bright streak will come in your affairs.
- If you dreamed about a deceased relative on Easter night, this is a very good sign. There is a belief that then in the coming year all family members will be healthy, and no misfortunes will affect them.
- It is better to try not to oversleep the morning service and generally get up early. Being late for church is a bad sign.
- It is interesting that even hunters have a unique system of Easter symbols and signs. If you described all their signs, you would need a whole book. But the most important rule is that on such a day it is strictly forbidden to shed the blood of animals, this is considered a great sin. Therefore, you need to postpone hunting (and fishing).
- If it was clear and warm on the Saturday before Easter, then the whole summer will be clear and sunny. And if the weather is cloudy, it will be a cold and rainy summer.
Russian Orthodox Church
Holy Saturday is the last day before Easter. For believers, this is both a mournful and a joyful day: Christ still lies in the tomb, the Resurrection has not yet arrived, but everything is already filled with pre-Easter joy. On this day, the Church commemorates the bodily burial of Jesus Christ and His descent into hell.
On this day, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, came to Pilate and began to ask him for the body of Jesus for burial. According to the custom of the Romans, the bodies of the crucified remained on crosses and became prey for birds, but with the permission of the authorities, they could be buried.
Joseph bought the shroud - a long and valuable linen. The body of Christ was taken down from the Cross, anointed with incense, wrapped in a shroud and placed in a new burial cave in Joseph’s garden.
The Pharisees knew Christ's words about His resurrection, and fearing that the Apostles would steal the Body of Christ and tell the people that He had risen, they asked Pilate for a guard, assigned him to the tomb, and sealed the tomb. By such actions they strengthened the evidence of Christ's Resurrection.
According to the tradition of the Orthodox Church, the day of Great Saturday begins in the evening - the rite of Matins: in the middle of the temple, on a dais, decorated with flowers, there is an icon of Christ lying in the tomb - the Holy Shroud.
The hymns of the morning canon glorify Christ, who conquered death by His death.
After Little Compline with the reading of the canon about the crucifixion of the Lord and the lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos - during the service of Matins on Great Saturday, a procession of the Cross is performed with the singing of the funeral “Holy God...”: The Holy Shroud is carried around the temple. It is at this service for the first time that it is said that this Saturday is the most “blessed seventh day” that has ever been. This is the day when Christ rests from His labors to restore the world.
This is the day when the Word of God, “through whom all things were made,” lies in the tomb as a dead Man, but at the same time saving the world and opening tombs. On Saturday morning, Vespers is served with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is one of the most beautiful services of the year. Part of the Liturgy - the entrance to the Gospel, the Great Entrance - is performed in the center of the temple in front of the Shroud. During the service, 15 proverbs are read - passages from the Old Testament containing prophecies about the Resurrection of Christ.
On Holy Saturday one of the main miracles of the Orthodox Church occurs: the descent of the Holy Fire. This miracle occurs every year on the eve of Orthodox Easter in the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection.
At the end of the Liturgy, the Easter troparion is sung: the beginning of the Easter holiday is approaching. Bread and wine are blessed, and in most churches the blessing of Easter cakes, Easter cakes and eggs takes place.
At twelve o'clock at night the Midnight Office is celebrated, at which the canon of Great Saturday is sung. At the end of the Midnight Office, the clergy transfer the Shroud from the middle of the temple to the altar through the Royal Doors and place it on the Throne, where it remains until the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, in memory of the forty-day stay of Jesus Christ on earth after His Resurrection from the dead.
On Holy Saturday, His Holiness the Patriarch visits a number of Moscow churches.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh (1914-2003)
LITURGY OF GREAT SATURDAY.
It happens that after a long, painful illness a person dies; and his coffin stands in the church, and, looking at him, we are imbued with such a feeling of peace and joy: painful days have passed, suffering has passed, the death horror has passed, a gradual withdrawal from his neighbors has passed, when hour after hour a person feels that he is leaving and that his loved ones remain behind him on earth.
And in the death of Christ, even the most terrible thing passed - that moment of abandonment by God, which made Him exclaim in horror: My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?..
It happens that we stand at the bedside of a person who has just died, and in the room it feels as if no longer earthly peace has reigned - eternal peace, the peace about which Christ said that He leaves His world, the kind of peace that the earth does not give...
And so we stand at the Holy Sepulcher. The terrible, passionate days and hours have passed; the flesh with which Christ suffered He now rested; with a soul shining with the glory of the Divine, He descended into hell and dispelled its darkness, and put an end to that terrible abandonment of God, which death represented before His descent into its depths. Indeed, we are in the silence of the most blessed Saturday, when the Lord rested from His labors.
And the whole Universe is in trembling: hell perished; dead - not a single one in the grave; separation, hopeless separation from God is overcome by the fact that God Himself has come to the place of final excommunication. Angels worship God, who has triumphed over everything terrible that the earth has created: over sin, over evil, over death, over separation from God...
And so we will anxiously await the moment when this victorious news reaches us tonight, when we hear on earth what thundered in the underworld, what rose into the heavens by fire, we will hear it and see the radiance of the Risen Christ...
This is why the Liturgy of this Holy Saturday is so quiet and why, even before we sing, in turn, “Christ is Risen,” we read the Gospel about the Resurrection of Christ. He won His victory, everything is done: all that remains is for us to behold the miracle and, together with all creation, to enter into this triumph, into this joy, into this transformation of the world... Glory to God!
Glory to God for the Cross; glory to God for the death of Christ, for His abandonment by God; thank God for the fact that death is no longer the end, but only a dream, dormition... Thank God for the fact that there are no more barriers either between people or between us and God! By His Cross, His love, His death, the descent into hell and the Resurrection and Ascension, which we will wait for with such hope and joy, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who lives and breathes in the Church, everything is perfect - all we have to do is accept what is given , and live what is given to us from God! Amen.
Based on materials from the website “Orthodoxy and Peace”
