Rites of Holy Pascha Week

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Rites of Holy Pascha Week
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• But He was wounded for our transgressions, He
  was bruised for our iniquities The
  chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by
  His stripes we are healed(Isa 535)

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Last Friday of Great Fast

• Unction of the Sick
• The only time in the church that we pray the
  Unction of the Sick
• Prayed after Raising of Incense.
• 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.
  (Jam 514-16)

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Last Friday of Great Fast

• Why do we pray the Unction at the end of the
  Fast?
• If fasted properly, people may be weak
• It is prayed to strengthen them during Holy Week
• There are 7 prayers The seven spirits of God
• Whoever participates must be
• A believer (it is a sacrament)
• Fasting
• Should have confessed (every sacrament begins
  with confession and is completed with Communion)

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Lazarus Saturday

• Six days before the Passover (Cruicifixion)
• "Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came
  to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been
  dead, whom He had raised from the dead" (Jn
  121).

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Lazarus Saturday

• Holy Week is between 2 resurrections Lazarus
  and Christ
• Blessed and holy is he who has part in the
  first resurrection. Over such the second death
  has no power(Rev 206)
• 1st Resurrection Baptism (Rom 64)
• Sufferings Repentance, carrying the cross (Lk
  923)
• 2nd Resurrection Resurrection of the Dead - We
  look for the Resurrection of the dead
  (Orthodox Creed)

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Two Resurrections

• Lazarus Someone else raised him
• Christ Raised Himself
• Lazarus Raised with same mortal body
• Christ Raised with glorified immortal body
• Lazarus Came out wrapped in grave cloths
• Christ Rose freed of the grave cloths

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Lazarus Saturday

• After Baptism, we rise with same mortal body, we
  go through temptations and sufferings, and we
  live a life of repentance, then we die, to be
  risen up again in the last day.
• Lazarus Saturday A renewal
• of vows/commitments
• to live repentance
• to be glorified.

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Hosanna Sunday

• Hosanna/ "Hoshana/ ?sa??a please save.
• Jesus entered Jerusalem as a King
• There was a misconception between what he
  intended as King, and what the Jews expected
• When he clarified his Kingdom, they rejected Him
• But they cried out, Away with Him, away with
  Him! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Shall I
  crucify your King? The chief priests answered,
  We have no king but Caesar! (Jn 1915)

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Hosanna Sunday

• Procession of the Cross
• Prayed during the Raising of Incense
• The Cross is the sign of His Kingdom
• We are invited to accept Him as a King in our
  life
• The procession is done while we are holding
  palms
• Palms signify Peace, Royalty, Strength, Giving,
  Purity

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Hosanna Sunday

• 12 Stations of the Procession 12 Gospel Readings
• Sanctuary St. Mary Annunciation/Angel Gabriel
  Angel Michael 12 Apostles St. Mark Martyr
  (St. George) Saint (St. Antony) North Gate
  Baptismal Font South Gate John the Baptist
• Examples of people who accepted Christ as King
  Apostles, Martyrs, Saints

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Hosanna Sunday

• We see the Kingdom of God
• The Kingdom Sanctuary, Gates
• Heavenly members Angels
• Earthly members Saints and Martyrs
• Entrance Baptism
• The Lord accepts to be our King (Ps 13213-14,
  1-5)
• For the LORD has chosen Zion         He has
  desired it for His dwelling placeThis is My
  resting place forever         Here I will
  dwell, for I have desired it.

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General Funeral Prayer

• Participate in the Lords Death
• The Church focuses on the Passion of the Lord
• The Church sets us in the mood of passion week,
  by accepting the Death of Christ in our life -
• Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we
  shall also live with Him (Rom 68)
• We are also reminded of the Resurrection
• Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is
  coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the
  voice of the Son of God and those who hear will
  live.(Jn 5)

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Pascha Week

• Pascha Passover.
• The Passing-over of the Angel of Death
• Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the
  houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I
  will pass over you (Exo 1213)
• Christ is our Passover
• For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed
  for us. (1Cor 57)
• Through Christs Blood, we are saved from the
  devil, the punishment of sin and death

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Pascha Week

• Arrangement of the Hours
• The new day starts with the night before or the
  eve
• So the evening and the morning were the first
  day. (Gen 15)
• The Hours EVE DAY

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Pascha Week

• Arrangement of prayers
• Prophesy,
• Sermon,
• Pascha Week praise
• Ywk te jwm Thine is the power
• Psalm,
• Gospel,
• Exposition (explanation)

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Pascha Week Praise

• Ywk te jwm
• Chanted twelve times antiphonically to replace
  the 12 psalms in each hour of the Agpeya
• While the world sees You as weak and as defeated,
  we chant to You saying Yours is power, the
  glory, the blessing, the majesty. Forever. Amen.
  Immanuel our God and King!
• For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He
  lives by the power of God (2Cor 134)

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Pascha Week Prayers

• No Liturgies from Monday to Wednesday
• Passover Lamb kept for four days (Exo 123-7)
• Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying
  On the tenth of this month every man shall take
  for himself a lamb, according to the house of his
  father, a lamb for a household Now you shall
  keep it until the fourteenth day of the same
  month. Then the whole assembly of the
  congregation of Israel shall kill it at
  twilight.

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Pascha Week Prayers

• Location of Prayers - In the second division of
  Church, outside the camp
• We were cast outside of the Paradise and remained
  outside, until the crucifixion
• When Christ tore the middle wall (the veil of
  the temple)
• The priest opens the curtain of the Sanctuary on
  the 12th hour of Good Friday
• Christ suffered outside of Jerusalem Therefore
  let us go forth to Him, outside the camp,
  bearing His reproach. (Heb 1313)

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Pascha Week 11th hour of Tuesday

• Christ announces his plan for Salvation
• Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all
  these sayings, that He said to His disciples,
  You know that after two days is the Passover,
  and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be
  crucified. (Matt 261-2)
•  Pacwt/r nagayoc (My Good Savior) is added to
  the praise
• Pekyronoc is chanted

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Pekyronoc

• Also chanted on 12th hour of Great Friday
• Despite the fact that He died and is being
  buried, the church confirms that he is the King
  of kings and Lord of Lords, by chanting Your
  throne, God, is forever and ever.
• sa eneh nte pieneh the notes of the hymn
  continue to loop and repeat, almost un-ending
  to signify that Gods throne is indeed forever
  and ever.

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Pekyronoc

• Same hymn chanted on eve and day of Covenant
  Thursday
• Aunon nje nefcaji ehote ouneh ouoh nywou
  hancoynef ne
• His words were softer than oil, Yet they were
  drawn swords.
• Day of betrayal
• It seems that evil is overcoming

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Covenant Thursday

• During Matins
• Hymn of the Cross, Vai etafenf
• Praxis (Books of Acts) in sad Paschal tune (Acts
  115-20)
• Speaks of Judas perdition, his money and his
  ministry
• Procession of Reprimanding of Judas, in the
  opposite direction

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Vai etafenf

• Begins with a very long beginning to signify
  that God waited a very long time, when He found
  someone pure enough to bear His Son.
• The hymn hits very high notes at the mention of
  the word pictauroc (Cross) to signify the
  raising of the Son of God on the Cross on top of
  Golgotha.
• The notes of the last part of the hymn Afswlem
  erof are quick to signify that the process of
  salvation was accomplished in a very short period
  of time three hours.

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Covenant Thursday

• Liturgy of the Waters
• Prophecies
• Gen 181-23 The visit of God and His Angels to
  Abraham Abrahams washing of Gods feet
• Prov 91-11 Wisdom has built her house
• Exo 1415 Crossing the Red Sea
• Jos 13 Crossing the Jordan River

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Covenant Thursday

• Homily of St. Shenouda the Archmandrite
• Talks about our embarrassment at Christs
  humility to wash His disciples feet Brethren,
  we ought to be humbled in front of He who
  suffered on our behalf. We ought to fear Him who
  poured water in a bowl and washed the feet of His
  disciples
• Invitation to partake of the Sacrament He Who
  gave us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink
• Reprimand for not repenting washing of feet
  confession
• Let us quickly repent our sins that we
  committed
• If we do not repent, we will be condemned in
  hell as sin-lovers
• We will be judged, not because we have sinned,
  but because we did not repent
• What then can we hope for after we have been
  cast out of heaven, faced the judgment, and were
  rejected for our sins

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Covenant Thursday

• The Liturgy of the Eucharist
• The Lamb is examined without the 41 Kerie Layson
  (silently) to symbolize that Christ was examined
  while He was silent
• The hymn Alleluia this is the day the Lord has
  made and Saved Amen are not chanted, because
  Salvation and Resurrection has not been completed
  yet
• The priest censers around the church (during the
  Pauline) without kissing, because of the kiss of
  Judas
• No Catholic or Praxis is read
• No Prayer of Reconciliation reconciliation with
  heaven occurred on the Cross
• No Commemoration of the Saints there was an
  enmity between heaven and earth.

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Spirituality of Pascha Week

• Re-live every step which the Lord Christ took
  during His last week on earth
• Intense repentance and regret
• confession
• ascetic fasting
• constant prayers with tears
• Prostrations
• readings

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• But He was wounded for our transgressions, He
  was bruised for our iniquities The
  chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by
  His stripes we are healed(Isa 535)