| When He had said this, He cried with a loud voice, «Lazarus, come forth.» The dead man came out, His hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth, as the Jews dressed the dead. Jesus said to them, «Unbind him and let him go.» Then, many of the Jews, who had been there and seen this miracle, believed in Jesus Christ. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. The enemies of Christ, the chief priests and the Pharisees were troubled and fearing that all the people would believe in Jesus Christ, gathered a council and decided to kill Jesus Christ. Word of this great miracle began to spread all over Jerusalem. Many Jews went to the home of Lazarus to see him and having seen believed in Jesus Christ. Then, the chief priests and scribes plotted to kill Lazarus. But Lazarus, after his resurrection by the Saviour, lived a long time and was later a bishop on the island of Cyprus. Note: See the Gospel of John 11:1–57 and 12:9–11. This great miracle of the Saviour, the raising of Lazarus, is commemorated by the Holy Orthodox Church on the Saturday of the sixth week of the Great Fast (the eve of Palm Sunday). 39. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Soon after the raising of Lazarus, six days before the Jewish Passover, Jesus Christ made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem to show that He was the true Christ the King and was going to death voluntarily. When they drew near to Jerusalem, coming to the village of Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus Christ sent two of His disciples saying to them, «Go into the village opposite you; and immediately, you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs it’.» The disciples went away and found it as He had told them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put their garments on the colt, and Jesus sat on it. In the meantime in Jerusalem, they learned that Jesus, the One Who raised Lazarus from the dead after four days, was coming to Jerusalem. Crowds of people, gathered from everywhere for the feast of the Passover, went to meet Him. Many took off their outer garments and spread them on the road before Him. Others cut palm branches, carried them in their hands and spread them on the road. And all the people, who went before and who followed, cried out with joy, «Hosanna (Salvation) to the Son of David! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord;» – that is, worthy of praise is the One Who comes in the name of the Lord, sent from God. «King of Israel! Hosanna in the highest! " |
| When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Since Bethany was near Jerusalem, many of the Jews had come to console Mary and Martha. When Martha heard that Jesus was approaching she went to meet Him and said to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of Him.” Jesus told her that her brother will rise again. Martha said that she knew he would rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus replied, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus asked Martha if she believed this. She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world” (vv. 17-27). Martha returned to tell Mary that Jesus had come and was asking for her. Mary went to meet Him, and she was followed by those who were consoling her. The mourners followed her thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When she came to Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus saw her weeping and those who were with her, and He was deeply moved. He asked to be taken to the tomb of Lazarus. As Jesus wept for Lazarus the Jews said, “See how He loved him.” Others wondered that if Jesus could open the eyes of the blind, He certainly could have kept Lazarus from dying (vv. 28-37). Jesus came to the tomb and asked that the stone that covered the door be taken away. Martha remarked that Lazarus had now been in the tomb for four days and that there would be a stench. Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” The stone was taken away, and Jesus looked toward heaven and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When He had said this, He called out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus walked out of the tomb, bound with the strips of burial cloth, and Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go” (vv. 38-44). |
| Photo: Y.Kostigov/Expo.Pravoslavie.ru Great Lent has once again come to an end, and once again we are entering Great and Holy Week, following the triumphal feast of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday. Fr. Seraphim Holland from the St. Nicholas Church in McKinney, Texas answers some basic on Holy Week and Palm Sunday. QUESTION 1. Is Holy Week part of Great Lent? ANSWER 1. Technically, Holy Week is outside of (after) Great Lent. QUESTION 2. When does Great Lent end? ANSWER 2. In general, the weekends are considered to be somewhat outside Great Lent, as the Horologion has rubrics for the Hours which refer to " Great Lent " , and these are ignored on Saturday and Sunday. Fasting is relaxed - Orthodox may eat olive oil and drink wine on Saturday and Sunday during the Great Lent " period " . The Friday evening before Palm Sunday, when the Vigil for the Raising of St. Lazarus is celebrated actually ends Great Lent, as the first sticheron at Lord I have cried says: " Having completed the forty days that bring profit to our soul,/we beseech Thee in Thy love for man:/ Grant us also to behold the Holy Week of Thy Passion,/that in it we may glorify Thy mighty acts/and Thine ineffable dispensation for our sakes,/singing with one mind://" O Lord, glory to Thee. " (Tone 1) Holy week is a special time liturgically, and is wholly outside of Great Lent, but of course, fasting and even more rigorous and edifying services continue. QUESTION 3. Usually, Feasts of the Lord are several days long. The feast is celebrated in some way after the main commemoration. There is one great feast of the Lord that only lasts one day. Which is it? Speculate why. ANSWER 3. The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, one of the " Great Feasts of the Lord " , also called " Palm Sunday " only lasts one day, because Holy week, with it " s many services in preparation for Pascha, begins the next day. QUESTION 4. Which TWO separate feasts use the same troparion? Why? ANSWER 4. The Saturday of Lazarus and Palm Sunday both have the same troparion. These two historical events occurred within less than a week of each other. The troparion shows the link between the two events: |
| And I will tell first of the beauty I saw in captivity, wrote the poet Irina. That is a war cry against death, despair and hopelessness if I’ve ever heard one! Blessed are they who mourn. Blessed are the meek. Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. Source: The Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America You might also like Palms in Hand, Pressing on to the Resurrection! by Fr. Thaddaeus Hardenbrook Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Invincible Molly Sabourin " So, what " s so special about Lazarus Saturday? " asked my kids, meaning: " So why do we have to go Liturgy twice this weekend? " It " s a legitimate question. One should know these things as an Orthodox Christian. I will live and survive By Irina Ratushinskaya I will ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Donate Related articles The Fruit of Life: Raising Lazarus Archpriest Michael Gillis The sixth week of Great Lent is the countdown week to the resurrection of Lazarus. The… Why Did Christ Weep?: On Lazarus… Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann Why did He weep if He knew that moments later He would call Lazarus back to… |
| Lazarus Saturday On this day, the Saturday before Palm Sunday, we celebrate the fourth-day raising from the dead of Lazarus, the righteous friend of Christ. Lazarus was a Hebrew, of the sect of the Pharisees and, as far as is known, he was the son of Simon the Pharisee, who dwelt in the village of Bethany. He became a friend of our Lord Jesus Christ when He sojourned on earth for the salvation of our race. For when Christ continually conversed with Simon, entering his house and discoursing on the resurrection from the dead, Lazarus was quite pleased with the genuineness of this teaching, and not only he, but also his two sisters, Martha and Mary. 9 апреля 2016 г. скрыть способы оплаты Подпишитесь на рассылку Православие.Ru Рассылка выходит два раза в неделю: Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
| Lazarus Saturday Priest Mathew Jackson SOURCE: Priest Mathew Jackson By Priest Matthew Jackson In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Christ is in our midst! He is and shall be! Lazarus Saturday marks the beginning of Holy Week – the final week in our Lord’s earthly life and ministry before His crucifixion. In terms of our Lord’s ministry, this miracle – the raising of Lazarus from the dead – this miracle is the “miracle of miracles.” This is the moment when everyone knows who He is. Many people had gathered at the house of Mary and Martha to be with them during the period of mourning for their brother Lazarus. We hear at the end of the Gospel reading that many had come to be with Mary and Martha, the people saw what Jesus had done, and they believed on Him. If you continue reading the rest of the chapter, you’ll also hear this: “But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.” (John 11:46-53) The leaders of the Temple had been unsure of what to do with Jesus until this point, but now that He has performed a public miracle with so many witnesses and such magnitude as raising one from the dead, they make their decision to put Him to death. They don’t care if He’s the Messiah; they don’t care that He might be the Messiah; in fact, they know that He’s doing all of the things that the Messiah was prophesied to do. Their concern is not for their God or for their faith, their concern is for their own self preservation. And so they make the decision, after our Lord has raised a man 4 days dead from the tomb, to find a time and a place to put Him to death. |
| May the words of St. Paul be our words, burning with desire and love for the risen Christ in our hearts, in our minds, on our lips, saying: “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death and, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.” (Philippians 3:10–21) In our annual liturgical cycle, this week following the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt is called Palm Week. For beginning on Tuesday, the hymns and verses of this week’s services recall that Lazarus, “the friend of Christ,” died and is going to be raised. On Friday evening, the eve of the celebration of the resurrection of Lazarus, the forty days of Great Lent officially end. Lent is over! Only Holy Week and Glorious Pascha remain. We’re almost there! And this weekend’s foreshadowing of the Resurrection and glorious reign of Christ the King prepares us for Holy Week by giving us a taste of the Resurrection before calling us to enter into the week of His passion and crucifixion. “Lazarus Saturday is a paschal celebration. It is the only time in the entire Church Year that the Resurrectional service of Sunday is celebrated on another day. At the liturgy of Lazarus Saturday, the Church glorifies Christ as ‘the Resurrection and the Life’ who, by raising Lazarus, has confirmed the universal resurrection of mankind even before His own suffering and death.” (Hopko, Orthodox Worship) Throughout the Lazarus Saturday/Palm Sunday weekend, the hymns continue to glorify Christ’s triumphant manifestation six days before the Passover, when He will give himself at the Last Supper and on the Cross for the life of the world. |
| Such a gift can only be received once, And perhaps is only needed once. (Irina Ratushinskaya, the Ukrainian poet and dissident, was sentenced to 7 years jail in Mordovia in 1983 for “anti Soviet agitation and propaganda”. In prison, she wrote poetry in miniscule script on cigarette papers or bars of soap which she later dissolved in water after memorizing the verses.) “So, what’s so special about Lazarus Saturday?” asked my kids, meaning: “So why do we have to go Liturgy twice this weekend?” It’s a legitimate question. One should know these things as an Orthodox Christian. And I’m pretty sure I was all over it ten years ago, when learning to adjust to this ancient faith was like a full-time occupation. Somewhere along the line, however, I fell wholly into the rhythm of the life of the Church and those hyper-vigilant inquiries naturally quieted. I just got down to the business of showing up whenever services were scheduled, because that’s what I do now: Show up “as is”, both when I feel like it and when I don’t. Resurrection of Lazarus As a feelings obsessed over analyzer, it’s probably healthy that my affinity for answers and explanations has been dulled some. Still though, the fact I equated Lazarus Saturday with but the parish beautification event taking place afterwards, should be a wake-up call. Had my children not asked specifically why the raising of Lazarus from the dead is so significant to us as Christians, particularly right now, only two weeks from Pascha, I most likely wouldn’t have taken the time to reflect a whole lot on the matter. It all comes down to either claiming the spiritual treasures the Church, for two millennia, has mercifully offered our impoverished souls or passing them by. Heaven knows I could use a little encouragement; I’m awfully tired. Thus my choice this afternoon to journey back to that tomb containing the four days dead brother of Mary. What does it mean for me presently that Jesus wept there before defying the natural order of things by breathing life into a corpse? “Come and see!” says the Church. God, help me see more clearly. |
| We understand now that it is because He wept, i.e., loved His friend Lazarus and had pity on him, that He had the power of restoring life to him. The power of Resurrection is not a Divine “power in itself’,” but the power of love, or rather, love as power. God is Love, and it is love that creates life; it is love that weeps at the grave and it is, therefore, love that restores life… This is the meaning of these Divine tears. They are tears of love and, therefore, in them is the power of life. Love, which is the foundation of life and its source, is at work again recreating, redeeming, restoring the darkened life of man: “Lazarus, come forth!” And this is why Lazarus Saturday is the real beginning of both: the Cross, as the supreme sacrifice of love, and the Common Resurrection, as the ultimate triumph of love. “Christ — the Joy, Truth, Light and the Life of all and the resurrection of the world, in His love appeared to those on earth and was the image of Resurrection, granting to all Divine forgiveness.” Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Why Did Christ Weep?: On Lazarus Saturday Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann Why did He weep if He knew that moments later He would call Lazarus back to life? Byzantine hymnographers fail to grasp the true meaning of these tears Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. |
| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation Holy Week: an Explanation Source: Serbian Orthodox Church Natalya Mihailova 04 April 2018 Great Lent and Holy Week are two separate fasts, and two separate celebrations. Great Lent ends on Friday of the fifth week (the day before Lazarus Saturday). Holy Week begins immediately thereafter. Let " s explore the meaning of each of the solemn days of Passion Week. Lazarus Saturday : Lazarus Saturday is the day which begins Holy Week. It commemorates the raising of our Lord’s friend Lazarus, who had been in the tomb four days. This act confirmed the universal resurrection from the dead that all of us will experience at our Lord’s Second Coming. This miracle led many to faith, but it also led to the chief priest’s and Pharisees’ decision to kill Jesus (John 11:47-57). Palm Sunday (The Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem): Our Lord enters Jerusalem and is proclaimed king – but in an earthly sense, as many people of His time were seeking a political Messiah. Our Lord is King, of course, but of a different type – the eternal King prophesied by Zechariah the Prophet. We use palms on this day to show that we too accept Jesus as the true King and Messiah of the Jews, Who we are willing to follow – even to the cross. Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday : The first thing that must be said about these services, and most of the other services of Holy Week, is that they are “sung” in anticipation. Each service is rotated ahead twelve hours. The evening service, therefore, is actually the service of the next morning, while the morning services of Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday are actually the services of the coming evening. Understanding that, let’s turn to the Services of Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (celebrated Palm Sunday , Monday and Tuesday evening). The services of these days are known as the Bridegroom or Nymphios Orthros Services. At the first service of Palm Sunday evening, the priest carries the icon of Christ the Bridegroom in procession, and we sing the “Hymn of the Bridegroom.” We behold Christ as the Bridegroom of the Church, bearing the marks of His suffering, yet preparing a marriage Feast for us in God’s Kingdom. |
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