SERVICES IN THE PARISH OF ST KENTIGERN: HOLY WEEK AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

The period of the Great Fast came to an end with the services of Holy Week.  On Tuesday, 30 March at the service of Vespers Fr Gennadiy Andreev and the priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church Fr Marcel Oprisan held a sacrament of anointing (See the photo gallery).

The Vesper service on Holy Thursday was dedicated to the remembrance of the holy saving Passions of our Lord Jesus Christ. The episodes in the four Gospels about the events starting from Christ’s last talk to his disciples in the Gethsemane garden and finishing with the burial of Jesus Christ in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb  were read at the service.

The taking-down of Christ’s body from the Cross and his burial were at the heart of Good Friday Vespers.  To the singing of the troparion ‘Blessed Joseph’ Fr Gennadiy  lifted the shroud from the altar (Golgotha) and put it on the table (the tomb). The worshippers venerated to the shroud.

At the Matins of Holy Saturday, after the Great Doxology, Lamentations over the Shroud and the burial procession were held. The Shroud was carried round the perimeter of the church as the remembrance of Christ’s descent into Hell and his victory over evil and death. With lit candles in their hands the worshippers sang “Holy God”.

The Liturgy of  Holy Saturday (3 April) was celebrated by Fr Gennadiy on the premises of the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh. The diplomatic corps and Orthodox parishioners from Edinburgh prayed at the service. Many of them received Holy Communion.

Easter worship took place in Govan Old. The huge church had drawn together about 150 worshippers from different parts of Scotland. It was a vivid and unforgettable celebration!  Both adults and children were gripped by a mood of joyful animation and exultation.  The service was attended by people of other faiths, who were deeply impressed by Russian Orthodox Easter celebrations. The Easter troparion was sung a number of times in Church Slavonic, English, Greek, Latin and Chinese. The texts of the Liturgy were read and sung in Church Slavonic and English. The service was accompanied by the parish choir headed by the choirmaster Svetlana Arkhipova and members of Russkaya Cappella headed by Svetlana Zvereva.  Beautiful festal coverings for the lecterns had been skilfully sewn by Tatiana Yakovchuk.

At the end of the service the Paschal Message of his Holiness Patriarch Kiril to the Pastors and all Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church was read in Russian and English.

The final chord of the service was the blessing of Easter Bread and a shared meal. (See the photo gallery)