We worship Thy passion O Christ
Show us also Thy glorious resurrection.
Yesterday (Holy Thursday) we set off for the Vesperal Divine Liturgy at St Nicholas Church in Brixton, which began at 9:00 am, but the N1 freeway was clogged solid. We trying to take an alternative route to by-pass the obstruction, but traffic on other routes was just as bad, and eventually we gave up and came home.
We tried again for the evening service, Matins of Holy Friday sung by anticipation, and made it that time. We had three deacons to share the reading of the 12 Gospel accounts of the passion.
During the singing of the following hymn a cross is brought out by the priest and placed in the centre of the church.
Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the tree
The King of Angels is decked with a crown of thorns
He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped with the purple of mockery
He who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped on the face
The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the cross with nails
The son of the virgin is pierced by a spear
We worship Thy passion O Christ
Show us also Thy glorious resurrection.
The members of the congregation come forward and prostrate themselves before it three times, and kiss the feet of the crucified king.
We worship Thy passion O Christ
Show us also Thy glorious resurrection.
3 comments:
That's an nice picture of your church. Don't Orthodox churches usually have two 'doors' in the icon screen (for reasons that I'm too ignorant to remember, I'm afraid, but I do remember the Priest entering the right one at one point durung the litergy and emerging from the other later)?
Mr Splodge,
There are three doors actually -- you can see the holy doors in the middle. The north door is half hidden behind the cross, and the south door is out of the picture on the right.
Aaah, I see now! Must get eyes tested....
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