Holy Week 2008 at St. John the Wonderworker

Click on the pictures to see larger images.
Blessing of the Palms - (April 20) Four of the young girls of our parish stand before the ambo during Matins this morning holding the Palm branches as they are blessed by Fr. Jacob. The branches would later be handed out to parishioners as they entered for worship.
 Bridegroom Vespers - (April 20) Bridegroom icon is brought to the center of the Church during Bridegroom Vespers Sunday evening…and Holy Week begins.
Palm Sunday - The Entrance of Our Lord into Jerusalem was celebrated this morning with the traditional passing out of palm branches as worshipers entered the knave. The branches were blessed during Matins that morning and are traditionally laid before the ambo during the Great Entrance in the Divine Liturgy in remembrance of the laying of Palm branches before the Lord as He entered Jerusalem.
 Holy Unction - (April 24) On the afternoon or evening of Great and Holy Wednesday, the Mystery of Holy Unction is conducted in Orthodox parishes. The Sacrament of Holy Unction is offered for the healing of soul and body and for forgiveness of sins. At the conclusion of the service of the Sacrament, the body is anointed with oil, and the grace of God, which heals infirmities of soul and body, is called down upon each person.
Here are some more pictures of the Holy Unction service this year:
 The parish coming to be annointed:
Clergy are annointed:

Holy Thursday Evening - On the evening of Holy Thursday is the the Holy Service of the Passion, a service filled with beautiful hymnography and 12 Gospels that depict the various events of the Passion of Jesus Christ. Various hymns are chanted by the people, and Gospels are read that describe Jesus' betrayal, His trial by the Chief Priests and Pilate, and then His Crucifixion. It is one of the longest services of the year. Here Fr. Jacob reads from the Gospel as parishoners gather around with candles.

Decorating the Bier - On Holy Friday, immediately after the Royal Hours, the Bier, which symbolizes the tomb of Christ, is decorated.
 Bringing the Bier into the Church -
Boiling Eggs - Two of the ladies of the parish boil eggs to make the red Pascha eggs, which remind us of the blood of the risen Lord. The eggs are blessed by the priest and distributed at the end of the Pascha. Before eating the eggs, people tap their eggs against one another's as they say "Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!" Cracking the egg represents breaking the seal of Christ's tomb. According to custom, the person who cracks the other's egg first will have the blessing. The Bier in the Service - Holy Saturday Matins, served in anticipation the evening of Holy Friday, the Epitaphion is laid in the Bier representing Christ in the Tomb. At the end of the service, flowers from the Bier are given to the faithful.