Part of the series on Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity Portal History Byzantine Empire Crusades Ecumenical council Great Schism Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in Greece, Russia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. ... Image File history File links HY002563. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ... In Christianity, an Ecumenical Council or general council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. ... For the later Papal Schism in Avignon, see Western Schism. ... Traditions Assyrian Church of the East Oriental Orthodoxy Syriac Christianity Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Catholic Churches The Holy Apostolic Catholic Ancient Assyrian Church of the East under His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV is a Christian church that traces its origins to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, said to be founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle as well as Saint Mari and Addai as evidenced in the... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only the first three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus — and reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. ... Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is a Christian body that views itself: as the historical continuation of the original Christian community established by Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles. ... The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous particular Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ... Liturgy and Worship Divine Liturgy Iconography The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ... Look up Iconography in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Theology Apophaticism - Filioque clause Miaphysitism - Monophysitism Nestorianism - Panentheism Theosis Negative theology - also known as the Via Negativa (Latin for Negative Way) and Apophatic theology - is a theology that attempts to describe God by negation, to speak of God only in terms of what may not be said about God. ... In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed part of the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ... Miaphysitism is the christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. ... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one, alone and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... Nestorianism is the doctrine that Jesus exists as two persons, the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, or Logos, rather than as a unified person. ... Panentheism (from Greek: πάν (‘pan’ ) = all, en = in, and theos = God; all-in-God) is the theological position that God is immanent within the Universe, but also transcends it. ... In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic theology, theosis (Greek: , meaning divinization (or deification, or to make divine), is the call to man to become holy and seek union with God, beginning in this life and later consummated in the resurrection. ... This box: view • talk • edit

The Epitaphios (Greek: Επιτάφιος, epitaphios, or Επιτάφιον, epitaphion; Slavonic: Плащаница, plashchanitsa) is a large cloth icon, embroidered and often richly adorned, which is used during the services of Great Friday and Holy Saturday in the Eastern Orthodox Churches and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine rite. Page from the Spiridon Psalter in Church Slavonic. ... Good Friday is the Friday before Easter or Pascha. ... Orthodox pilgrims bathing with the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Saturday. ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous particular Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ... The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called Constantinopolitan, is the liturgical rite used (in various languages) by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches and by several Eastern Rite particular Churches within the Catholic Church. ...

Form

The icon depicts Christ after he has been removed from the cross, lying supine, as his body is being prepared for burial (similar to the Pietà images of the West). The scene is taken from the Gospel of St. John (John 19:38-42). Shown around him, and mourning his death, are his mother (the Theotokos or Blessed Virgin Mary); John the beloved disciple; Joseph of Arimathea; and Mary Magdalene. Nicodemus and others may also be depicted. [1] Sometimes, the body of Christ appears alone, as if lying in state. [2] Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ... Pietà Pietà by Michelangelo, 1499 Marble, height 174 cm, width at the base 195 cm Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican Pietà by Michelangelo, Museo dellOpera del Duomo, Florence Pietà by Rogier van der Weyden, Museo del Prado, Madrid A still from Mel Gibsons 2004 film, The Passion of... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... Our Lady redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with John the Apostle. ... Joseph of Arimathea, according to the Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. ... The penitent Mary Magdalen, a much reproduced composition by Titian. ... Nicodemus (Greek: Νικόδημος) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus. ...

Usually, the troparion of the day is embroidered around the edges of the icon: Troparion (also tropar, plural: troparia) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodoxy is a short hymn of one stanza, or one of a series of stanzas (this may carry the further connotation of a hymn interpolated between psalm verses). ...

The Noble Joseph, taking down Thy most pure Body from the Tree, did wrap it in clean linen with sweet spices, and he laid it in a new tomb.

Liturgical Use

The Epitaphios is used on the last two days of Holy Week in the Byzantine rite, as part of the ceremonies marking the death and resurrection of Christ. It is then placed on the Holy Table (altar table), where it remains throughout the Paschal season. Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomada Sancta) is in Christianity the week from Palm Sunday (also called Passion Sunday) through Holy Saturday, leading to Easter Sunday. ... Look up Altar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the cycle of the moveable feast is built around Pascha, or Easter. ...

Vespers on Good Friday

The Deposition from the Cross. Prior to the Apokathelosis (lit. "taking-down from the tree") Vespers on the afternoon of Great Friday, the priest and deacon will place the Epitaphios on the Holy Table. The priest may also anoint the Epitaphios with perfumed oil. A chalice veil and the Gospel Book is placed on top of the Epitaphios. This may be either the large Gospel Book used at the Divine Liturgy, or it may be a small one. Rogier van der Weyden. ... Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Veils are articles of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, which cover some part of the head or face. ... A Gospel Book is a codex or bound volume, containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament. ... The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ...

During the reading of the Gospel lesson (compiled from selections of all four Gospels) which recounts the death of Christ, an icon depicting the soma (corpus) of Christ is taken down from a cross which has been set up in the middle of the church. The soma is wrapped in a white cloth and taken into the sanctuary. This article is about the Vedic plant and ritual. ... Look up corpus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Near the end of the service, the priest and deacon, accompanied by acolytes with candles and incense, bring the Epitaphios in procession from the Holy Table into the center of the church and place it on a table which is often richly decorated for that purpose. [3] The Gospel Book is laid on top of the epitaphios. In some Greek churches, an elaborately carved canopy stands over the Epitaphios. This bier or catafalque represents the Tomb of Christ. The Tomb is often sprinkled with flower petals and rosewater, decorated with candles, [4] and ceremonially censed as a mark of respect. The bells of the church are tolled, and in traditionally Orthodox countries, flags are lowered to half-mast. Then the priest and faithful venerate the Epitaphios as the choir chants hymns. In Slavic churches, the service of Compline will be served next, during which a special Canon will be chanted which recalls the lamentations of the Theotokos. This article is about religious acolytes. ... A bier from Grendon church A bier is a flat frame, traditionally wooden but sometimes made of other materials, used to carry a corpse for burial in a funeral procession. ... A catafalque is a raised bier or platform of sorts (often movable) used to support the casket or coffin, or in the case of a pope: the body, of a person during a funeral or memorial service. ... Rosewater or rose syrup (Persian: ‎ Golâb Turkish: Rose water was first obtained by distilling roses in Persia (Iran). ... Compline or Complin is the final church service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. ... A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. ...

The faithful continue to visit the tomb and venerate the Epitaphios throughout the afternoon and evening, until Matins—which is usually served in the evening during Holy Week, so that the largest number of people can attend. The form which the veneration of the epitaphios takes will vary between ethnic traditions. Some will make three prostrations, then kiss the image of Christ on the Epitaphios and the Gospel Book, and then make three more prostrations. Sometimes, the faithful will crawl under the table on which the Epitaphios has been placed, as though entering into death with Christ. Others may simply light a candle and/or say a short prayer with bowed head. In Ukrainian Catholic churches and others of the Ruthenian tradition, the laity will often sing vernacular hymns at this point. One such hymn is stradal'na maty (страдальна мати), the contents of which approximate the Stabat mater,and may be heard here: [5] For the Anglican service of Mattins see Morning Prayer Matins is the early morning prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Look up Genuflection in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), also known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is one of the successor Churches to the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir the Great (Ukrainian Volodymyr) of Kiev (Kyiv), in 988. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Mater dolorosa became an iconic type, as in this sixteenth-century Spanish version by Luis de Morales (c. ...

The priest may hear confessions at the Epitaphios, and he may anoint people who were not able to be present for the Unction service earlier in the week. Confession of sins is part of the Christian faith and practice. ... Anointing of the Sick is one of the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, the the Anglican / Episcopal Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and is also administered in some Protestant Churches. ...

Matins on Holy Saturday

The Burial of Christ. During Matins, Lamentations (Greek: Επιτάφιος Θρήνος, epitaphios thrênos, lit. "winding-sheet lamentation"; or Εγκομια, enkomia, "praises") are sung before the Epitaphios as at the tomb of Christ, while all hold lighted candles. The verses of these Lamentations are interspersed between the verses of Psalm 118 (the chanting of this psalm forms a major part of the Orthodox funeral service). The psalm is divided into three sections, called stases. At the beginning of each stasis, the priest or deacon will perform a censing. At the third and final stasis, the priest will sprinkle rosewater on the Epitaphios and the congregation, symbolizing the anointing of Christ's body with spices. Encomium is a Greek word which, in a general sense, means the praise of a person or thing. ... Psalm 119 is the longest psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible. ... Stained glass window depiction of a thurible, St. ...

Near the end of Matins, during the Great Doxology, a solemn procession with the Epitaphios is held, with bells ringing the funeral toll, commemorating the burial procession of Christ. In Slavic churches, the Epitaphios alone is carried in procession with candles and incense.[6] It may be carried by hand or raised up on poles like a canopy. Many Greek chuches, however, will carry the entire bier, wiht its carved canopy attached.[7] In societies where Byzantine Christianity is traditional, the processions may take extremely long routes through the streets, [8] with processions from different parishes joining together in a central location. Where this is not posssible, the procession goes three times around the outside of the church building. The procession is accompanied by the singing of the Trisagion, typically in a melodic form used at funerals. Those unable to attend the church service will often come out to balconies where the procession passes, holding lit candles and sometimes hand-held censers. The Trisagion (thrice Holy) is a standard hymn of the Orthodox Christian Divine Liturgy, chanted immediately before the Prokeimenon and the Epistle Reading. ... A censer is a vessel for burning incense. ...

At the end of the procession, the Epitaphios is brought back to the church. Sometimes, after the clergy carry the Epitaphios in, they will stop just inside the entrance to the church, and hold the Epitaphios above the door, so that all who enter the church will pass under it (symbolically entering into the grave with Christ) and then kiss the Gospel Book. In Greek churches, the Epitaphios is then brought directly to the sanctuary, where it remains on the Holy Table until Ascension Thursday. In Slavic churches, it is brought back to the catafalque in the middle of the church (and honoured further with more petals, rosewater and incense), where it remains until the Midnight Office at the Paschal Vigil on Great Saturday night. Where the Epitaphios remains in the centre of the church, the faithful will continue to venerate it throughout Great Saturday. For other meanings see Ascension (disambiguation) The Ascension is one of the great feasts in the Christian liturgical calendar, and commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven forty days after his resurrection from the dead. ...

Liturgy on Holy Saturday

The Little Hours on Holy Saturday will be read near the Epitaphios, and certain portions of the Liturgy that would normally be done at the Holy Doors (Ektenias, reading the Gospel, the Great Entrance, etc.) are instead done in front of the Epitaphios. The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

Paschal Vigil

In the Slavic use, during the Midnight Office, after the Opening and Psalm 50, the Canon of Great Saturday is chanted (repeated from the Matins service the night before) as a reflection upon the meaning of Christ’s death and His Harrowing of Hell. During the last Ode of the Canon, at the words, "weep not for me, O Mother, for I shall arise...", the priest and deacon dramatically raise the Epitaphios (which represents the dead body of Christ) from the bier and carry it into the sanctuary, laying it upon the Holy Table, where it will remain throughout the Paschal season as a reminder of the burial cloth left in the empty tomb (John 20:5). A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. ... The Harrowing of Hell is a doctrine in Christian theology referenced in the Apostles Creed, which states that Jesus descended into hell. It has been termed the most controversial in the Apostles Creed[1]. This phrase was probably the last to be added to the creed[2]. // Christs... A canticle is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. ... In the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the cycle of the moveable feast is built around Pascha, or Easter. ...

Paschal Season

During Bright Week (Easter Week), the Holy Doors of the sanctuary remain open as a symbol of the empty tomb of Christ. The Epitaphios is clearly visible through the open doors, and thus symbolizes the winding sheet left in the tomb after the resurrection.

At the end of Bright Week, the Holy Doors are closed, but the Epitaphios remains on the Holy Table for 40 days, as a reminder of Jesus' physical appearances to his disciples from the time of his resurrection until his ascension into heaven.

Theories About Origin

There is a theory that the origin of the design and use of the Epitaphios was based on the Shroud of Turin. Ancient records speak of the Image of Edessa (Mandylion) being in Constantinople from 944 to 1204. It does not appear again after the Sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders. It was at this time, and in the hands of a prominent crusading family, that the shroud first appears in the West. If true, this would account for the unusual fact that this icon is always done in cloth instead of painted on wood. The first photo of the Shroud of Turin, taken in 1898, had the surprising feature that the image on the negative was clearer than the positive image. ... According to the legend, King Abgarus received the Image of Edessa from the apostle Thaddeus. ... The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (Eugène Delacroix, 1840). ... The Crusaders (formerly the Canterbury Crusaders) are a New Zealand Rugby Union team based in Christchurch, New Zealand that competes in the Super 14 (formerly the Super 12). ...

Opponents of this theory point out that the traditional account of the Image of Edessa does not have anything to do with the burial shroud of Christ; it referrs rather to a miraculous image made during Christ's lifetime. The Vatican claims to possess the original of the Image of Edessa (it was put on exhibit in America in 2006—see picture here). The fact that the Epitaphios is made of cloth may simply come from the fact that the Gospel of John speaks memorably of the witness of the shroud left in the tomb, and its link to belief in the resurrection (John 20:3-8).

Epitaphios of the Theotokos

An Epitaphios of the Theotokos also exists. This too is a richly embroidered cloth icon, but depicting instead the body of the Theotokos lying in state. [9] This is used on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on 15 August, known in the West as the Assumption of Mary. The Epitaphos of the Theotokos is used with corresponding hymns of lamentation, placed on a bier, [10] and carried in procession in the same way as the Epitaphios of Christ, although it is never placed on the Holy Table. Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... The Dormition of the Theotokos is the Eastern Orthodox commemoration of the falling asleep or death of Mary, the mother of Jesus. ... The Assumption has been a subject of Christian art for centuries. ...

The Rite of the "Burial of the Theotokos" began in Jerusalem, and from there it was carried to Russia, where it was used in the Uspensky (Dormition) cathedral in Moscow. Its use has slowly spread among the Russian Orthodox, though it is not by any means a standard service in all parishes, or even most cathedrals or monasteries. In Jerusalem, the service is chanted during the All-Night Vigil of the Dormition. In some Russian churhes and monasteries, it is served on the third day after Dormition. Cathedral of the Dormition, Moscow, in winter The Cathedral of the Dormition or Cathedral of the Assumption (in Russian, Uspensky Sobor (Успенский Собор)) is the name of several cathedrals in the world. ... The All-Night Vigil (Russian: ), Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written and premiered in 1915. ...

External Links

• Elaborately embroidered Epitaphios, 1682, originally from Ankyra (Ankara); now at Benaki Museum, Athens
• Images of the Epitaphios in use
• Epitaphios lying on the Holy Table during Paschal Season
• Epitaphios of the Theotokos
• Epitaphios of the Theotokos used in Jerusalem