HOLY FRIDAY

 

                      

Holy Friday is the peak of the divine drama.   Millions of Orthodox Christians commemorate the crucifixion and tragic death of our Lord Jesus Christ today.  It is a day of profound sorrow, penance, and fasting.

 

After the Last Supper, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, put on a pseudo trial and sentenced to death.  He was crowned with a wreath of thorns, then tied and nailed by the wrists and feet and left to die by Roman troops, instigated by his archenemies the Scribes and Pharisees.  According to the Gospel of S, John: "Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother's sister, Mary Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene," and many of His disciples. 

Holy Friday is a day of deep mourning and lamentation for Christians all over the world, when we painfully grieve for how tragically our Lord suffered and was brutally killed for our salvation.

A few words about Pontius Pilate, the Governor of the Roman province of Judaea. Today, he is well-known because he presided over Jesus' trial and he was forced to order His crucifixion. He was reluctant to order Christ's crucifixion because he believed that Jesus did not preach against Emperor Tiberius, he even washed his hands against the crime, but he was forced to do so by the fury and power of the Scribes and Pharisees.       

                           Pontius Pilate Washing his Hands by Michael Welply 

                    Our Lord Jesus Christ Crowned with a Wreath of Thorns

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