Great and Holy Saturday

Hymns of Holy Saturday (Hymns from the Anoi)
“Come, let us see our Life lying in the tomb, that He may give life to those that in their tombs lie dead. Come, let us look today on the Son of Judah as He sleeps, and with the prophet let us cry aloud to Him: Thou hast lain down, Thou hast slept as a lion; who shall awaken Thee, O King? But of Thine own free will do Thou rise up, who willingly dost give Thyself for us. O Lord, glory to Thee.”
“Today a tomb holds Him who holds the creation in the hollow of His hand; a stone covers Him who covered the heavens with glory. Life sleeps and hell trembles, and Adam is set free from his bonds. Glory to Thy dispensation, whereby Thou hast accomplished all things, granting us an eternal Sabbath, Thy most holy Resurrection from the dead.”

Bay or laurel leaves are thrown around the church during the Vesperal Liturgy on Holy Saturday. It’s the Liturgy of St. Basil with 12 Old Testament Readings. Afterwards, dried fruit and bread are shared with the congregation to sustain them in the final hours of the fast.

Last night's service was as beautiful as always, although my kids were both a bit cranky, so we had some "kid issues" there. Also, I am not feeling great, so I had to sit through a lot of it. And, somehow got kicked in the head while kneeling. All in all, though, it was a prayerful Holy Friday and I look forward to tonight's brilliant and joyful service. I should clarify I had every intention of going to Holy Saturday Liturgy, but after waking up not feeling great plus having to deal with some issues with Eddie's car, I decided to rest up for tonight.

(photo from the GOA site, taken by John Thomas)