The Lord came to send fire upon the earth. As He makes His way towards Golgotha, this fire flares up and transforms whatsoever draws near:

The tax collectors become merciful and give away their possessions. Their heart is enlarged fourfold.

The infants are made wise and perfect a hymn of gratitude to God, Who ‘comes meek, humble and having salvation’ (Zach. 9:9).

The prostitutes are made chaste and the madness of their depraved life is turned into insatiable love for God.

The thief is enlightened and becomes an excellent teacher of the justice of the Cross, so that on the very same day Paradise is opened.

The mystery of the love of Christ is great and incomprehensible, only a burning heart is able to grasp it even a little.

We need a garment of humility in order to come into the quickening presence of the suffering Lord of Glory, and receive the anointing of His saving wisdom.

THE DIVINE WISDOM OF RIGHTEOUS JOSEPH

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Today in the Matins service of Holy and Great Monday, the Church commemorates holy and Righteous Joseph the chaste, whose story was read in church last Wednesday at the reading of the Old Testament. Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) gave a sermon in Sretensky Monastery on Righteous Joseph at the Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

EACH ONE OF US IS POTENTIALLY A JUDAS

A sermon given by Fr. Seraphim (Rose) during Great Lent, 1982

Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose)

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head, as he sat at meat. But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, "To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor." When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, "Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me. For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall be also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her." Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, "What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you." And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

The Recumbent Lion

Theodore Rokas

This is an iconographical type [usually known by its Greek title “Anapeson”], which represents Christ as a young child, recumbent on a cradle or cot, and symbolizes the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy in verses 9-12 of chapter 49 of the book of Genesis. In these, the patriarch Jacob pronounces the prophecy which has to do with the tribe of Judah, from which will come the Messiah, and in this way foretells His advent, passion and resurrection.

To What Purpose this Waste?

Fr Lev Gillet

Holy Wednesday faces us with the contrast between two figures, two states of the soul. It is devoted to the remembrance of two actions: the action of the woman who, at Bethany, came to pour a jar of precious ointment on Jesus’s head, and the actions of the disciple who betrayed his Master. These two actions are not without a certain link, for the same disciple had protested against the apparent prodigality of the woman.

ON THE PASSION OF CHRIST 

AND THE BOOK OF JOB

The Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament. The Book of Job reveals its meaning in an amazing way. It is read during the church services during Great Lent. This book prepares us to meet with the Suffering and Risen Christ.

2:11-22 MOSES' FLIGHT TO MIDIAN

 2. Ezekiel's Call - 3.3

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

The Ceremony of the Washing of the Feet 

on the Holy Island of Patmos

  Th. G. Axelos

For four hundred years now, on the pleasantly cool island of divine visions, holy little Patmos, on Great Thursday every year, there’s been a tradition of re-enacting the drama of the Last Supper, which neither time nor the years of subjugation to the Turks, Italians and Germans were able to expunge.

Loving God Rather Than Money: On Great Wednesday

Metropolitan Merkury of Rostov and Novocherkassk 

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head, as He sat at meat. But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me. For ye have the poor always with you, but Me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him (Matthew 26:6-16).

The Many Dresses of Kassiani

The troparion of Kassiani is very much beloved by our Orthodox people. Even people who never go to church come to hear it. This reveals the inspiration under which it was written, the passion of the sinful woman who repented, as well as the history of Kassiani who composed it. More so, in my opinion, its music moves the world, being slow and majestic, because the teachers of ecclesiastical music impressed it upon us with much love and care. Except who can say this for recent years. Now I can't understand what the majority of churches hear when they chant it, or better yet, when they sing it with an improvised manner, with a pretended type of Europeanmusic, made by people without christian compunction and without any musical sensibilities, but with a dead false perception of music, which they dare say much better suits our times.

The Sacrament Of Holy Unction: 

Holy Wednesday Afternoon And Evening

Introduction

On the afternoon or evening of Great and Holy Wednesday, the Sacrament or 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. The Sacrament is performed by a gathering of priests, ideally seven in number, however, it can be performed by a lesser number and even by a single priest.

Homily 59: On the passion of christ

Written by Leo the Great of Rome.

Why Do Orthodox Constantly Seek God's Mercy?

By Metropolitan Anthony Bloom of Sourozh

Our modern translation 'have mercy' is a limited and insufficient one. The Greek word which we find in the gospel and in the early liturgies is eleison. Eleison is of the same root as elaion, which means olive tree and the oil from it. If we look up the Old and New Testament in search of the passages connected with this basic idea, we will find it described in a variety of parables and events which allow us to form a complete idea of the meaning of the word.

About the Mystery of Holy Unction (Anointing)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"...and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them" (Mark 6:13).

The holy apostles did this and it is commanded that we do the same. The Apostle James writes to us: "Is there any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" (James 5:14-15). You should not call anyone except the priests, the elders of the church; you should not anoint him in any other name except the Name of the Lord, so that it will not appear as witchcraft. No one will be able to raise him except the Lord Himself nor can any other forgive his sins except the One Lord.

Sermon for Holy Wednesday

by St. Theodore the Studite

CATECHESIS 72: 

On the Saving Passion; and Teaching on Humility and Patient Endurance.

Given on the Wednesday of Holy Week.

Brethren and Fathers, the present day is holy and to be venerated, for from this day the Lord begins to take on himself the sufferings of the Cross for our sake, in accordance with David’s words: "Why did the nations rage and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth rose up and the rulers assembled together against the Lord and against his Christ" [Psalm 2:1-2]. They assembled together to plot an evil plan against the Master.

Great Wednesday 

S. V. Bulgakov

GREAT AND HOLY WEDNESDAY

Judas stretched forth his hand to the lawless. She sought the remission of her sins, while he took the pieces of silver. The harlot brought myrrh to anoint the Lord; the disciple made an agreement with the lawless. She rejoiced when she spent the precious myrrh; he set out to sell Him who has no price. She recognized her Master, while he departed from his Master. She was freed from sin, but he became the captive of sin.

St. John Chrysostom

On Tuesday night the Lord was in Bethany. Here, in the house of Simon the Leper, while the council of the high priests, scribes and elders had already decided to take Jesus Christ by subtlety and kill Him, a certain woman, a “harlot”, poured precious myrrh on the Savior’s head and thus prepared Him for burial, as He Himself spoke of her deed. Now, as an action contrary to the sinful woman’s unmercinary act, a criminal intention was born in the ungrateful soul of Judas, one of the twelve disciples of the Savior, to betray his Teacher and Lord to the lawless council. Therefore, in the Church service for Great Wednesday the sinful woman is glorified, and Judas’ love of money and betrayal is cursed and condemned.

SYNAXARION: 

HOLY AND GREAT WEDNESDAY

On Holy and Great Wednesday the divine Fathers ordained a commemoration to be kept of the woman who was a harlot and who anointed the Lord with myrrh, inasmuch as this took place a short time before the saving Passion.

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, when He was in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came and poured most precious myrrh on the head of Christ and wiped His feet with her hair, rendering Him service at a very great cost to herself. This event is set forth here that, according to the Savior's word, her act of great fervor may be proclaimed to everyone everywhere, and because it occurred a short time before the Passion.