The Russian Orthodox Church revealed the specifics of the Good Friday service

In 2026, on April 10, Orthodox Christians celebrate Holy Friday, the most mournful day of the year. It was on Friday that the crucifixion and death of Christ on Golgotha took place. Believers are encouraged to go to churches and participate in worship services on this day.

"During Holy Week, including on Good Friday, when the Lord sacrificed on the cross for the salvation of the human race, believers are primarily encouraged to participate in divine services. To walk the Way of the Cross of Christ together with the church. During divine services, with maximum detail, both in the shadow of the Word of God and in the prayer that will be heard in the church, we live this path day after day, and in a sense hour after hour, especially on Good Friday," the chairman of the educational committee of the Russian Orthodox Church told Izvestia. (Russian Orthodox Church), Archpriest Maxim Kozlov.

On Good Friday, three divine services are held during the day. In the morning, a service is held called the Great Heel Clock.

Archpriest Maxim Kozlov explained that the hours represent a special sequence, including the reading of psalms, which on this day are associated with Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah — Christ. According to him, apostolic and evangelical passages are added to them, telling about the events of the Great Heel.

He also noted that usually in the morning, approximately at one or two o'clock, the Vespers service of the Great Heel is performed in temples, but the exact time should be specified separately in each temple. During this service, a Shroud is brought out — an image of the Savior lying in a coffin, and a sermon is preached about the significance of this event. After that, the canon "The Lament of the Mother of God" is read, in which the faithful, according to the priest, mentally appear before the Cross of Christ and experience the sufferings of Christ together with the Mother of God.

Most often, in the evening, but sometimes on the night from Friday to Saturday, a divine service is held, which is called the Matinee of Great Saturday (According to the liturgical calendar, It refers to the next day). At the beginning of Matins, the so—called articles are performed - from the Greek word "standing", during which the verses of the psalm alternate with special hymns written already in the church.

"We stand before the tomb of the Savior and try to comprehend the meaning of his death as deeply as possible, for the sake of saving the human race," Archpriest Maxim Kozlov emphasized.

At the end of the service, a procession with the Shroud is held around the temple. He refers the faithful to the next stage — the burial of the Savior in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, which was performed by the disciples on the eve of the day of rest, Saturday, after the removal of the body from the cross.

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