What is Orthodox Good Friday?
Orthodox Good Friday, called Great and Holy Friday in the Orthodox churches, commemorates the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. It is the most solemn day of the Orthodox year. The Divine Liturgy is not celebrated, and the services consist of long readings, the taking down of the body of Christ from the cross, and an evening procession in which a decorated bier, the epitaphios, which represents the tomb of Christ, is carried around the church. The day is also called Holy Friday, and the services of the day follow those of Holy Thursday, when the Passion Gospels are read in the evening.
Many observant Orthodox Christians fast strictly on this day, taking little or no food until evening, and in some countries it is traditional not to do housework or cook. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the day is recognised for the Orthodox community, as in Lebanon, the streets of Orthodox neighbourhoods are quiet, with church bells silent and the faithful gathering for the evening procession. Lebanon, which also appears in the data for this holiday, has a large Orthodox community, though its holiday arrangements differ from those of Bosnia. In churches, believers kiss the epitaphios as it lies in the centre of the church.
Why it is observed
The commemoration of Christ's death on a Friday goes back to the earliest centuries of Christianity, and the Holy Week services were developed in the fourth century in Jerusalem, where pilgrims followed the places of the events. The Orthodox service preserves this heritage with twelve Gospel readings on Thursday night and the procession of the epitaphios on Friday. Because the date follows Orthodox Easter, it uses the Julian calculation and in most years falls later than Western Good Friday, with which it coincides only when the two Easters fall on the same Sunday.
How the date is set
Orthodox Good Friday is the Friday before Orthodox Easter Sunday, which is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Julian-calendar date of 21 March. In the civil calendar it falls between 2 April and 6 May.
How it is observed
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Orthodox Good Friday is a day off for members of the Orthodox community, and arrangements depend on the entity, so it is worth checking locally. In some other countries, Greece and Romania among them, Good Friday on the Orthodox date is a general public holiday, while in many it is a normal working day. In Orthodox areas many shops and cafés close or open late. Pay and time off depend on the law and the contract. Some visitors find that restaurants in Orthodox neighbourhoods are quieter than usual and many offer only Lenten food.
Bosnia & Herzegovina