Vespers for Great Friday precedes Matins for Great Saturday, during which the Church commemorates the Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ, when the Savior’s Body was taken down from the Cross and placed in a new tomb. The touching singing of the cathedral clergy and the Synodal Choir lent the service a truly prayerful tone.

Friday evening, April 14, Metropolitan Hilarion led Matins and the procession with the Shroud in the Synodal Cathedral in New York City, symbolizing the Burial of the Savior. Already here, after the burial of the tortured and murdered Lord, His Resurrection is anticipated, and after the procession, the Prophecy of Ezekiel concerning the common resurrection is read, followed by triumphal singing and the reading of the Gospel. His Eminence was co-served by Eastern American Diocesan Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan and cathedral clergy.

Over the course of these three partial days, in commemoration of the three days that Jesus Christ spent in the tomb, the Shroud will remain in the center of the church for veneration by the faithful.