Good Friday: What is Allowed and What is Prohibited on May 3, 2024 0 10

These events form the basis for the services held — on this day, the Gospel narrative is read three times. On Good Friday, people mourn, pray, and ask the Lord for forgiveness.

What biblical events are remembered on Good Friday?

Jesus, who had been arrested, was brought to the governor Pontius Pilate. Pilate tried to save Jesus from execution and ordered him to be scourged. However, the crowd, incited by the priests, insisted on the death penalty. In the end, Pilate, despite his initial intentions, yielded to the demands of the people. Then, to wash his hands of responsibility, he washed his hands and ordered the soldiers to carry out the sentence.

At the same time, the traitor Judas realized his mistake and returned the 30 pieces of silver, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

Jesus was to carry his cross to the place of execution, but being exhausted, he often fell, and part of the cross was carried by Simon, a Cyrenian. Jesus was followed by his disciples and followers. Although it was forbidden to express sympathy for a criminal going to execution, the women in the crowd wept loudly. Christ turned to them: “Daughters of Jerusalem! Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” With these words, he warned of the calamities that might befall the people. Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, on the cross between two criminals. He was offered a drink that was supposed to ease his suffering, but Jesus, wishing to fully experience all the agony and remain conscious, refused it.

From the cross, the Savior spoke seven phrases. The first words were a prayer for the crucifiers, the second he granted the penitent thief the bliss of paradise, the third he entrusted his Most Pure Mother to the holy apostle John. For the fourth time he exclaimed: “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?”, for the fifth — “I thirst”, for the sixth — “It is finished”, and for the seventh — “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was preceded by darkness and an earthquake. These phenomena so shook the Roman centurion that he exclaimed: “Truly he was the Son of God.”

What can be done on May 3, 2024?

— It is essential to attend the service in the church.

— The entire day should be dedicated to prayer and repentance.

— The 12 candles that are traditionally lit during the service can be taken home and lit in one’s rooms.

What can be eaten on May 3, 2024?

This is the strictest day of Holy Week — from morning until 15:00 (the removal of the Turin Shroud in churches), one must completely refrain from food. After that, one should observe a dry fast — eating plant-based food without oil. However, for people with stomach problems, diabetics, and other such cases, priests usually allow leniencies in fasting.