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Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ!

What do you mean by Epitaphios? then the procession on Holy and Great Friday.

and another, the meaning of Exaposteilarion?

Thank you!
eumir

The Epitaphios is the shroud which contains a depiction of Christ laid in the tomb. It is also known as the Plaschanitsya in Slavic parishes.

The procession on Great and Holy Friday involves the parish processing with the plaschanitsya around the church singing the verses of Vespers, "Jehda ot dreva" or "Down from the tree Joseph of Arimathea" and returning into the church where the priest places the Plaschanitsya into the tomb which has been prepared in the church.

The Exapostilarion is also called the "svitlen" or "hymn of light" which is sung at Matins after the Canon and "Holy is the Lord". In the Slavic vsenoshchnoe bdenie, or all-night vigil, this would coincide with sunrise. The Greeks use the term exapostilaria or "sent out" because a reader was sent out with a blessing from the ecclesiarch from the kliros to read this hymn in the center of the church.

thanks for your answer...

im not that good with greek yet and astarting to learn the Old Slavonic/Slavic...

thanks so much...

Glory to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Now and ever and unto ages and ages!
Amen!

eumir

Do Ukrainians place the plaschanitsa on the holy table and use it as corporal during Eastertide? The Greeks do not seem to do this, yet it is a custom which only came to Russia at the time of the reforms and was presumably a Greek practice at that time. It was only then that the Russians transferred the design of the plaschanitsa onto the antimins.

Spasi Khristos -
Mark, monk and sinner.

Bless me a sinner, Father Mark!

Yes, the Ukies do place the Plashchanitsia on the Holy Table and leave it there as corporal for the Paschal season.

How fascinating! My grandfather was a priest and I always wondered about the design of his antimension.

I take it the Old Ritualists do not do this?

How can I get down to the reality of my life when there are so many more meaningful things to be learned here?

Alex

In the Old Rite, the antimins are often square and have the eight pointed cross and tools of the passion depicted on them. There may be other decorative elements around this. At the time of the raskol, the Greeks complained that the Russian antimins contained no relics. Of course, they didn't need them, because there were relics in the altar. The antimins, as the bishop's mandate to celebrate the divine liturgy are placed under the altar cloths. This is sensible and protects them from wear and damage.

The plaschanitsa is often on a shaped catafalque/frame to look like the traditional banked up Russian grave (I don't know whether Ukrainians bank up graves like the Russians).

Spasi Khristos -
Mark, monk and sinner.

Bless me a sinner, Father Mark!

In Ukraine, they do!

Thank you.

Alex