Holy Saturday Orthros (celebrated on the evening of Holy Friday)


At the end of the procession, the Epitaphios is brought back to the church. Sometimes, after the clergy carry the Epitaphios in, they will stop just inside the entrance to the church, and hold the Epitaphios above the door, so that all who enter the church will pass under it (symbolically entering into the grave with Christ) and then kiss the Gospel Book. In Greek churches, the Epitaphios is then brought directly to the sanctuary, where it remains on the Holy Table until Ascension Thursday. In Slavic churches, it is brought back to the catafalque in the middle of the church (and honored further with more petals, rosewater and incense), where it remains until the Midnight Office at the Paschal Vigil on Great Saturday night. Where the Epitaphios remains in the center of the church, the faithful will continue to venerate it throughout Great Saturday.
To read more about the Epitaphios, see here.