On Great Friday at 2:00 pm Vespers were served at the Ascension Monastery at the end of which the Holy Shroud was brought out. While singing the troparion “Noble Joseph,” Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), together with Archimandrite Vasily (Druzhinets) and Abbot Jonah (Galishnikov), solemnly placed the holy image of the reposed Lord on a “tomb” in the middle of the church previously decorated with flowers. Deacon Vyacheslav of Batalsky censed in front of the procession.
In his sermon, Archimandrite Roman described the horrors of the loneliness and death of Christ. The only consolation during the crucifixion was the repentance of the wise thief, who asked the Lord to remember him in His Kingdom. To which the Savior answered him: “Today you will be with me in Paradise!” If we, gazing at Jesus Christ in the grave, and with a true penitential feeling exclaim “Remember me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom”, then he would certainly forgive all our sins and also bring us to Paradise.
