Epitaphios (liturgical)

As a Epitaph (Greek επιτάφιος ) a liturgical object is in the Orthodox Church on the one hand refers on the other hand, a service in which this object is being used. The Epitaph is formally a cloth on which a variation of the icon of the dirge is sewn on the grave. Most often the inscription " The noble Joseph took on the wood of the cross Your most pure body, wrapped it in pure linen, covered him with fragrant herbs, and laid him in a new grave. " embroidered ( in the language ) around the image, a set of a Troparion. Symbolically, the Epitaphios the grave cloth of Christ dar.

The Epitaph is worn during evening service ( Esperinos, Vespers ) of the Great Friday (Good Friday ), is which celebrated at noon by universal custom on Friday from the sanctuary in a procession in the middle of the church, where, after the end of the service he and all the worshiped him down Evangeliar by the faithful.

In the morning service ( Orthros ) of the Great Saturday last, which is celebrated by universal usage under the name Epitaphios on the evening of Great Friday, he is placed on a bier, decorated all over with flowers and rests initially in the middle of the sanctuary, is then sprinkled with flavored water and pelted with other flowers to be finally carried in procession through the church district. Often the cemetery chapel of the village is the farthest station of the procession, which represents the descent of Christ into the realm of the dead to Hades. In part, it is Customs, after the procession go back under the Epitaph in the Church ( so that it is touched with the head). After the end of the service, the faithful receive a portion of the flowers with which adorned the Epitaphios.