Thu, Apr 17
|St. Sophia Ukr. Greek-Catholic Church
Holy Thursday: Matins of the 12 Passion Gospels
This service includes twelve Gospel readings narrating the event of the Passion of Christ.
Time & Location
Apr 17, 2025, 6:00 PM – 7:50 PM
St. Sophia Ukr. Greek-Catholic Church, 5600 N Colony Blvd, The Colony, TX 75056, USA
About The Event
Matins of Holy Friday are generally celebrated on Thursday night. The main feature of this service is the reading of twelve selections from the Gospels, all of which are accounts of the passion of Christ. The first of these twelve readings is Jn 13.31–18.1. It is Christ’s long discourse with his apostles that ends with the so-called high priestly prayer. The final gospel tells of the sealing of the tomb and the setting of the watch (Mt 27.62–66).
The twelve Gospel readings of Christ’s passion are placed between the various parts of the service. The hymnology is all related to the sufferings of the Saviour and borrows heavily from the Gospels and the prophetic scriptures and psalms. The Lord’s beatitudes are added to the service after the sixth gospel reading, and there is special emphasis given to the salvation of the thief who acknowledged Christ’s Kingdom.
Written by Fr Thomas Hopko from the book, The Orthodox Faith