On Good Friday, the Church remembers the unrighteous condemnation of Jesus Christ by the Jewish Sanhedrin Council. It is the most sorrowful day for Christians because Christ laid down his life for the sake of mankind exactly on Friday. The time when Jesus Christ gave up His spirit to God the Father and His secret disciples, Josef of Arimathea and Nicodemus begged Pilate for the Lord’s Body and removed it from the cross is remembered in the Divine Service.
On Good Friday, the Church remembers the unrighteous condemnation of Jesus Christ by the Jewish Sanhedrin Council. It is the most sorrowful day for Christians because Christ laid down his life for the sake of mankind exactly on Friday. The time when Jesus Christ gave up His spirit to God the Father and His secret disciples, Josef of Arimathea and Nicodemus begged Pilate for the Lord’s Body and removed it from the cross is remembered in the Divine Service.
The events of Good Friday are commemorated in the Stations of the Cross, a 14-step devotion often performed by Catholics during Lent and especially on Good Friday. The Stations of the Cross are commonly recited on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. Another devotional, the Acts of Reparation, may also be prayed.
Good Friday is a day of fasting within the Church. Traditionally, there is no Mass and no celebration of the Eucharist on Good Friday. A liturgy may still be performed and communion, if taken, comes from hosts consecrated on Holy Thursday. Baptism, penance, and anointing of the sick may be performed, but only in unusual circumstances. Church bells are silent. Altars are left bare.
The solemn, muted atmosphere is preserved until the Easter Vigil.