April 18, 2025
17th-century Epitaphios, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, Russia. Wikipedia
On Holy Thursday evening, during the service of Matins for Holy Friday, one of the Church’s most beloved and moving hymns, the 15th Antiphon, is chanted:
Today is suspended on a tree He Who suspended the earth upon the waters.
The King of the angels is decked with a crown of thorns.
He Who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery.
He Who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped on the face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the Cross with nails.
The Son of the Virgin is pierced by a spear.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ.
Show us also Thy glorious resurrection.
In many churches, this hymn is sung with special reverence. Even in Russian-tradition parishes, it is often chanted in Byzantine style, emphasizing the solemnity of the moment.
On Holy Friday 2009, His Eminence Archbishop Job of Chicago and the Midwest (Orthodox Church in America) of blessed memory offered a very moving Byzantine rendition of the hymn in several languages:
Another beautiful Byzantine version, chanted in Greek, comes from the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and the St. Romanos the Melodist Byzantine Choir:
Yesterday evening, a moving rendition of the Trubachev arrangement of the 15th Antiphon, sung in Church Slavonic, was offered at the Church of the Elevation of the Cross in Hamovniki, Moscow:
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