Orthodox Christians celebrate Good (Great, Holy) Friday, the hardest Christian holiday. Good Friday is also called Crucified (Raspet) Friday, because on that day, Jesus Christ was crucified and it's considered the heaviest holiday in Christian religion. Contrary to the usual celebration of religious holidays with holy liturgies, Holy Friday is celebrated by reading excerpts from the Gospels from the section that describes the week of the suffering of the Son of God.
Orthodox canon requires strict fasting with water for this day and many believers don't drink nor eat until sunset. For this day, the Church prescribes strictest fasting, to pass the day without eating or drinking (except for those who are weak and old), in a memory of the sad events. Besides fasting, on the day of Christian mourning, it's not allowed to work at home or in the fields. According to what's written, Christ died on the cross in "the sixth hour of the day, and the veil of the Temple of Jerusalem was halved in two in the same time, the sun overshadowed, the dead had risen from the graves and all the bells cracked apart.
"Since then, wooden bells ring on Holy Friday and bells don't ring until Sunday, when they first declare the joy of Christ's resurrection. The time of death and the removal of the body of Christ from the cross is celebrated in the church with an evening worship and with special ritual of taking out the cover on a specially decorated table in front of the altar which symbolizes the tomb of Christ.
"Since then, wooden bells ring on Holy Friday and bells don't ring until Sunday, when they first declare the joy of Christ's resurrection. The time of death and the removal of the body of Christ from the cross is celebrated in the church with an evening worship and with special ritual of taking out the cover on a specially decorated table in front of the altar which symbolizes the tomb of Christ.
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