(18 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Northern suburb of Chalandri, Athens, Greece – 18 April 2025
1. Priest burning incense during the Good Friday re-enactment of the Deposition of Jesus Christ, at Agios Antonios Church in the northern suburb of Chalandri
2. Various of faithful praying
3. Faithful kissing crucifix
4. Priest holding holy book
5. Various of Greek Orthodox priest removing depiction of Jesus Christ from cross
6. Faithful throwing flowers as priests pass by
7. Various of procession of Jesus’ funeral bier, known as the "Epitaph" in Greek, at cemetery
8. Close-up of epitaph
STORYLINE:
The faithful gathered at the Church of Agios Antonios in the Athens suburb of Chalandri on Friday morning to witness the Descent from the Cross — one of the most solemn moments in Christian worship.
The ceremony commemorates the Gospel account of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus lowering the body of Christ from the cross after the crucifixion to bury him.
Despite hundreds of thousands having already left the capital for the countryside – an annual tradition – and the warm spring weather, the service was well attended.
Good Friday morning is the only day in the Orthodox calendar where no mass is celebrated.
But the hymns sung in this special service are some of the most emotionally charged, and popular, in Orthodox liturgy, especially "Life In the tomb" and "Oh, My Sweet Spring," the Virgin Mary’s lamentation for her dead son.
The congregation then proceeded on foot to the local cemetery.
Also early on Good Friday (called Holy Friday in Greece) women at each parish start decorating biers (epitaphs) with fresh flowers.
These often elaborate structures represent Christ’s coffin.
The church’s bier was ready for the service and it was carried with the procession to the cemetery.
On Friday evening, biers become the centerpiece of candlelit processions.
In several localities, outside of the biggest cities, all parish bier processions converge into the central square.
AP video shot by Srdjan Nedeljkovic
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