OTHER EVENTS OCCURRED FOLLOWING THE CRUCIFIXION ON HOLY FRIDAY

Fr. Garabed Kochakian 

Jesus' Entombment (source: kilikia.weenly.com)

The painter has masterfully woven together the sacred events following our Lord’s Crucifixion into this composite Icon. Though richly detailed, each element reveals the profound narrative of Christ’s burial. 

To the left, we see Joseph of Arimathea, robed in blue, standing before Pontius Pilate, who sits enthroned in red. The white pillars and architectural details place this meeting at Pilate’s residence, where Joseph requests permission to take Jesus’ body for burial (Matthew 27:58). 

Having received Pilate’s consent, the scene shifts to the right. Here, Nicodemus gently lowers Christ’s lifeless body from the Cross, while the Virgin Mary, overcome with sorrow, kisses her Son’s wounded hand. Joseph of Arimathea and his attendants prepare to receive the Lord’s body, wrapped in a clean linen shroud, to place Him in the tomb. Below them, the holy women who stood faithfully at the Cross now gather to console the grieving Mother of God. 

This tomb—a gift from Joseph, a wealthy disciple—was newly hewn from rock, a place where no one had yet been laid (John 19:41). The Icon captures the tenderness of this moment, as the One who spoke life into being is now laid to rest in silence. 

OUR LORD’S FUNERAL AND BURIAL

Descent_from_the_Cross,_Daniel_of_Uranc،_1463

The Burial Service of Our Lord, observed in Armenian churches on Holy Friday evening, solemnly reenacts these sacred events. At the center of the chancel rests a symbolic tomb, often shaped like the Church of the Holy Resurrection (Anastasis) in Jerusalem. Adorned with candles, flowers, and a veiled Cross, it serves both as a representation of Christ’s burial place and as an altar of reverence. 

Following the Vesper service, the tomb is carried in procession—either through the church courtyard or around the sanctuary—accompanied by hymns of lamentation and hope. This rite mirrors the Gospel account, where Joseph and Nicodemus, with devotion, laid the Lord’s body in the tomb before sealing it with a great stone (Matthew 27:59-60). 

The Icon not only commemorates this holy burial but also guides the faithful in visualizing the Gospel narrative. In its miniature form, we see Joseph and Nicodemus standing over Christ’s shrouded body, while the two Marys keep vigil, as described in Scripture: 

"As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph... He took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb... Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb."

(Matthew 27:57-61)

The Cross, flanked by two candles, rises above the scene—a silent witness to the Light that darkness could not extinguish (John 1:5).