TheEpitaphios (Greek: Ἐπιτάφιος,epitáphios, or Ἐπιτάφιον,epitáphion, meaning "upon the tomb";Slavonic: Плащаница,plashchanitsa; Arabic: نعش,naash) is aChristian religiousicon, typically consisting of a large, embroidered and often richly adorned cloth, bearing an image of the dead body of Christ, often accompanied by his mother and other figures, following the Gospel account. It is used during the liturgical services ofHoly Saturday in theEastern Orthodox andByzantineCatholic churches.

The Epitaphios is also a common short form of theEpitáphios Thrēnos, the "Lamentation upon the Grave" inGreek,^{[citation needed]} which is a major part of the service of theMatins ofHoly Saturday (now typically performed the evening ofGood Friday).

SomeOriental Orthodox Churches (such as theArmenian Orthodox) also have the tradition of the epitaphios^{[citation needed]} and their celebration on this day is called T'aghman Kark ("Rite of the Burial" in Armenian).^{[citation needed]}

The wordEpitáphios is composite, from theGreek ἐπί,epí, "on" or "upon", and τάφος,táphos, "grave" or "tomb". In Greek the word has, inter alia, the meaning of both the Englishepitaph and the liturgical one presented here, the latter having been acquired during the Christian period.^[1][2]

The icon depicts Christ after he has beenremoved from the cross, lying supine, as his body is being prepared for burial. The scene is taken from theGospel of John.^[3] Shown around him, and mourning his death, may behis mother;John thebeloved disciple;Joseph of Arimathea; andMary Magdalene, as well as angels.Nicodemus and others may also be depicted.[1] Often theFour Evangelists will be shown in the corners. Sometimes, the body of Christ appears alone, except for angels, as if lying in state.[2] The oldest surviving embroidered icon, of about 1200 (Venice) is in this form. The equivalent subjects in the West are called the "Anointing of Christ's body", orLamentation of Christ (with a group present), or thePietà, with just Christ held by Mary.

The image may beembroidered or painted on fabric or some othersubstrate, which is then mounted in a wide cloth border (burgundy is the most common colour) often edged in gold fringe. Some cloths are missing the corners of the border, to allow them to sit neatly on the holy table. Usually, thetroparion of Holy Saturday is embroidered in gold letters around the edges of the icon:

Noble Joseph, taking down Thy most pure Body from the Tree, and having wrapped It in clean linen and covered It with spices, laid It in a new tomb..^[4]

In the LateByzantine period, the icon depicting the burial of Jesus was commonly painted below aChrist Pantocrator in theapse of theprothesis (the chapel where theLiturgy of Preparation was performed) in Orthodox churches, illustrating a liturgicalhymn which celebrated Christ "On the throne above and in the tomb below".^[5] The icon, in particular a panel mosaic version taken to Rome, probably in the 12th century, developed in the West into the subjectMan of Sorrows, which was enormously popular in the LateMiddle Ages, though that image shows a living Christ, normally with eyes open.

The Epitaphios is used on the last two days ofHoly Week in theByzantine rite, as part of the ceremonies marking the death and resurrection of Christ. It is then placed on theHoly Table (altar table), where it remains throughout thePaschal season.

The Deposition from the Cross. Prior to theApokathelosis,Vespers on the afternoon of Great Friday, the priest and deacon will place the Epitaphios on the Holy Table. The priest may also anoint the Epitaphios with perfumed oil. Achalice veil and theGospel Book is placed on top of the Epitaphios. This may be either the large Gospel Book that otherwise lies on the Holy table, or it may be a small one.

During the reading of the Gospel lesson (aconcatenation compiled from selections of all four Gospels) which recounts the death and burial of Christ, an icon depicting thesoma (corpus) of Christ is taken down from a cross which has been set up in the middle of the church. Thesoma is wrapped in a white cloth and taken into the sanctuary.

Near the end of the service, the priest and deacon, accompanied byacolytes with candles and incense, bring the Epitaphios in procession from the Holy Table into the center of the church and place it on a table which is often richly decorated for that purpose.[3]Archived 2007-09-27 at theWayback Machine The Gospel Book is laid on top of the epitaphios. In some Greek churches, an elaborately carved canopy, called akouvouklion, stands over the Epitaphios. Thisbier orcatafalque represents the Tomb of Christ, and is made of wood, usually elaborately carved. OnGood Friday morning, the bier is decorated with spring flowers, mostly white, red, and purple, until it is covered by the flowers in its entirety. The Tomb is often sprinkled with flower petals androsewater, decorated with candles,[4] and ceremonially censed as a mark of respect. The bells of the church are tolled, and in traditionally Orthodox countries, flags are lowered to half-mast. Then the priest and faithful venerate the Epitaphios as the choir chants hymns. In Slavic churches, the service ofCompline will be served next, during which a specialCanon will be chanted which recalls the lamentations of the Theotokos.

The faithful continue to visit the tomb and venerate the Epitaphios throughout the afternoon and evening, untilMatins—which is usually served in the evening during Holy Week, so that the largest number of people can attend. The form which the veneration of the epitaphios takes will vary between ethnic traditions. Some will make threeprostrations, then kiss the image of Christ on the Epitaphios and the Gospel Book, and then make three more prostrations. Sometimes, the faithful will crawl under the table on which the Epitaphios has been placed, as though entering into death with Christ. Others may simply light a candle and/or say a short prayer with bowed head. InUkrainian Catholic churches and others of theRuthenian tradition, the laity will often sing vernacular hymns at this point. One such hymn isstradal'na maty (страдальна мати), the contents of which approximate theStabat Mater, and may be heard here:[5]

The priest may hearconfessions at the Epitaphios, and he may anoint people who were not able to be present for theUnction service earlier in the week. TheAcolouthia of the Holy and Great Saturday and hence the Epitaphios procession (see below), started according to ancient customs during the Saturday Matins (Orthros), but nowadays, it frequently begins a bit earlier, at the night of Holy and Great Friday.

The Burial of Christ. During Matins, theEpitafios ThrinosorLamentations (Greek: Ἐπιτάφιος Θρῆνος,Epitaphios Thrēnos, "Epitaphic Lamentation"; or Ἐγκώμια,Enkōmia, "praises") are sung before the Epitaphios as at the tomb of Christ, while all hold lighted candles. The verses of these Lamentations are interspersed between the verses ofPsalm 118 (the chanting of this psalm forms a major part of the Orthodox funeral service as well as being a usual part of Saturday Matins).

Near the end of Matins, during theGreat Doxology, a solemn procession with the Epitaphios is held, with bells ringing the funeral toll, commemorating the burial procession of Christ. In Slavic churches, the Epitaphios alone is carried in procession with candles and incense.[6] It may be carried by hand or raised up on poles like a canopy. Many Greek churches, however, will carry the entire bier, with its carved canopy attached.[7] In societies where Byzantine Christianity is traditional, the processions may take extremely long routes through the streets,[8] with processions from different parishes joining together in a central location. Where this is not possible, the procession goes three times around the outside of the church building. The procession is accompanied by the singing of theTrisagion, typically in a melodic form used at funerals. Those unable to attend the church service will often come out to balconies and sidewalks where the procession passes, holding lit candles and sometimes hand-heldcensers. In many Greek villages, the Epitaphios is also paraded in the cemetery, among the graves, as a covenant of eternal life to those who have died.

In many towns where more than one parishes exist, the processions often converge to a single spot, e.g. a square, where they temporarily stop and a commonTriságion is sung before they resume their routes. This is notably done on theisland of Hydra, where the Epitaphios from the Kamíni parish is brought into the sea until the bier bearers are waist-high in the water, as a special blessing for those who have perished at sea. In larger towns the procession is led by a localmarching band playing funeral marches; in some cities the Epitaphios is escorted by military detachments, their arms in the mourning (muzzle towards the ground) position.

At the end of the procession, the Epitaphios is brought back to the church. Sometimes, after the clergy carry the Epitaphios in, they will stop just inside the entrance to the church, and hold the Epitaphios above the door, so that all who enter the church will pass under it (symbolically entering into the grave with Christ) and then kiss the Gospel Book. In Greek churches, the Epitaphios is then brought directly to the sanctuary, where it remains on the Holy Table untilAscension Thursday. In Slavic churches, it is brought back to the catafalque in the middle of the church (and may be honoured further with more petals, rosewater and incense), where it remains until the Midnight Office at the Paschal Vigil on Great Saturday night. Where the Epitaphios remains in the centre of the church, the faithful will continue to venerate it throughout Great Saturday.

TheLittle Hours on Holy Saturday are read near the Epitaphios, rather than thekliros; and certain portions of theDivine Liturgy that would normally be performed at theambo in front of theHoly Doors (Ektenias, reading the Gospel, theGreat Entrance, etc.) are instead performed in front of the Epitaphios. Only theCommunion of the Faithful and thedismissal take place at the ambo.

In some places, the entire Liturgy takes place around the Epitaphios, with it serving as theHoly Table (altar), and the clergy standing around it instead of behind theiconostasis.^{[citation needed]}

During theMidnight Office, after theUsual Beginning andPsalm 50, theCanon of Great Saturday, repeated from the preceding Matins as a reflection upon the meaning of Christ's death and hisHarrowing of Hell. During the lastOde of the Canon, at the words, "weep not for me, O Mother, for I shall arise...", the priest and deacon dramatically lift the Epitaphios (which represents the dead body of Christ) from the bier and carry it through theHoly Doors into the sanctuary, laying it upon theHoly Table (altar), so that its border hangs down in front of the Holy Table and is visible through the open Holy Doors. There it will remain throughout thePaschal season as a reminder of the burial cloth left in the empty tomb (John 20:5).

DuringBright Week (Easter Week), the Holy Doors of the sanctuary remain open as a symbol of theempty tomb of Christ. The Epitaphios is clearly visible through the open doors, and thus symbolizes the winding sheet left in the tomb after the resurrection.

At the end of Bright Week, the Holy Doors are closed, but the Epitaphios remains on the Holy Table for 40 days, as a reminder of Jesus' physicalappearances to his disciples from the time of hisResurrection until hisAscension into heaven.

An Epitaphios of theTheotokos also exists. This too is a richly embroidered cloth icon, but depicting instead the body of the Theotokos lying in state.[9] This is used on the feast of theDormition of the Theotokos on 15 August, known in the West as theAssumption of Mary. The Epitaphios of the Theotokos is used with corresponding hymns of lamentation, placed on a bier,[10]^{[permanent dead link]} and carried in procession in the same way as the Epitaphios of Christ, although it is never placed on the Holy Table.

The Rite of the "Burial of the Theotokos" began in Jerusalem, and from there it was carried to Russia, where it was used in theUspensky (Dormition) cathedral in Moscow. Its use has slowly spread among the Russian Orthodox, though it is not by any means a standard service in all parishes, or even most cathedrals or monasteries. In Jerusalem, the service is chanted during theAll-Night Vigil of the Dormition. In some Russian churches and monasteries, it is served on the third day after Dormition.

• Eulogy
• Jesus is Laid in the Tomb (14th Station of the Cross)
• Santo Entierro, a sculpted version used in the Philippines

• Media related toEpitaphios at Wikimedia Commons
• Elaborately embroidered Epitaphios, 1682, originally from Ankyra (Ankara); now atBenaki Museum, Athens
• Images of the Epitaphios in useArchived 2012-02-05 at theWayback Machine
• Epitaphios lying on the Holy Table during Paschal Season
• Text of the Burial Service of the Theotokos, with image of the Epitaphios of the Theotokos and service in which it is employed
• Epitaphios of the Theotokos
• Epitaphios of the Theotokos used in Jerusalem
• Photos of Epitaphios in Athens

• Eastern Orthodox icons
• Christian iconography
• Holy Week
• Entombment of Christ in art
• Descent from the Cross

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