St. Olympia Orthodox Church | Vigil at the Tomb

The time between the Burial of Christ and his Resurrection has a special significance. It is a quiet time, as Christ keeps the Sabbath in the tomb, but also the time when His victory over death is being accomplished and the dead from all ages are being set free. It is during this sacred time when Christ is paradoxically "in the tomb with the body; in hell with the soul as God; in Paradise with the thief, and on the throne with the Father and the Holy Spirit."

After the Church has presented us with the events of the Passion and before we celebrate the Resurrection, we have the opportunity to "watch and pray" and reflect on what has come to pass and what is still to come.

Please sign up for one (or more) of our 90 minute time slots. One or two people may sign up for each. We will be reading the Psalter continuously from the end of Matins and Lamentations on Friday evening to the beginning of Paschal Nocturns on Saturday evening, with a break for the service of Holy Saturday morning. On Holy Saturday afternoon, the Acts of the Apostles may also be read.