Theological and liturgical significance of troparia of the Beatitudes (Makarismoi) of the Holy Friday Matins

Abstract

On Good Friday matins, after singing the antiphons and before reading the canon, the verses of the Gospel blessings are read, which in liturgical practice begin with the words of the good thief: “Remember me, o Lord, in Your Kingdom”. The phrase of the thief hanging on the Cross sounds special on Good Friday – it is the day on which these words were spoken originally. Special troparions are added to the verses of the blessings, which talk about various aspects of Christ’s passion, mainly through the prism of the thief’s repentance. In the paper, the texts are analyzed taking into account the Greek original and selected translations.

Keywords

• Holy Week
• Holy Friday
• Matins
• hymnography
• makarismoi