thumb|The [[altar cross of Hedvig Eleonora Evangelical-Lutheran Church on Good Friday in Östermalm, Sweden]]

Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum.

Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, United Protestant, and some Reformed traditions (including certain Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist churches), observe Good Friday with fasting and church services. In the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions, the Stations of the Cross are prayed in the evening of Good Friday, as with other Fridays of Lent. Members of the Moravian Church have a Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries. Some predominantly Christian countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts—public dancing, horse racing—in remembrance of the somber nature of Good Friday. Less common examples of expressions based on this obsolete sense of good include 'the good book' for the Bible, 'good tide' for Christmas or Shrovetide, and Good Wednesday for the Wednesday in Holy Week. A common folk etymology explains the use of the word good in the current sense by the good that has come from Jesus's death on the cross according to Christian belief: "Christians believe that Jesus's death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice for humanity's sins, saving mankind from death."

Another common folk etymology analyses Good Friday incorrectly as a corruption of the hypothetical, imagined term God Friday, similarly to the (linguistically correct) derivation of goodbye from a contraction of 'God be with ye'. In Old English, the day was called Long Friday ( )—referring to the lengthy observances of fasting and religious services, making it a day of extended devotion—and equivalents of this term are still used in Scandinavian languages and Finnish.

Biblical accounts

thumb|upright|The Judas Kiss by [[Gustave Doré, 1866]]

According to the accounts in the Gospels, the royal soldiers, guided by Jesus' disciple Judas Iscariot, arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas received money (30 pieces of silver) for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest, Caiaphas. There he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled.

Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the high priest adjured Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus testified ambiguously, "You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest condemned Jesus for blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin concurred with a sentence of death. Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also denied Jesus three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had foretold.

In the morning, the whole assembly brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate under charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and making himself a king. Pilate authorized the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law and execute sentencing; however, the Jewish leaders replied that they were not allowed by the Romans to carry out a sentence of death.

Pilate questioned Jesus and told the assembly that there was no basis for sentencing. Upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate referred the case to the ruler of Galilee, King Herod, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Herod questioned Jesus but received no answer; Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found Jesus to be guilty; Pilate resolved to have Jesus whipped and released. Under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asked for Barabbas, who had been imprisoned for committing murder during an insurrection. Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demanded, "Crucify him." Pilate's wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarned Pilate to "have nothing to do with this righteous man." Pilate had Jesus flogged and then brought him out to the crowd to release him. The chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus be sentenced to death "because he claimed to be God's son." This possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know from where he came.

thumb|left|[[Antonio Ciseri's depiction of Ecce Homo with Jesus and Pontius Pilate, 19th century]]

Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus innocent and washed his own hands in water to show he had no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot. The sentence written was "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution (assisted by Simon of Cyrene), called the "place of the Skull", or "Golgotha" in Hebrew and in Latin "Calvary". There he was crucified along with two criminals.

Jesus agonized on the cross for three hours, from noon to 3 pm, darkness fell over the whole land. In the gospels of Mathew and Mark, Jesus is said to have spoken from the cross, quoting the messianic Psalm 22: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

With a loud cry, Jesus gave up his spirit. There was an earthquake, tombs broke open, and the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. The centurion on guard at the site of crucifixion declared, "Truly this was God's Son!"

Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and a secret follower of Jesus, who had not consented to his condemnation, went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus. Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus brought about a hundred-pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the body of Jesus. Pilate asked confirmation from the centurion of whether Jesus was dead. A soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance causing blood and water to flow out, and the centurion informed Pilate that Jesus was dead.

Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock in a garden near the site of the crucifixion. Nicodemus also brought 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with Jewish burial customs. Then they returned home and rested, because Shabbat had begun at sunset.

Eastern Orthodox

thumb|[[Icon of the Crucifixion, 16th century, by Theophanes the Cretan (Stavronikita Monastery, Mount Athos)]]

Byzantine Christians (Eastern Christians who follow the Rite of Constantinople: Orthodox Christians, Eastern Lutherans and Greek-Catholics) call this day "Great and Holy Friday", or simply "Great Friday". Because the sacrifice of Jesus through his crucifixion is recalled on this day, the Divine Liturgy (the sacrifice of bread and wine) is never celebrated on Great Friday, except when this day coincides with the Great Feast of the Annunciation, which falls on the fixed date of 25 March (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, 25 March currently falls on 7 April of the modern Gregorian Calendar). Also on Great Friday, the clergy no longer wear the purple or red that is customary throughout Great Lent, but instead don black vestments. There is no "stripping of the altar" on Holy and Great Thursday as in the West; instead, all of the church hangings are changed to black, and will remain so until the Divine Liturgy on Great Saturday.

The faithful revisit the events of the day through the public reading of specific Psalms and the Gospels, and singing hymns about Christ's death. Rich visual imagery and symbolism, as well as stirring hymnody, are remarkable elements of these observances. In the Orthodox understanding, the events of Holy Week are not simply an annual commemoration of past events, but the faithful actually participate in the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

Great and Holy Friday is sometimes observed as an absolute fast, and adult Byzantine Christians are expected to abstain from all food and drink the entire day to the extent that their health permits. "On this Holy day neither a meal is offered nor do we eat on this day of the crucifixion. If someone is unable or has become very old [or is] unable to fast, he may be given bread and water after sunset. In this way we come to the holy commandment of the Holy Apostles not to eat on Great Friday." (cf. Black Fast)

thumb|upright|Good Friday cross from the [[Katholikon|Catholicon at Holy Trinity Monastery, Meteora, Greece]]

The first of these twelve readings is the longest Gospel reading of the liturgical year, and is a concatenation from all four Gospels. Just before the sixth Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus being nailed to the cross, a large cross is carried out of the sanctuary by the priest, accompanied by incense and candles, and is placed in the center of the nave (where the congregation gathers) Sēmeron Kremātai Epí Xýlou:

<blockquote>Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross (three times).<br>He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.<br>He who wraps the Heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. <br>He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face.<br>The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. <br>The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear.<br>We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ (three times).<br>Show us also Thy glorious Resurrection.

</blockquote>

The readings are:

  1. John 13:31–18:1 – Christ's last sermon, Jesus prays for the apostles
  2. John 18:1–28 – The agony in the garden, the mockery and denial of Christ
  3. Matthew 26:57–75 – The mockery of Christ, Peter denies Christ
  4. John 18:28–19:16 – Pilate questions Jesus; Jesus is condemned; Jesus is mocked by the Romans.
  5. Matthew 27:3–32 – Judas commits suicide; Jesus is condemned; Jesus mocked by the Romans; Simon of Cyrene compelled to carry the cross
  6. Mark 15:16–32 – Jesus dies
  7. Matthew 27:33–54 – Jesus dies
  8. Luke 23:32–49 – Jesus dies
  9. John 19:25–37 – Jesus dies
  10. Mark 15:43–47 – Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus
  11. John 19:38–42 – Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus
  12. Matthew 27:62–66 – The Jews set a guard

During the service, all come forward to kiss the feet of Christ on the cross. After the Canon, a brief, moving hymn, The Wise Thief is chanted by singers who stand at the foot of the cross in the center of the nave. The service does not end with the First Hour, as usual, but with a special dismissal by the priest:

<blockquote>May Christ our true God, Who for the salvation of the world endured spitting, and scourging, and buffeting, and the Cross, and death, through the intercessions of His most pure Mother, of our holy and God-bearing fathers, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and the Lover of mankind.</blockquote>

Royal Hours

right|thumb|Vigil during the Service of the Royal Hours

The next day, in the forenoon on Friday, all gather again to pray the Royal Hours, a special expanded celebration of the Little Hours (including the First Hour, Third Hour, Sixth Hour, Ninth Hour and Typica) with the addition of scripture readings (Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel) and hymns about the Crucifixion at each of the Hours (some of the material from the previous night is repeated). This is somewhat more festive in character, and derives its name of "Royal" from both the fact that the Hours are served with more solemnity than normal, commemorating Christ the King who humbled himself for the salvation of mankind, and also from the fact that this service was in the past attended by the Emperor and his court.

Vespers of Holy and Great Friday

thumb|The crucified Christ, just before the [[Deposition from the Cross and the placing of the Epitaphios in the Sepulchre]]

In the afternoon, around 3&nbsp;pm, all gather for the Vespers of the Taking-Down from the Cross, commemorating the Deposition from the Cross. Following Psalm 103 (104) and the Great Litany, 'Lord, I call' is sung without a Psalter reading. The first five stichera (the first being repeated) are taken from the Aposticha at Matins the night before, but the final 3 of the 5 are sung in Tone 2. Three more stichera in Tone 6 lead to the Entrance. The Evening Prokimenon is taken from Psalm 21 (22): 'They parted My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture.'

There are then four readings, with Prokimena before the second and fourth:

  • Exodus 33:11–23 – God shows Moses His glory
  • The second Prokimenon is from Psalm 34 (35): 'Judge them, O Lord, that wrong Me: fight against them that fight against Me.'
  • Job 42:12–20 – God restores Job's wealth (note that verses 18–20 are found only in the Septuagint)
  • Isaiah 52:13–54:1 – The fourth Suffering Servant song
  • The third Prokimenon is from Psalm 87 (88): 'They laid me in the lowest pit: in dark places and in the shadow of death.'
  • 1 Corinthians 1:18–2:2 – St. Paul places Christ crucified as the centre of the Christian life

An Alleluia is then sung, with verses from Psalm 68 (69): 'Save Me, O God: for the waters are come in, even unto my soul.'

The Gospel reading is a composite taken from three of the four the Gospels (Matthew 27:1–38; Luke 23:39–43; Matthew 27:39–54; John 19:31–37; Matthew 27:55–61), essentially the story of the crucifixion as it appears according to St. Matthew, interspersed with St. Luke's account of the confession of the Good Thief and St. John's account of blood and water flowing from Jesus' side. During the Gospel, the body of Christ (the soma) is removed from the cross, and, as the words in the Gospel reading mention Joseph of Arimathea, is wrapped in a linen shroud, and taken to the altar in the sanctuary.thumb|right|The [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|epitaphios ("winding sheet"), depicting the preparation of the body of Jesus for burial]] The Aposticha reflects on the burial of Christ. Either at this point (in the Greek use) or during the troparion following (in the Slav use):

An epitaphios or "winding sheet" (a cloth embroidered with the image of Christ prepared for burial) is carried in procession to a low table in the nave which represents the Tomb of Christ; it is often decorated with an abundance of flowers. The epitaphios itself represents the body of Jesus wrapped in a burial shroud, and is a roughly full-size cloth icon of the body of Christ. The service ends with a hope of the Resurrection: