Great and Holy Saturday — April 11, 2026
Great and Holy Saturday — April 11, 2026
The Blessed Sabbath. Christ lies in the tomb. All creation holds its breath.
Today’s Commemorations
Great and Holy Saturday
- Hieromartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum, disciple of St. John the Theologian (†92)
- Venerable Jacob (James), Abbot of Zheleznobórovsk (†1442), and his fellow ascetic James
- St. Varsonúfii (Barsanuphius), Bishop of Tver’ (†1576)
- Martyrs Processus and Martinian of Rome (1st c.)
- Venerable Pharmuthius, Anchorite of Egypt (4th c.)
- Venerable John, disciple of Ven. Gregory of Decapolis (9th c.)
- St. Callinicus of Cernica, Bishop of Rimnicului in Romania (†1868)
The Readings
Today’s liturgy holds fifteen Old Testament readings, culminating in the Liturgy of St. Basil with Epistle and Gospel. These are the three that anchor the mystery of this day.
I. Ezekiel 37:1–14 — Vision of the Dry Bones
The Great Doxology at Matins of Holy Saturday
Again the hand of the Lord came upon me, and brought me by the Spirit of the Lord, and set me in the midst of the plain, which was full of human bones. So He led me round about them, and behold, there was a great multitude of bones on the face of the plain. They were very dry. Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord, You know this.”
Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ’O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord to these bones: “Behold, I will bring the Spirit of life upon you. I will put muscles on you and bring flesh upon you. I will cover you with skin and put my Spirit into you. Then you shall live and know that I am the Lord.” ’ “
So I prophesied as He commanded me, and it came to pass while I prophesied that, behold, there was a shaking, and the bones came together, each one to its joint. So I looked, and behold, muscle and flesh grew upon them, and skin covered them over; but no breath was in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, ’Thus says the Lord: “Come from the four winds and breathe upon these dead men; and let them live.” ’ “ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the Spirit entered into them; and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great assembly.
Again the Lord spoke to me, saying, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished, and we are lost.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will open your tombs, bring you up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your tombs to lead you, My people, up from their graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live; and I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it,” says the Lord.’ “
Orthodox Study Bible Note:
This passage is the Great Doxology read at Matins on Great and Holy Saturday. The Fathers teach that it prophesies the Final Resurrection: “Great is the lovingkindness of the Lord, that the prophet is taken as a witness of the future resurrection, that we, too might see it with his eyes… We notice here how the operations of the Spirit of life are again resumed; we know after what manner the dead are raised from the opening tombs.” (St. Ambrose of Milan)
The Church reads this passage triumphantly on Holy Saturday because it is prophetic of the freeing of all the souls from Hades by Christ on that day (1 Pet 3:19; Eph 4:8–10), and of the general resurrection of all the dead on the Last Day.
II. Matthew 27:62–66 — The Tomb Is Sealed
Read at Matins of Holy Saturday
On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.
Reflection: They sealed the stone with all the authority of Rome and all the cunning of the Sanhedrin. They thought they were securing a tomb. They were sealing a womb. The stone that they set their guard upon is the very stone the builders rejected — which has become the chief cornerstone (Mt 21:42). On this blessed Saturday, we sit in the silence of that sealed cave, waiting.
III. Romans 6:3–11 — Buried and Raised with Christ
The Epistle of Holy Saturday
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Orthodox Study Bible Note:
Baptism is our death, burial, and resurrection in union with Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul describes the promise of God in this mystery most succinctly: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4). To baptize (Gr. baptizo) literally means “to immerse, to put into.” The old man was crucified with Christ in baptism, and the one baptized is raised up with Christ to walk in newness of life. “Newness of life” is described in Eph 4:24 as “the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
IV. Matthew 28:1–20 — He Is Risen
The Gospel of Holy Saturday
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Orthodox Study Bible Note:
“All authority has been given to Me”: Christ declares that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now also possessed by His glorified human nature. This human nature has now trampled the final enemy — death (1 Co 15:20–28).
“The power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus Himself, but is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.”
“Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always, both personally and in the Holy Spirit, for neither can be separated from the other. To the end of the age does not by any means imply that we will be separated from Him at the end of the world. He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”
Reflection for Holy Saturday
Today is the most sacred silence in all of history. The Son of God rests in the earth. The Author of Life has entered into death. The Light of the world has gone into the darkness of Hades — not as a prisoner, but as a conqueror.
Ezekiel saw this moment from six centuries away: the Spirit of God calling to dry bones across a valley of the dead. “Can these bones live?” The Lord knows. He is the answer.
We who are baptized have already passed through this. We have been buried with Him. We have descended with Him into those waters. And what awaits on the other side of the tomb — what awaits on the other side of this very night — is not the restoration of what was, but something entirely new. Newness of life. A body that death no longer has dominion over.
The stone is sealed. The guard is posted. All of creation waits.
Tonight, everything changes.
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ (Christ is Risen)
Tonight at Paschal Vigil, the fast ends and the great feast begins. Prepare your heart.
Sources: OCA Daily Readings · The Orthodox Study Bible (St. Athanasius Academy, 2008) · Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil the Great