Spl prayer services mark Good Friday
LUCKNOW: Good Friday was observed at St Joseph’s Cathedral and other churches here as per tradition, with special prayer services to commemorate the crucifixion of Christ. In the past two years, the commemoration had been somewhat subdued due to the pandemic.
Hundreds of believers thronged the Cathedral to take part in the day-long events organised to mark the day. The prayer session began since morning where people, even from other communities, visited the church to offer the prayers and to remember the day when Jesus Christ was crucified.
The prayer sessions ended at around 3pm. “It was the time when Jesus’ last journey started”, said Bishop Gerald J Mathias who heads St Joseph Cathedral Church. Then a traditional procession-Way of Crosswas taken out silently, within the premises of the church. In the procession, the priest re-enacted the last hours of Jesus Christ, where he carried the cross to cavalry, where he was crucified.
Carrying a huge wooden cross on his shoulder, with rosary in hand, the priests of the church took out the procession to depict the crucifixion story of Jesus Christ. The procession, which was followed by the massive crowd of believers, during the whole journey halted 14 times, at different points, marked within the church premises. “It is believed that Christ during his last journey halted at 14 points, which we are re-enacting here,” said Mathias. The procession was followed by the narration of ‘The Passion’—the term used to describe the sufferings of Christ.
In this, the priest heading the church narrated Christ’s trial and crucifixion. This was followed by special prayers, which lasted for around 2 hours. The day-long mourning finally concluded at 7pm.
Similar, events were carried out in other churches of the city where special prayer services were held to highlight the significance of the day.
It is believed Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and rose again three days later - which is marked as Easter. The three days are known as the Easter Triduum.