Holy Monday today and Holy Week begins.
From today the holy Passions of our Lord Jesus Christ begin. A type of our Lord Jesus is the stall Joseph that we perform today (a) his memory.
He was the youngest son of Patriarch Jacob and the most beloved. But he was envied by his brothers and initially they threw him at’ a deep pit and tricked their father by using a bloody garment that he had been devoured by a beast. Subsequently…… they sold him for thirty pieces of silver to merchants, who again sold him to the chief cook of the king of Egypt, Peter the Great.
Joseph was beautiful and Potiphar's wife fell in love with him, who wanted to lure him into an immoral act by force. As soon as she caught Joseph, he left his tunic in her hands and left. Out of her anger she slandered him to her husband, that he allegedly attacked her with immoral purposes. Potiphars believed her and imprisoned Joseph. But once the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, he had a strange dream and asked for an interpreter.
By God's illumination, only Joseph could explain it. That there will come to his country seven years of euphoria and seven years of fruitlessness and famine. Pharaoh was impressed by his wisdom and made him general ruler, as prime minister. Joseph managed the power excellently and took care of all the people during the difficult years of famine. On the occasion of the distribution of wheat, were revealed’ his brothers who had envied him. He bore them no malice, instead he invited them permanently to Egypt with the parents.
So he is a pre-image of Christ, because He too, beloved son of the Father, envied by His fellow Jews, he was sold by His disciple for thirty pieces of silver and shut up in the dark pit, the grave.
On the same day (b) we also remember the fruitless fig tree, which the Lord cursed and immediately dried up. It symbolizes both the Synagogue of the Jews, which had no spiritual fruits, as well as any man who lacks spiritual fruits, virtues.
The Lord showed His power on the lifeless tree and never on man, to show that it has not only power to benefic, but also to punish.
The hymnography refers today to the above two subjects, but also in addition to the subject of the Lord's journey towards the Passion. From the trope: “Behold the Bridegroom comes…» the sequences of M. Monday to Wednesday are also called "Groom Processions".
Absolute. Ἦhos pl. δ ’.
Here comes the Bridegroom, in the middle of the night: and blessed is the servant, whom he finds speeding, but unworthy again, whom he finds ῥathymοῦnta. Lonely retail candle in the manual the hope of faith answers "the Lord is near", Don't fall asleep, In order not to surrender to death, and you are shut out of the kingdom; but revive me, I cried; Saint, Holy are you our God, for the sake of the Mother of God, have mercy on us.