Great and Holy Wednesday

The synaxarion tradition explains the placement of the commemoration by noting that the Divine Fathers decreed that the harlot who anointed the Lord with myrrh should be remembered on this day because the anointing took place shortly before Christ's saving Passion. The day's services thus gather the events of the days immediately preceding the crucifixion into a single liturgical focus.

The observance took its enduring musical and poetic form through the Hymn of Kassiani, attributed by tradition to Kassia (also spelled Kasiani or Kassiani), a ninth-century hymnographer and abbess. A legendary account relates that the Emperor Theophilos visited her monastery in his later years and found her unfinished composition on her writing table; the line associating the penitent woman with the feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise is linked to that encounter, after which Kassia is said to have completed the work.

The services of the day developed in a fixed pattern. Vespers, which may include the Presanctified Liturgy, carries readings that reference the sufferings of Moses and Job, with Gospel passages on parables of the Second Coming; Matins follows the Bridegroom Service format shared by the first three days of Holy Week. The Hymn of Kassiani is chanted as a doxastichon at the end of the aposticha of orthros and among the lamp-lighting psalms of the Presanctified Liturgy.

In the Greek tradition, and spreading elsewhere, the Sacrament of Holy Unction came to be celebrated on the evening of Great and Holy Wednesday, so that the whole body of the faithful might be anointed. In the Ecumenical Patriarchate the day also completes the sanctification of Holy Myrrh, a multi-day process begun on Holy Monday, when the Ecumenical Patriarch sanctifies the Myrrh.

The theological heart of the day lies in the juxtaposition the liturgy sets before the worshipper: the unnamed woman who demonstrates repentance and devotion by anointing Christ's feet, and Judas who at the same moment plots betrayal for financial gain. The contrast between genuine spiritual transformation and treacherous self-interest is presented as the choice set before every soul.

The commemoration of the sinful woman is read as an image of transformation through contrition and love. The hymnography and homilies of the day stress tears of repentance, forgiveness, and the soul's journey toward salvation through sincere spiritual renewal, holding out the possibility of divine mercy to the penitent.

A second emphasis runs alongside repentance: vigilance. The central image of the day's hymns is the Bridegroom coming at midnight, calling believers to spiritual watchfulness and preparedness rather than to be weighed down with sleep. The liturgical texts thus present Great and Holy Wednesday as a day of spiritual awakening, joining the acknowledgment of human sinfulness to readiness for Christ's coming.

The Sacrament of Holy Unction observed on this evening draws its meaning from the same Gospel narrative: as the sinful woman's sins were forgiven because of her penitence, so the faithful are moved to repent and receive anointing that is understood to bring healing of both soul and body together with forgiveness of sin.

The Hymn of Kassiani is the day's musical and spiritual highpoint, chanted each year as a doxastichon at the end of the aposticha of orthros and among the lamp-lighting psalms of the Presanctified Liturgy. Written from the perspective of the sinful woman, it addresses penitence and redemption; sung slowly, sorrowfully, and at length, it can last upwards of twenty minutes and is described as moving worshippers to prayerful tears. Demanding a very wide vocal range, it is regarded as one of the most difficult pieces of solo Byzantine chant, often delivered in unison over a vocal bass drone.

The day's other hymns hold together its two great themes. The Troparion (Tone 8) sets forth the image of the Bridegroom coming at midnight and the call to spiritual watchfulness, while the Kontakion (Tone 4) turns to repentance and forgiveness, invoking the penitent woman as a figure of contrition and asking remission of sins.

The commemoration of the betrayal by Judas on this day is understood as the origin of the wider Orthodox practice of fasting on Wednesdays throughout the year, keeping the memory of that moment present across the calendar rather than only within Holy Week.

The Sacrament of Holy Unction celebrated on this evening is closely tied to the following day's Communion: those who receive unction on Great and Holy Wednesday are encouraged to go to Holy Communion on Great Thursday, and recipients typically make confession beforehand. The mystery is administered only to Orthodox Christians. Practice varies by tradition, and the site's disclaimer applies.

In the Greek tradition, the Sacrament of Holy Unction is celebrated on the evening of Great and Holy Wednesday, when all the faithful are anointed with blessed oil for the healing of soul and body.

The full form of the service calls for the ministry of seven priests, with seven Epistle readings, seven Gospel readings, seven prayers, and seven litanies; the faithful are anointed with the sign of the cross on the forehead, cheeks, chin, lips, and hands.

In the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Ecumenical Patriarch sanctifies Holy Myrrh on this day, completing a process begun on Holy Monday.

• Matthew 26:6-13 — The woman who anoints Christ with costly myrrh shortly before the Passion, the day's central commemoration.
• Matthew 26:14-16 — Judas goes to the chief priests to arrange the betrayal for silver.