While much of the Christian world celebrated Easter on April 5, hundreds of millions of Orthodox Christians are only just beginning their most sacred week of the year. Orthodox Holy Week 2026 - known as Great and Holy Week - runs from Palm Sunday, April 5, through Pascha on Sunday, April 12.
For the Orthodox faithful, this is not just a week of remembrance. It is a week of deep liturgical immersion, fasting, candlelit services, and ancient prayers that have remained largely unchanged for over a thousand years. Here is what each day looks like.
Palm Sunday - April 5 | The Triumphal Entry
Orthodox Holy Week opens with the Festal Divine Liturgy celebrating Christ's entry into Jerusalem. Worshippers receive palm crosses - small crosses woven from palm leaves, blessed during the service - to take home and place near an icon or above their front door. It is one of the twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church and one of the most joyful services of the entire year.
Holy Monday - April 6 | The Bridegroom Service Begins
Beginning on the evening of Palm Sunday and continuing through the evening of Holy Tuesday, the Orthodox Church observes a special service known as the Service of the Bridegroom. The name comes from the parable of the Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25. These candlelit evening services are sung rather than spoken in many churches - long, quiet, and deeply meditative. Many who attend call them the most beautiful services of the Orthodox year.
Holy Tuesday - April 7 | The Bridegroom Continues
Today is the second Bridegroom service evening. The churches are smaller and less crowded on these weekday services - and for many Orthodox families, they are the ones remembered most. In some parishes, Holy Tuesday also coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation, adding a layer of liturgical richness to the evening worship.
Holy Wednesday - April 8 | The Mystery of Holy Unction
On the afternoon or evening of Great and Holy Wednesday, the Sacrament of Holy Unction is conducted in Orthodox parishes - offered for the healing of soul and body and for the forgiveness of sins. At the conclusion of the service, the body is anointed with oil. It is also the last opportunity for Holy Confession before Pascha in many parishes.
Holy Thursday - April 9 | The Mystical Supper and the 12 Passion Gospels
Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. The morning Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is followed by one of the most powerful evening services of the week - the Matins of Holy Friday, during which twelve Gospel readings recounting Christ's Passion, arrest, and crucifixion are chanted. Many faithful stand for the duration of the entire service holding lit candles.
Holy Friday - April 10 | The Burial of Christ
The most solemn day of Orthodox Holy Week. The afternoon Vespers of the Cross and the evening Jerusalem Matins include the procession of the Epitaphion - a cloth icon depicting the burial of Christ - carried through the church and around the outside in a candlelit funeral procession. The faithful file past to venerate it. Churches are hushed. The fast is strict.
Holy Saturday - April 11 | The Vesperal Liturgy and the Midnight Vigil
The morning Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is one of the most underattended and most rewarding services of Holy Week. Then, as midnight approaches, the church goes dark. Candles are passed through the congregation. The priest emerges proclaiming "Christos Anesti" - Christ is risen - and the faithful answer: "Alithos Anesti" - truly He is risen. The darkness explodes into light.
Pascha - April 12 | The Feast of Feasts
Orthodox Easter, known as Pascha, falls on Sunday, April 12, 2026. After weeks of strict fasting, the morning Paschal Liturgy is followed by a celebration of food, red eggs, and the Paschal lamb. The greeting exchanged all day - and for forty days afterward - is the same: Christ is risen. Truly He is risen.
For Orthodox Christians worldwide, Pascha is not simply Easter. It is the center of the entire faith, the one event that makes everything else make sense.
Related Article: Orthodox Easter Is April 12: Here Is What Actually Happens That Night at Churches Around the World
