Great & Holy Friday Mediation -- It is Finished (τετελεσται)

 

Source: oca.org

With his death, all that was involved in his earthly ministry was complete: becoming incarnate, growing from infancy to adulthood, the calling of disciples, the constant teaching, preaching and healing of thousands, his instruction to the Twelve, patiently enduring the debates, arguments, opposition, and accusations of the religious authorities, his institution of the Eucharist, the betrayal, the arrest, the trials, the beatings, the scourging, the mocking, the humiliation, and lastly the excruciating pain of the crucifixion itself. It was over. It was accomplished. His work was done, complete to perfection, exactly according to plan. He had achieved his goal:Tetelestai.

Eugenia Constantinou, The Crucifixion of the King of Glory, p. 284

Great & Holy Friday Meditation -- The Tearing of the Veil

 

Source: goarch.org

Hebrews 10 explains that since Christ has offered himself as a sacrifice, we now have confidence to enter the sanctuary,"by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain (katapetasma), that is, through his flesh" (Heb. 10:20). In that verse, Hebrews is telling us that the curtain is the flesh of Christ, through which we enter the sanctuary - the place of intimate encounter with God. It is this flesh, which he assumed as God for our salvation, that was torn and hanging on the cross. Through the breaking of the body of Christ, the tearing of the veil of his flesh, the sacred, the divine, is opened to us. This happened, not because someone had to pay for sin but because God loved the world and chose the cross to graphically demonstrate that his love is without limits. We directly participate in the life of God, because Christ was incarnate, and through the sacrament of Holy Communion we physically commune and dwell with him and he in us.The depth of meaning is profound and inexpressible.

Eugenia Constantinou, The Crucifixion of the King of Glory