"Gone the light the world once knew; gone is the Light that was mine": The Lamentations at the Tomb

Today, on Holy and Great Saturday, we remember our Lord's burial in the tomb and at the same time His descent into Hades to free the just souls.  The Byzantine tradition for this morning, the Jersualem Matins (Orthros), includes a service known as the Lamentations at the Tomb, a set of hymns of lamentation interspersed with the verses of Psalm 119/118, the psalm in praise of the law of the Lord.  The English text of the Matins can be found at the Metropolitan Cantor Institute, and below is an English recording by the Boston Byzantine Choir, a pan-Orthodox choir based in Cambridge, MA.

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