epitaphioi

Epitaphios, plural epitaphioi, refers to a liturgical cloth used in Eastern Orthodox and some Eastern Catholic churches during Holy Week. The epitaphios is typically a large linen fabric embroidered with an iconographic depiction of the body of Christ laid in the tomb, often accompanied by figures such as the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist. It is usually mounted on a bier or platform so that it can be carried in procession.

In the Good Friday–evening service known as the Epitaphios or the Lamentations at the Tomb, the epitaphios becomes the major focal point of veneration. Clergy and sometimes lay mourners carry the bier around the church or along a designated outdoor route while hymns and prayers are sung. Congregants approach the cloth to kiss its edges and to place flowers or wreaths in reverence. The ritual embodies the community’s sorrow for Christ’s passion and burial and its hope in thecoming Resurrection.

Variations exist in different national churches. Some traditions use an embroidered textile one year and a painted icon on fabric the next; others may use a separate decorated cover for the bier. Regardless of form, the epitaphios serves as a central symbol of Christ’s death and the transition to Easter, guiding faithful through themes of mourning, reverence, and anticipation of the Resurrection.

Practically, epitaphioi remain within the church’s liturgical inventory after Holy Week and are preserved for use in subsequent years, reinforcing continuity of ritual practice across generations.