Twelve Gospel Readings

The service of the "Twelve Gospels" is a Lenten service performed on the evening of Holy Thursday.
It contains the gospel of the sufferings and death of the Savior, chosen from all the evangelists and divided into twelve readings, according to the number of hours of the night, which indicates that believers must spend the whole night listening to the Gospels, like the apostles who accompanied the Lord to the garden of Gethsemane.

The twelve Gospels:
1) John 13: 31-18: 1 (Farewell conversation of the Savior with disciples and His prayer at the Last Supper).

2) John 18: 1-28 (Arrest of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and His Suffering from the High Priest Annas).

3) Matthew 26: 57-75 (The Suffering of the Savior from the High Priest Caiaphas and the abdication of Peter).

4) John 18: 28-40, 19: 1-16 (The suffering of the Lord in Pilate's trial).

5) Matthew 27: 3-32 (Despair of Judah, the new sufferings of the Lord iwith Pilate and condemnation of the crucifixion).

6) Mark 15: 16-32 (The way of the Lord to Calvary and His suffering on the cross).

7) Matthew 27: 34-54 (On the Lord's Cross sufferings, miraculous signs that accompanied His death).

8) Luke 23: 23-49 (Prayer of the Savior for the enemies and repentance of the prudent thief).

9) John 19: 25-37 (The words of the Savior from the cross to the Theotokos and the Apostle John, death and perforation of the rib).

10) Mark 15: 43-47 (Removing the body of the Lord from the cross).

11) John 19: 38-42 (Nicodemus and Joseph bury Christ).

12) Matthew 27: 62-66 ( the Guards standing watch at the Savior's tomb).